Rotating your cigars?

[HarleyMark13]

Hello I was wondering if you should rotate your cigars while in the humidor? I ask this because I seem to have uneven burn issues. I've tried different lighting techniques, keep them at 65% and about 65-70 deg'. Should I rotate them top to bottom or just turn them in there place?

 

[danthebugman]

How big is your humidor? From time to time I rotate my cigars around in my desktops. I do it more to mix things up so I can smoke the stuff that's been buried for a while than for humidity considerations.

Dan

 

[Treinenwj]

IMO, rotating the cigar as you smoke it is more helpful for uneven burns than rotating them around in the humi.

 

[GoingPostal]

Most burn issues can be solved by dryboxing the stick before smoking it.

Here's a few things to try to help and uneven burn
- slow down, take smaller drags and see if the stick evens itself out
-as stated earlier rotate the stick a 1/4 or 1/2 turn while smoking
-try a different cut, i have found that with a punch or V-cut if you don't get it dead center it can lead to uneven burn.

To answer your original question rotating is personal preference. In larger humidors "pockets" of high/low Rh can develop so some people rotate the sticks. when i had a 150ct desktop i noticed the sticks at the bottom were a bit more wet so i developed a rotation system.

 

[RonC]

i have never rotated cigars on purpose. I guess they might have got rotated on their own while choosing cigars out of my humidor. I think that if you have good humidification, then rotating is not needed.

 

[Clint]

Spend the time figuring out why your humidor has uneven humidity distribution and solving the issue, rather than spending unnecessary time rotating cigars.
There's a section here that is all about humidity/Humidor issues.
Good luck!

 

[HarleyMark13]

It's a Xikar 100ct Humi that's about 80-90% full using Humi-care cigar juice in the gel tub. I've place gauges in different spots through out the humidor and getting the same readings. I'll take a look at the cigars at the bottom see if they have the same issue.
As far as cutting is concerned I always use a pocket knife to "peel" the cap back and try rotate the smoke as I'm enjoying it. Does dry-boxing simply mean to place it in a old cigar box and let it rest for a time?

 

[danthebugman]

Does dry-boxing simply mean to place it in a old cigar box and let it rest for a time?

Yep. Some cigars smoke better when you let them rest for a day or two in an old cigar box. Of course it's hard for me to plan in advance what I want to smoke, might change my mind by the time I get around to smoking.

Dan

 

[Cigary43]

Rotation has been a subject often debated and from some of the answers already given you want to pay attention to RH and storage. IMO it's best to keep a humidor 80% filled so that there is enough air inside to provoke a good mix. In tupperadors you have a closed/sealed environment so the flow of any air is only realized when you take the top off for a minute or so at a time. In a good wooden humidor it breathes so rotation is not something that is going to magically make a difference...but it does give you a sense of satisfaction if you suffer from OCD as I do.

Dry boxing is something that I believe in while others will tell you it doesn't make that much difference considering you've been resting a certain cigar for months in a 65% environment and then magically in a day or two the entire cigar is now at the perfect RH from head to foot...doesn't work that way either. What you end up with is a cigar that has let out a percentage or two of RH but that doesn't mean it's consistent throughout. In some instances it helps with the overall burn and for this reason alone I dry box.

 

[Angry Bill]

No need to rotate cigars during storage. The critical elements in the care of them is humidity and temperature control.

 

[HarleyMark13]

I'll give the dry boxing a try it can't hurt! Thank you gentlemen.

 

[BrotherMaduro]

I found that a few cigars I left in the bottom of my humidor over a year and a half without rotation had flattened on one side from the weight of the other cigars on top of them. Has anyone else seen this problem or was it just because these particular sticks were lower quality? That would be a good reason to rotate regularly if nothing else, unless maybe your whole humidor is filled with box pressed.

As for the uneven burn issue, like others have said, I resolved that issue for myself by rotating the cigar as I smoke it. I think it's because when you're drawing on it, either the shape of your mouth and tongue or the angle of the cigar causes more airflow on the bottom half of the cigar which makes it burn a little faster than the top. Occasional rotation easily evens it out.

 

[skfr518]

Great information on rotating your cigars. I do not rotate the cigars very much as I have a tower humidor and keep the boxes on the same shelf until they are gone. I do however have a difference from 62% at the bottom to 64% at the top but haven't noticed too big of a difference when it comes to smoking them. I use fans and everything to try and circulate the air, any other suggestions and getting it to balance out?

 

[Cigary43]

I found that a few cigars I left in the bottom of my humidor over a year and a half without rotation had flattened on one side from the weight of the other cigars on top of them. Has anyone else seen this problem or was it just because these particular sticks were lower quality? That would be a good reason to rotate regularly if nothing else, unless maybe your whole humidor is filled with box pressed.

As for the uneven burn issue, like others have said, I resolved that issue for myself by rotating the cigar as I smoke it. I think it's because when you're drawing on it, either the shape of your mouth and tongue or the angle of the cigar causes more airflow on the bottom half of the cigar which makes it burn a little faster than the top. Occasional rotation easily evens it out.

Great point and I agree with you....cigars I've left unattended at the bottom of my humidors tend to look like a box pressed cigar after a year or so and now I actually will move them around about every 6 months when I do inventory. Good catch on this one!

 

[CasualStogie]

Rotation has been a subject often debated and from some of the answers already given you want to pay attention to RH and storage. IMO it's best to keep a humidor 80% filled so that there is enough air inside to provoke a good mix. In tupperadors you have a closed/sealed environment so the flow of any air is only realized when you take the top off for a minute or so at a time. In a good wooden humidor it breathes so rotation is not something that is going to magically make a difference...but it does give you a sense of satisfaction if you suffer from OCD as I do.

Dry boxing is something that I believe in while others will tell you it doesn't make that much difference considering you've been resting a certain cigar for months in a 65% environment and then magically in a day or two the entire cigar is now at the perfect RH from head to foot...doesn't work that way either. What you end up with is a cigar that has let out a percentage or two of RH but that doesn't mean it's consistent throughout. In some instances it helps with the overall burn and for this reason alone I dry box.

I've heard this before- and I have a humidor that does "breathe a little." Some people say that you should put weather stripping in to create a seal and keep the levels constant. Others suggest that it is made to stay how it is. What gives? Which one is better and what is the reasoning behind one over the other?

 

[Jfire]

Get rid of the gel and grab some beads IMO. Should solve the problem. A tube of 65% beads and replacing the square or round foam humidifier with Rh beads will be more then enough. A tutorial on replacing the foam can be found on my sig line link below. My theory is based on the cigar in question being to close to the gel tube.... Thus causing the burn issue.