How should I dry some cigars ?

[Bruce T.]

I was given a box of tubed cigars but they are too wet. I found mold on a few of them. I currently have them in the freezer to kill off any potential beetle problem before they go into my humidor. I will then need to dry them out. The common way to do this is to dry-box them or simply leave them out in a drier environment for a few days. My concern is that they will dry from the outside causing the wrappers to become very dry while the center stays too wet. Eventually the wrappers can split while the centers are still too wet and can mold. I have had this happen in the past. The only way to know it has happened is to open up the cigar. Over the years I have opened some that were suspect and have found mold in the center of the cigar while the outside looked fine.
Does anyone have any suggestions on ways to lower the moisture content of cigars evenly?

Bruce.

 

[Rupe]

In my experience, the best thing for cigars that are either too wet or too dry is LOTS of time in the correct environment, allowing them to slowly reacclimate over a period of weeks and sometimes months. I would be afraid that doing it too quickly would increase the chances of damage or flavor loss. If I were in your shoes I would lower the humidity in steps using a ziplock bag and bovedas. Normally I would just put them into one of my coolidors and let them rest for a couple of months but since there is the possibility that these have mold spores it would feel better for my OCD to keep them separated from the rest of my stash.

For the ziplock bag method I would start by letting them sit in the bag with a 75% Boveda for a couple of weeks, then step down to a 72% for a couple of weeks, a 69% for a couple of weeks and then finally to a 65%. If you prefer your smokes at a higher RH you can just make 69% the final step. I'm not saying that this is the best way or the only way to do it but it is how I would bring them back if I were in your shoes.

 

[eastcoast paul]

Boveda. A little time consuming but i would start at 72 or 70 and work my way down to the rh you like. Maybe a few months at each stage if they are really wet.

 

[ZippoGeek]

@Rupe is right...time and patience are key. In my experience, there's a good rule of thumb for drying out your sticks: for every 1% you drop your RH, it takes 1 week for your sticks to "respond." Example: a 5% drop in humidity will require 5 weeks of waiting...

YMMV!

 

[Bruce T.]

Thanks for the input guys. I understand that patience is the key. When they come out of the freezer tomorrow they will go into the fridge for a day or so and then I'll inspect them more closely.

One thing I've done in the past with some sticks that have mild plume on them is to wipe them with alcohol to kill the mold and then watch them closely. It has worked for me several times but if the mold has penetrated the interior then you're out of luck.

Bruce.

 

[sofc]

I just dry box them for a couple of days and into the humi after. But have never had the sane issues in the middle of the cigars as you have had

 

[Craig Mac]

You seem to be very confused about this process.

Too wet can cause mold and you put them in the freezer??? The freezer is for beetles which is temperature related. Putting "wet" cigars in the freezer only creates more problems than it fixes. Wrappers will crack and it is too rapid a change.

You wipe Plume off with alcohol??? Plume and mold are 2 different things, and alcohol will straight up ruin your cigars.

Not trying to sound rude, but it sounds like you need a better source for cigars.

 

[Bruce T.]

You seem to be very confused about this process.

Too wet can cause mold and you put them in the freezer??? The freezer is for beetles which is temperature related. Putting "wet" cigars in the freezer only creates more problems than it fixes. Wrappers will crack and it is too rapid a change.

You wipe Plume off with alcohol??? Plume and mold are 2 different things, and alcohol will straight up ruin your cigars.

Not trying to sound rude, but it sounds like you need a better source for cigars.

The cigars were given to me as a gift and they were in sad shape. I am trying to recover them. They went into the freezer because I don't trust them and am worried about beetles. I need to take care of that before they go into my humi. They came out of the freezer a few days ago. They are fine, no cracks. I think they would have to be soaking wet before the water expansion would be so great as to split the wrappers.

I used the word "plume" when I meant to say "mold". Some of them had noticeable mold on the wrappers. I wiped them down with alcohol and they look great now. I have done this a few times in the past and the alcohol has never bothered the cigar. It evaporates very quickly and has no effect on the wrapper other than killing and removing any mold and mold spores.

The cigars are now resting in my house at about 57% RH. I figure about a week at that RH will dry them without making them too dry. After a week I will put them in my humi for a couple of months. It was a box of 25 cigars and they are nice ones so it is worth the effort.

 

[Mr.Draned]

The cigars were given to me as a gift and they were in sad shape. I am trying to recover them. They went into the freezer because I don't trust them and am worried about beetles. I need to take care of that before they go into my humi. They came out of the freezer a few days ago. They are fine, no cracks. I think they would have to be soaking wet before the water expansion would be so great as to split the wrappers.

I used the word "plume" when I meant to say "mold". Some of them had noticeable mold on the wrappers. I wiped them down with alcohol and they look great now. I have done this a few times in the past and the alcohol has never bothered the cigar. It evaporates very quickly and has no effect on the wrapper other than killing and removing any mold and mold spores.

The cigars are now resting in my house at about 57% RH. I figure about a week at that RH will dry them without making them too dry. After a week I will put them in my humi for a couple of months. It was a box of 25 cigars and they are nice ones so it is worth the effort.

Good luck man.

 

[Bruce T.]

I just packed up the cigars and put them in my humi. They look great. Before going into my humi I put them in a plastic bag with a hygrometer to insure that they were drier than 70%. They were so all is good.

I know that many of you are suspicous about the idea of wiping cigars with alchol to get rid og any mold spores but I have done it a few times over the years and it has always worked and never bothered the cigars.

 

[Dave]

tubos too wet? existing mold on tubos? "potential beetle problem"? "i don't trust them"? alcohol? plume/mold mix up?

I'm afraid those would go in the trash before they'd go in my humi

 

[Bruce T.]

I've had experience with mold issues in the past. This was a full box of 25 Cubans so I was motivated to save them. After the cigars were removed I put alcohol in each tube with the cedar still inside and I shook it around to kill off any spores. I then took the cedar out to let it fully dry. I'm fully confident that everything is in good shape now.

I did smoke one yesterday and it was great.