It’s all about the draw

It has been a long day. You finally have a moment to yourself and decide to sit back with a cigar to decompress. You pour yourself a beverage of choice, pull a cigar from your humidor, and settle into your preferred spot, inside or outside the house. You pull out your tools. Cut or punch the cigar, dependent on preference, light it and take a few puffs. Once it is adequately lit, you sit back in full relaxation mode. But the cigar is just not “pulling”. Every draw feels like trying to drink ice cream through a straw, which, if you keep at it, will leave you unsatisfied with an aching jaw.

Sometimes, a cigar just doesn’t draw well because of tightness making it difficult for air to flow through the it, which can happen for a number of reasons including being over-humidified, cutting inadequately or problems with the construction of the cigar. In the moment, dealing with over-humidification will be a bit difficult. Cutting a bit deeper will probably solve the problem, while making sure one isn’t cutting too deep. With cigars on which I have used a V-cut or punch, what I will often do is straight cut it.

For construction challenges, for example, when the cigar has been rolled too tightly, or has a plug — usually a piece of tobacco stem or vein is wedged in the middle of the cigar — there are cigar draw tools and nubbers that can be used to improve the airflow, like the PerfecDraw Precision Cigar Draw Enhancer Tool & Nubber.

Designed by Rod Kurthy, an American dentist, R&D scientist, mechanical engineer, author and cigar enthusiast, as a solution to his personal frustrations with cigars that didn’t draw well, PerfecDraw’s tool has small blades at the end. You “screw” the tool into the centre of the cigar and then pull it straight out, with the blades pulling out the tobacco that’s creating the blockage. What’s dope about it is that it works for the thinnest to the thickest cigar ring gauges. And, as long as you don’t twist it in skew and pierce the wrapper, it doesn’t compromise the integrity of the cigar’s construction. The PerfecDraw tool was named the Best Accessory at the 2018 Cigar Trophy Awards.

While still a practising dentist and conducting continued research & development in the field, having even created a teeth whitening system, it is fascinating how Kurthy has turned his side hustle tied to his love for cigars into a business. Beyond the draw tool, he has also created PerfecRepair, a glue that can be used to seal cracks and holes in the wrapper, so that you don’t have to try put a finger over to stop air leaking when you are pulling on the cigar — or is that just me? It is also useful for glue down the wrapper when, as can happen on occasion, it is lifting or unravelling.

PerfecDraw’s more recent creations include: the PerfecPunch & Stand, a triple punch for different sized cigars and a stand; the PerfecCase 3- and 5-finger cigar case, which can accommodate a humidifier pack and hold different sized cigars (nothing worse than a cigar case that can’t hold cigars with a bigger ring gauge or lengths); and a PerfecPak case for carrying accessories. Kurthy has also designed a strap to hold the PerfecCase and PerfecPak together to make them easier to carry.

In terms of the PerfecCase, Kurthy has drawn from his medical expertise using PolyRIGIDiene, “a polymer, which Dr Rod developed for certain dental instruments he created”. According to PerfecDraw, the polymer “will not absorb humidity from cigars and dry them out”, and is said to be durable enough for you to use the case for decades.

Cigar smoking is meant to be calming and convenient and, by creating products that ease any type of friction, Perfec Cigar Solutions is guaranteeing its longevity.