Help Needed!

[MKS446]

Fellow BOTL- Earlier today, I found my first humidor in storage. Hadn't cracked it open in at least 5 years. Inside, there were about 30 Opus X and another 15 Fuente Don Carlos among the stogies. Best guess is that these were all originally purchased before 2000, and after moving several times in a short period, the humidor was then "lost" in storage. These are all still in their original cello wrap and there does not appear to be any mold or fungus (at least that I can see). Also, the sticks are not rock hard nor brittle when gently squeezed.

I am not certain these can be saved but I sure would like to try. Would appreciate any and all suggestions on how to safely bring these babies back to health if possible. Aloha! Mark

 

[usmc-walker]

throw some pics up, sounds interesting

 

[sean]

yeah, i wanna see picks of this! sounds like an awesome find.

 

[orangedog]

any insight on the condition? was there a hygro in the humi? if they pass the pinch test, it is a long shot but maybe there is hope? bring them back slowly but surely, but their beginning condition is important... decent humidity and decent temp, I'd say try to stabilize 5% at a time, in maybe 2 week intervals. then let sit for months before burning.

any additional background on conditions would be helpful. at 5+ years, I'm hoping there was some humidity... if it was much below 40 or 50%, there probably isn't much hope. smokeable, but not peak performance.

 

[ciggy]

I think if you acclimate them to 65% Humidity (Do not put in with your current rotation) You'll be fine. It sounds like they have done well in storage on there own and without the sign of mold or beetle's. I would suggest atleast a month of acclimation before trying to smoke one.
It sounds to me like you got lucky though! :thumbsup:

 

[Jfire]

I would start at the current rh the cigars have been in(prob low 60s right now). Then climb a percent or two (no more) in humidity every 30 days. Once they reach 6 months at 65-67% I would go ahead and enjoy them for what they may be. Hopefully they're not expired! Good luck brother!

 

[MKS446]

Thanks for the info. I am trying to upload the pics. Problem is they are all way above BOTL size limits, so currently trying to figure out how to down scale them.

Until I get the pic sizes correct, here's the answers to some questions to date:

1) There was no hyrometer in the humidor. I'm almost certain I did not own a hydrometer back then. There were 2 round humidifiers...did credo make these in the mid-90's? All I remember is that they had some green dense sponge material on the inside that you had to add distilled water to every so often.

2) The humidor looks like it was a 100-ct. Nothing fancy, other than it had 1 divider, was cedar lined and had the 2 humidifiers.

3) There were other sticks in the humidor that were 50% covered in white specks. All sticks that had the white specks where not in individual cello wrappings. I could not find any white specks on any of the Fuentes, although I have not 100% examined each one.

Thanks!

 

[Jwrussell]

Sounds like you might be OK. I would be surprised if they were dried out if they pass the pinch test. If the RH stayed reasonable, they may have kept reasonably well. I'd go with the above suggestions. Bring 'em back up to around 65% slowly. Good luck!

 

[cmhicksusmc]

Segregate and nurse back to health slowly.

 

[Burning Man]

Once they have been nursed back to health a review would be cool.:cbig:

 

[MKS446]

Hi all, finally figured out how to scale down the pics to fit BOTL rules. Hope they upload correctly. One is of the majority of the stogies, the other two pics are to show the aging of the cello wraps for the Robusto and P2. Note that the Robusto pic is not a angle misrepresentation, but rather I think actual "shrinkage" of the 10+ year old stick.

For now, I have the sticks in ziploc bags.

Questions I have-

1) A bunch of brothers say bring the humidity up slowly. How do I do that? I have beads, humipacks, and oasis. Do you mean throw a humipack in the ziploc for say, an hour a day and slowly increase the time?

2) Should I leave the sticks in the cellos (they currently are), or should I pull them out as I re-hydrate them?

Aloha, Mark

 

[indyrob]

Dude...that's pretty awesome. Keep them seperated because you never know if the eggs hatched or not.

Smoke one and report back!

 

[indyrob]

Have to add that I am seriously jealous.

 

[c1ark]

So this is atleast the fourth time I've been back to this thread in the hour I've been at work to stare at those pics. Absolutely gorgeous :drool:

 

[Jwrussell]

1) A bunch of brothers say bring the humidity up slowly. How do I do that? I have beads, humipacks, and oasis. Do you mean throw a humipack in the ziploc for say, an hour a day and slowly increase the time?

You have a calibrated hygro, right? First things first, it will probably be easier if you put everything into a single tupperware container. Otherwise you are just multiplying your work. Unless you feel there is a specific reason to keep certain cigars seperated from others. Put the hygro in to the tupperware with the cigars and leave for 24-48 hours in an area where the temps are steady. See where you stand to start. Gotta no where you are before you know where you need to go, ya know? Once you have a reading, come on back here and let us know what it is. Assuming it's lower than you want, toss the Boveda in for a little while. Maybe a half hour or so, checking the hygro. Whatever the reading is to start, you are only looking to bring it up a couple of percentage points. So, say it reads 58% to start, pull they humidipack out when it reads 60-61% Chances are it will settle back down below where it read when you took it out, but higher than where it starts. Leave it alone for 24-48 hours and repeat until you reached your desired RH level.

2) Should I leave the sticks in the cellos (they currently are), or should I pull them out as I re-hydrate them?

Hehe, whole threads on this forum on that question. Since you are rehydrating and dealing with cigars that might not be in their best condition at the moment, I would recommend leaving them on. After that, entirely personal preference.

Good luck.

 

[indyrob]

How heavy is the humidor? I know they might be a little dry but it might have saved it too. Made a little micro climate inside. Oils volatize and leave the cigar but have to go somewhere right? Might have some sparkly cigars but at the very least when you re-hydrate you'll have a very interesting story.

 

[cmhicksusmc]

Oooooohh *sparkle*

 

[sean]

This is so awesome... I am super jealous. This makes me wanna move to Hawaii, despite my wicked mother-in-law being there, and try to recreate this. I think the magic is in that the natural environment is already so moist, well on the windward sides anyway.

 

[smokinbodybuilder]

I will be in Hawaii July 30-Aug 6. I will take one for the team and smoke a few for ya just to make sure they're ok and taste normal. All of this in the name of BOTL eace:

 

[Craig Mac]

You should be beaten with a bag of oranges for neglecting Opus like that :hammersma Hope they come around for you.