I run my humidor and coolidor at 65~66% but the temp is 75F-79F it's Texas in the summer. I do have a big wine cooler with 200+ bottles of wine in it running at 65F. I have all kinds of empty cigar boxes in great shape, 70% beads in jars and pucks bought dirt cheap on CBid and brand new one and two gallon ziplocks. So I'm think for long term aging but the sticks in good smelling cedar cigar boxes. Then put the box and some 70% beads in a ziplock and keep them in the wine cooler at 65F for aging. Any problems with that idea? I'd rest them at 65% RH for a month or more before smoking.
65F and 70% RH OK for aging.
- Thread starter KH63
- Start date
javajunkie
BoM July '12
for aging (year and over) you really want a lower RH, like 65%, or even 62%, depending on what you are aging. temp sounds about good, or even a couple few degrees lower, like 60. however, if you are fighting the texan heat over your stash, then yes, i would do that in a heartbeat for anything not in current rotation.
as for box and bag, i have done this for months at a time when necessary. boxes are good for aging. as for baggies, heavy duty freezer zip bags, triple bagged. someone posted that the lack of vapor permeability on those bags goes up geometrically for each layer beyond the first.
good luck with it!
as for box and bag, i have done this for months at a time when necessary. boxes are good for aging. as for baggies, heavy duty freezer zip bags, triple bagged. someone posted that the lack of vapor permeability on those bags goes up geometrically for each layer beyond the first.
good luck with it!
Thanks the other option which should not be too hard is bring the wine cooler up to 65% RH which should not be too hard. I have a XiKar digital keeping track of the wine and it's at 55% RH now. 65% RH is fine for wine. I have spot I can put a 10~20# bag of beads right next to the cooling unit. Or the cooling unit has a 110V outlet I could plug an active unit in to that. May try that. We are selling this house. Planning a walk in for wine and cigars at 65%/65F for the new place. I know some think wine should be at 55F but while new to cigars wine making has been in my family for centuries and I'm happy with 65F. While I'm onboard with 65F for cigars I know a consultant who works for the big boys who ages eight to ten years at 70% with really delicious results.
Lower rh for aging? Really? Ahgg, the contradictory advice is unstoppable!!!! Whats your reasoning there?
Not challenging, just trying to get your opinion, as you sound like someone with experience. SO MUCH advice out there, and it's all different! What gives?
Not saying one is right or wrong. But higher rh for aging goes against 95% of the advice I've heard. Ajay Patel( who may be the best expert on this subject) suggests 65-65 rule with leaning towards lower for both.
Perhaps the lower RH causes the cigar to "give up" the things you don't want.
I've heard of aging at lower RH but it doesn't make sense chemically. In the pipe tobacco world, aging only occurs in an airtight environment; no aroma out, no oxygen in (which would stop the fermentation). While I know cigars are aged in a different way, having less water in the air would mean more space for your cigar aromas to leave your cigar and frolic about.
SurpriseMVP
Mike
I am a enthusiast and not an expert. With that said the guys that are considered experts prefer long term aging at around 62%. My long term cooler ( set and forget) is at 62. My smoke now cooler is between 63-65.
my understanding, which is based primarily on what I've read on forums, is that lowering the rh to low 60s helps slow down the aging and allow the cigars to mature gracefully and smoothly and produce wonderful flavors for the right kinds of tobacco.
My completely uneducated guess is that the higher rh speeds this process up and causes ammonia to be produced at a faster rate and with more of it in the air, possibly tainting the cigar flavors when aged for an extended period of time. But this is a guess and could be completely wrong
My completely uneducated guess is that the higher rh speeds this process up and causes ammonia to be produced at a faster rate and with more of it in the air, possibly tainting the cigar flavors when aged for an extended period of time. But this is a guess and could be completely wrong
people who i trust, have told me long term aging (over 10 years) cigars should be stored at 60/60. i don't have separate cabinets yet for my daily smokes vs my aging smokes (i have a desktop that holds 50 for daily smokes but it's not large enough), but it's something i plan on buying in 2013. When i finally get a smoking now cabinet it's going to be close to Mike's numbers.
I have heard both higher (70%) and lower (60%) humidity for long term aging. But I've seen people like AJ (Patel) who have EXTENSIVE collections of 50+year old tobacco (sealed boxes and un-sealed boxes) who have had great success with retention of cigar integrity and flavor long term with the lower end of the humidity range for aging (60-65%); which leads me to believe/ suggest that the lower end would be more successful for aging cigars.
That being said I have also have personal preferences when it comes to current smoking cigars (other brothers seem to have the same thoughts):
Liga Privadas seem to smoke better lower (65% tops)
CC's seem to smoke better lower (60%-65% tops)
NC's seem to smoke better slightly higher (65%-70%)
I have a WC for CC's and a WC for NC's; I keep the CC storage and 62%-64% and the NC storage at 65%-68%
As always this is just my humble opinion to be taken with a grain of salt :chat:
That being said I have also have personal preferences when it comes to current smoking cigars (other brothers seem to have the same thoughts):
Liga Privadas seem to smoke better lower (65% tops)
CC's seem to smoke better lower (60%-65% tops)
NC's seem to smoke better slightly higher (65%-70%)
I have a WC for CC's and a WC for NC's; I keep the CC storage and 62%-64% and the NC storage at 65%-68%
As always this is just my humble opinion to be taken with a grain of salt :chat:
:headroll: sorry for all the abbreviations haha WC= wine cooler; others are obvious :smile:
Tobacco Giant
Conn. Broadleaf Slayer
I think "long term aging" should be defined. For guys wanting to keep a box of something or other tucked away for a couple years, I don't think it's going to matter much if it's at 62% vs 68%. If someone is planning on putting a box away for 10 years, that is probably another story.
For someone who plans to put a box away for 50 years...they need to get out more.
For someone who plans to put a box away for 50 years...they need to get out more.
Jfire
BoM 9/9' 9/11' 8/12'
Another reason 65% should ALWAYS be considered. I've had a few smokes mold at 69% before(accurate Rh). Try storing something at say 68-69 for 8 yrs only to crack a sealed box and find MOLDY sticks. Imagine aging at 60%Rh for ten years to find dry oil less wrappers. Imagine your daily smokes smoking perfect right now (burn, draw and flavor at 65%RH.) Now imagine the previous 2 scenarios smoking just as good at 65% RH as well!
As Vanilla said,
Word to ya mother.
Jfire
As Vanilla said,
Word to ya mother.
Jfire
Tobacco Giant
Conn. Broadleaf Slayer
Yeah, I really don't see how 65% could go wrong.