Humidor Organization

[Smurf]

Hello,

I was wondering if people had thoughts/ideas/preferences with the way they set up thier humidors.

For example, since i am still new, I have not gone the route of buying boxes yet, so I get a bunch of singles, a couple 5 packs, and some samples from CI that come with 2-5 of a kind for example.

Mainly, becuase if i try one, i like to try the same cigar more then once before making a decision, unless it is outright not my cup of tea.

So now, i hvae 77 Cigars according to my cigar register.

And I keep shuffling them around in the Humi playing with the configurations.

AS you all know the cigars vary in sizes, etc.... and you can't simply buy a new humi for each size.

So.... what do you guys do?

Currently I have 2 desktop humis and a small 6 bottle wine cooler to play with. THe majority are in the cooler, and some in one of the humi's.

For now, i have 3 trays in the cooler. One has all smaller cigars on one side, and a couple special ones I want to try and age. The tray right above that has a mix of cigars of all kinds.

The tray above that has 3 types, with 4-5 cigars each. some of which i would like to age and flavor, some are to be smoked... sooner i suppose.

the desktop humi, i have a bunch of C.A.O cigars different vitoas and sizes (maybe those are the same thing?) flavors and sizes... you know, like gold, maduro, brazil, etc....

and then i got that maduro sample just now, so i put that in there too. Again, some to age, some to add to the smoker pile. (I think my cigar for the HERF at havana dreams will come from that sampler).

 

[Smurf]

another point, is order within a tray... i notice, some trays seem to waste a lot of space, others fill up if the sizes match better.

 

[dpricenator]

I just re-organized this past weekend am in the same stash situation. I have not bought a full boox of anything yet. I organized all non-celloed cigars in one tray, and cellod smokes in the other trays. I noticed the no-cello smokes were getting damaged from handling. I was hoping to organize by coutry of origin, but I didn't have the reseach time. If I had any Cuban Cigars they would be stored seperately. I do have a special box for special smokes, orr my favs that I want to be sure see much less handling. Any how, other than storing in different huidors and RH levels for aging and smoking I think it is up to you how you do it. I heard that ageing works best at 70%, but my sticks smoke better at 60-65 %. But I'm only running the Fridge so they are all at 65%.

 

[Smurf]

I got the new wine cooler running 68 degrees +-1 thorught the day, and so far the humidty is mainting at 65-68% it seems. I think thats ok. I have a desktop humi i was thinking of converting to my "aging" humi and putting some of my specials in there. I dont have many... but the collections grow.

Good point about the handling, i better watch out for that.

 

[cvm4]

Well, it starts off organized and then sticks are all over the place within a couple months. Then I straighten it up and the cycle starts over.

 

[BradMc]

What is this word Organization u speak of ....:scratchhe

 

[Angry Bill]

LOL You are funny! I'm waiting for Wade to come in and give his expertise.. I know he is probably the most organized brother. Once, I have his secret, I might try and tackle this one. But with 7 Humis... lol.. Im not trying nothing.

 

[N2Advnture]

Well, it starts off organized and then sticks are all over the place within a couple months. Then I straighten it up and the cycle starts over.

You beat me too it Cliff! :laugh:

~Mark

 

[jwintosh]

hahahaha

 

[tobby4]

Well, it starts off organized and then sticks are all over the place within a couple months. Then I straighten it up and the cycle starts over.

Exactly.. what fun is it to not have to dig and to see what you really have??

My cooler is EXTREMELY disorganized, and I do not mind

 

[CWS]

What Cliff said. I have an NC 300 count and an NC Nicaragua 300 count but they eventually get mixed. The two 120 qrt cooledors are a mixture of everything then as the boxes go down the signgles get mixed in more boxes. Now its like a treasure hunt.

 

[WhiteLightning]

Have the CC's on a separate tray and that's about it. It is kind of fun looking through and finding something you forgot about.

 

[Ratbert]

It is kind of fun looking through and finding something you forgot about.

Exactly...I've gone through my stash more than once and pulled out a stick that I had completely forgot about!

When I started I was obsessive about keeping everything organized just so, according to size and manufacturer. But, as time went by and the collection grew, I just said screw it. Aside from playing Tetris with the boxes so that everything fits, there's no real organization to my cigars.

 

[DSturg369]

I just leave them all mixxed up. That way, it give me an excuse to look through everything more often, to see what's in there.:thumbsup:

 

[Headbanger]

When you start buying things by the boxes, it is affectionately called Tetris. Just use the best way to keep them all in the humidor is what matters most. If you are getting low on room in the desktops, then you might consider getting a Coleman cooler for storage. They are not pretty, but are extremely practical, most have tons of room, and cost effective. Best part is if you fill one up, just buy another cooler.

See this link for information as well. http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?t=8917&highlight=coolidor

 

[sarnone]

I use a three drawer glass top 150 count humidor. I only smoke about 5-7 cigars a week and very rarely buy boxes or bundles since they would use up much of my humi. The top drawer, which holds about 60-70 cigars, I can see via the glass top, and has all my aging premium cigars in it. If I buy a 5ver of Ashton VSG, then 3 go in the top drawer and two go into my second drawer with other premiums and regular cigars for imminent destruction. I only keep about 15-20 CC, and they stay nestled in the third drawer separated by a partition along with my other rotational cigars. I have good visibility of any cigar I am looking for. It is difficult to stay within the capacity of this humidor, so I keep an overflow 50 count and as I smoke from my main humi, I take from the overflow humi and replenish the 150 count.

 

[Smurf]

Is there any words of caution about the frequency of opening a humidor and looking at / playing with the cigars?

How long is it "safe" to haev the cigars out of the Humidor while you are moving them around.

If you have "played" with them a bit, should you let them sit in the humidor for a while so they "relax" or something.

I seem to play with my humidors a lot, probably becuase I am still veyr new, and excited about my hobby and new toys. Kind of like when you get any new hobby. I have not noticed any issues with my smokes yet though.

I think I open my humidor at least once or more times a day. Sometimes the cigars will sit outside the humidor for maybe 15-30 minutes while I check my invontroy, check the look / feel of the cigars, etc. Admire their beuty

I think they are probably not as "delicate" as we are lead to believe from what I read online, but you guys with real world experience may have thoughts on this.

By the way, I tried Rocky Patel vintage 1992 Perfecto.

It was a very nice cigar, burn very even and slow. It is my second Perfecto (Vitola?) that i tried, and it's a nice size, so you dont feel like you have to rush, or waste any if you smoke on a walk, for example.

I recomend trying that size cigar if you have not yet, I got 3 extra of them, if someone wants to try one. I had that size with a Davidoff Sceptor cigar I tried, and I had the same thoughts about the size.

 

[sarnone]

"If you have "played" with them a bit, should you let them sit in the humidor for a while so they "relax" or something."

Usually, when I play with mine a bit, it needs to relax for a day or two before I can play with it again. As for my cigars, the more you handle them, the more chances you have created to crack a wrapper or break the filler tobacco inside. As time passes, you will no longer feel the need to admire your stash and play with them. I did the same thing and now I know pretty much which cigar I am gunning for and where it is in my humidor. As for leaving them out of the humi for 15-30 minutes, I don't see any problem there since many of us will "dry box" a cigar before we smoke it. If a cigar seems overhumified for some reason, typically the burn will be uneven and you may have to relight it over and over. Taking the cigar from your humidor and placing it in a non himidified box or container for a period of time, sometimes up to a day, helps correct this situation.

 

[Smurf]

Oh that's good, I never heard of dry boxing before.
Thanks for the tip.

As for the other cigar... I tend not to need to much "relax" after being played with, maybe 10-30 minutes.... but I dont think I am as fragile as some premo cigars.

 

[Volusianator]

LOL You are funny! I'm waiting for Wade to come in and give his expertise.. I know he is probably the most organized brother. Once, I have his secret, I might try and tackle this one. But with 7 Humis... lol.. Im not trying nothing.

ROFLMAO, actually I just stick them in there, I know it sounds not like me, but honestly, it just don't matter. I don't buy into the blending or marriage of flavors of cigars sitting next to each other unless your talking Acid or Lars, then yeah, those will F up real cigars. But as for "organization", just make them fit, I know where they all are, kinda, sometimes I find a surprise, but when the new humidor is done, all should be well in cigarland once again!