Let's talk

[Anthony_Joseph]

I have probably smoked 50-75 CC's......not a lot. Probably upwards of 500-700 NCs......Now here's the deal, excuse the spelling In advance I'm on mobile. It seems like, to me, that (bad punctuation I know) the majority of the CC's I smoke taste the same with the exception of a few. BHK 54 2010. Was amazing like no other CC I've ever had. Last night I tried a Conde 109. Now it did have some issues (fiancé with scissors opening the box ) but it was nothing great. It tasted like "wet grass" I guess. I don't know how to spell "mutt-old" it had background flavors that I new wanted to come out. QUESTION 1: I guess I blame this on humidity. Mine sits between 65-68. Now I know some people like 61-63 for their CC's but isn't that for aging? Could that 4-8% cause a good cc to be inferior? Let's just put it this way. I have a couple more HQ CC's in my humidor that I don't want to just be angry with while I smoke. Especially when it's my own fault. Should I start a separate humidor for only CCs ? What's the deal here. BTW anything under a 50 Rg smokes great, including NC. Over tends to burn poorly and under the wrapper. Not a tunnel just the wrapper won't burn. Should I be dry boxing? BTW once I stick my stuff in a travel humi for a couple weeks with a humi pack I notice it smokes better unless existed to higher temps . IE sits in the car for a couple hours.


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[RacFocus]

I have had the wrapper not burning well issue a lot with my CCs. I don't know if it's a quality control issue coming out of Cuba or what. My humidor stays about 65 and my CCs hang out with some of my NCs. I do like dry boxing but usually don't make a decision on what I am smoking far enough ahead of time to do this. Curious to see some responses from some more seasoned CC smokers on this one.

 

[mwlabel]

I'm still new to the CC game, so take my input with a grain of salt. But, I store all of mine in the same vino as my NCs and have had no issues. I think, in my experience, it comes down to smoking things at the right times. Some things need much more time than others.

 

[Doug B]

^ some cigars take a lot more time to come into their own for sure. For me finding out when, through sampling, is part of the fun. When a box is smoking well I hit it hard.
My experience with storage, as has been discussed a lot, is that they love 63-65% for smoking. I age mine at the same number and they have all been blossoming nicely at this humidity.
I've never had issues with the wrappers not burning, myself, so I'm not sure about that one but it does sound like too high a humidity number.
The variety of flavors, body, and texture through the different marcas are substantial and I can't think of two that taste that much alike. It could be that they just aren't ready to smoke yet so the flavors are hidden and muted- if not sick altogether. Seeing the evolution of flavors throughout time is one of the greatest joys of smoking cigars from the island I feel. IMHO of course.

 

[Jfire]

I'm guessing your smoking most of your stock to young. I smoke young cigars (1-3 years old) only to see how that box is progressing. If I'm lucky a box will be ready in 2-3 years. If not I just keep trying till they become of age. I have a box of PL Robustos that were good young. Terrible a year or two ago and are now good again. Fwiw.

 

[Anthony_Joseph]

So I dunno if this question is out of line butt my cc stock is not vast enough to make this comparison. Does anybody have a few of the same stick say one is "sick" one is spot on and the other maybe not ready yet, to young. Id like to taste the difference myself.


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[Dio]

Smoking CC you need a lot of patience and a large enough humidor so you can age your sticks.

 

[Nacho Daddy]

Mine sits between 65-68. Now I know some people like 61-63 for their CC's but isn't that for aging?

At what temp? RH is based on 70 degrees as a benchmark.If your temp is 75 you are storing your sticks at 73 to 78 % rh which is too moist and will cause uneven burning and odd tastes.

 

[Anthony_Joseph]

I'm going down to 62rh and 65-68 in temp. Made the change. 5 days ago we will see.


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[StogieNinja]

It's going to take a month or two for them to settle at the lower rH, but when they do, I guarantee a difference.

Honestly, I think a lot of noobs over-stress about "aged" CCs because FOGs with large stashes only smoke aged stock with 5+ years on them. Well that's great if you can do that, but I don't think it's necessary. IMHO, most of them are pretty darn good even young. Sure, some age makes them shine, but I've had several sticks from early 2012 (Coro, Monte, H Uppman, PSD4) which were all smoking great right now. Will they get better with age? Yep. Are they pretty good now? Yep. I know a couple guys who have told me the rule of thumb is within 6 months of box date, or at least 18 months after box date. So far, that rule hasn't failed me yet.

I'm guessing that lowering your rH will dramatically improve your experience all on it's own. To answer your original question, yeah the 4-8% rH makes a world of difference! I keep my CCs in a small coolidor at around 61%, and my NCs in a wineador at about 65%. I had a Monte Grande Edmundo that got tossed into my wineador and left for a few months, and the burn wasn't great and the flavors were muddled. A week later I smoked another one from my coolidor and it was fantastic.

 

[deckardjk]

I'm newish to CCs and I don't smoke enough to keep many boxes around to age. I've been pretty disappointed with some CCs people rave about. On the other hand all of my most memorable smokes have been CCs.

They've all been stored in the same humi at 65%... so age is the only thing for me that I wonder if it makes the difference. That said I had some CoRos that were awesome with less than 1 year on them.

 

[StogieNinja]

They've all been stored in the same humi at 65%... so age is the only thing for me that I wonder if it makes the difference. That said I had some CoRos that were awesome with less than 1 year on them.

I'd venture to say that the difference there is likely the fullness of flavor of the marca you're smoking at 65%. For example Cohiba Robustos are a more full-flavored CC, and while they're absolutely mindblowing at <62%, they will still taste good at >65%, because there's enough boldness of flavor to come through at that higher rH. Whereas a milder marca will have very muddled, bland flavor at >65% but those complex, milder flavors will really shine through at <62%.

I could be wrong though... often am... :smoke:

 

[deckardjk]

I'd venture to say that the difference there is likely the fullness of flavor of the marca you're smoking at 65%. For example Cohiba Robustos are a more full-flavored CC, and while they're absolutely mindblowing at <62%, they will still taste good at >65%, because there's enough boldness of flavor to come through at that higher rH. Whereas a milder marca will have very muddled, bland flavor at >65% but those complex, milder flavors will really shine through at <62%.

I could be wrong though... often am... :smoke:

sounds like a good theory. Maybe I'll try dry boxing some of the lighter bodied ones. Hard part for me is that I have mostly singles as I'm in the sampling phase. My box of BPC is great at 65%... but those are obviously full bodied. Maybe I'd like them even better drier.