Cigar Capitol/Dictionary/Smoking & Technique/Tunneling

Tunneling

Smoking & Technique
Definition
A burn defect in which the filler burns faster than the wrapper and binder, so the coal recedes into a tube while the outer leaves lag behind.
Why it matters
Tunneling starves the outer leaves of combustion and skews flavor toward the filler, and it usually means the cigar is too moist or the cadence too slow.
In context
"The cigar was tunneling badly, so he knocked the ash and touched up the rim."
Related terms
CanoeingBurn LineOver-HumidificationSmoking Cadence