I have several humidors, and a coolidor. All of them maintain 65-69 Rh, and 60-65 degree temps during this time of year. Some of my cigars, smoked from any humidor, look great when I take them out, no cracks or splits. However, upon smoking, they seem to swell and crack the wrapper at different points throughout the cigar. This only happens with some cigars, not all. Last 2 it happened to were the Man o War Virtue, and the Gurkha Black Beauty. The 2 in between were fine, and they were the Nicarao Exclusivo and 601 red label. Im rackin my brain trying to figure this out. Is it the cigars themselves, or do I need to make an adjustment somewhere with temp or Rh? Any advice would be great !!!!!
Help diagnosing cigar issues
- Thread starter RobZip
- Start date
Thats what I thought, but wouldnt they show signs of that before I pull them out of the humi? They look great, with no cracks, till I start smoking them.
Should I rest cigars I receive in the mail outside of a humi, before putting them in? Im thinking it has something to do with throwing them in ROTT.
StogieNinja
Derek | BoM June 2014
Not really. What happens is that if the overall cigar is at a higher rH (say 69%), as you smoke, the moisture condensates, causing the tobacco to further expand and burst at that point. They store just fine at that rH, but won't smoke as well.
Back when I started, I tried to keep everything at 69-70% since that's what the "traditional wisdom" seemed to be. After getting advice from BOTLs at various forums, I lowered all my humidors to 65% and have had much better results.
It's not necessary to keep them outside of a humidor. The remedy is simply to let them rest at a lower rH for a couple months. Over time, the rH of the tobacco inside the cigar will acclimate to the rH of the humidor, and you'll be good to go.
Dry-boxing can help with burn issues, allowing the wrapper to even out, but it won't help prevent explosions as the explosions are due to wet tobacco inside the cigar. ENV's right on the first part though, let them rest longer at a lower rH to ensure they've acclimated throughout, not just on the outside.
Splitting is caused by a combination of too much moisture and the extreme temperature change when lighting the cigar.
I would reduce your overall RH to 65 for storage and if possible make one of your small humi's a ready to smoke box you keep at 60 RH. Be willing to let the cigars rest/dry out in the humi for up to 2 months before smoking them. A good but not always prefect indication that the cigar is ready is that the band easily moves on the cigar. Also your storage temperature will effect the drying time. Be patient, learn your conditions and you'll work through them.
I would reduce your overall RH to 65 for storage and if possible make one of your small humi's a ready to smoke box you keep at 60 RH. Be willing to let the cigars rest/dry out in the humi for up to 2 months before smoking them. A good but not always prefect indication that the cigar is ready is that the band easily moves on the cigar. Also your storage temperature will effect the drying time. Be patient, learn your conditions and you'll work through them.
StogieNinja, Sprouthog..............Thanks for the breakdown, much appreciated. I switched to 65% HF beads about a week ago, and it gradually dropped from 69-71 Rh to 65 over the week, but after reading what you guys are saying, its still gonna take a while to for the gars to acclimate. Good stuff guys, thanks!!! Ive only been at this cigar business seriously for about a year. Its harder than taking care of children !! Again, I appreciate the info, makes sense to me now.