It eventually happens to all of us. You get a cigar that is underfilled/overfilled, plugged, or just does not taste good to you. But you spent good money on it. So what do you do?

If it’s a matter of disagreeable flavors, try purging your cigar. Hold your lighter near the burning end of the cigar and blow through the cigar. This will cleanse trapped gases that can cause bitterness that will mask the true flavors of the cigar.

If the cigar has serious construction issues (underfilled, where is it too “mushy” when you roll it between your finger and thumb, or plugged, where it is like sucking on a pencil) there are a couple of options.

For soft cigars, smoke very slowly and purge often. It will burn hot and uneven, but if you are careful you can salvage the smoke.

For plugged cigars, you can try using a draw poker, which is a metal rod you push through the center of the cigar to attempt to break up whatever is blocking the air flow. This can happen if a leaf or two get twisted together and form a hard spot. If the draw poker does not work, put the cigar back in your humidor and give it some serious time. As it ages the obstruction may shift or relax.

The other option is to cut the cigar up and shred it into pipe tobacco. Of course, if you don’t smoke a pipe this is pretty much pointless.

And yes, there will be cigars with perfect construction that draw and burn well that you just do not like. Most people tend to soldier through it so they don’t feel like they wasted their money. That’s an option, but I generally just put the cigar down in the ashtray and let it go out, replacing it with something better.

If you smoke cigars long enough, you will come across cigars that are either flawed or that you just do not like. I tend to buy smaller cigars when trying something new. It’s a lot easier to put down a corona than a churchill when it comes to feeling like you wasted your money.