Long Term Storage

[hattrick68]

I have looked around with no success so I will pose the question: I choose to leave the cello on each stick according to the discussion I caused with my first post (forgive me, I have smoked for a couple years, but only had a large cabinet for a short time). So, with cellos on each stick, does one leave the lid on each box of cigars? Will they get ample Rh from the box closed, do they need opening occasionally, or should I simply unscrew the lid from the box? Sorry about the noob questions about storage; Maybe if there were some sticky's concerning storage (cellos, box lids, et al) it would reduce the number of noobs wasting everyone's time with questions that appear to be infantile to most 'old pros'. Getting into smoking and storage is important to new smokers as it is important to get it right. Thanks for any input.

 

[orangedog]

No definitive answer, or maybe better to say that every answer is definitive.

Everyone has their own opinion and view.

Take a look at this thread:
http://www.jamessuckling.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=81
and the posts by AZCigarNut (he's here on BOTL)

the ending concept of one of his posts is:

In any case............... for both your mixed-greens salad AND your cigars....... the rate of the aging/refining/marrying process can somewhat be controlled with humidity and temperature.

The same goes for airflow. Depending upon what you want, your tastes, your timing, etc., you may want more or less airflow. (Generally, less airflow for longer term aging, more airflow for shorter aging.)

Your cigars will have plenty of humidity in the box with the lid closed. My theory: keep them how they came to you. I also ziplock some of the boxes that I plan to hold on to for a long time.

 

[orangedog]

...oh, and if you do unscrew the lid from the boxes, please post pictures as I don't think I've ever seen that outside of space-constrained retailers... :rofl:

 

[The EVP]

I store the boxes in the same way I buy them. Lids on. Cello on. Cello is permiable and does allow for air and humidity flow. The only thing I do different is I remove the caps from tubes to let them breathe.

 

[hattrick68]

Thanks guys. I wish I still had the boxes I removed the lids from on the first 'batch' of boxes I intended to age. The reason I asked was because the sticks without cello seemed to bloom pretty fast; Others lost their flavor and I was afraid the body as well. I wanted to do it different this time but I didn't want to screw this up also. I have a cabinet that will hold up to 60 boxes (depending on size) and a top drawer with plenty of breathing room with partitions for loose sticks (about 300 or so). I know some people would ask, "Why would someone so new to cigars go so far with storage"? My answer is I used desktops for a while and could manage them well, as they are smoked in a short period of time. When I decided on a cabinet, I thought it would be best to have room left over than to say I wish I had gotten a bigger one.


Thanks again for the advise. And again, I think it would be a great idea if 'stickys' were made concerning box storage and cellophane usage. I'm sure I'm not the only person with these questions and a sticky would help prevent the need to answer the same questions repeatedly.

 

[Jfire]

There is a whole area here devoted for storage. The cello on or off is actually a joke used by many when they join cigar forums because it has Benny asked at least several times a month for many years. If your getting bloom on cigars fast it's nor bloom. Most cigars will never bloom and ones that do generally take decades. The reason the cello d cigars were are not blooming in your humi like the non cello d is because they were acting as a temp barrier from mold. A guess as well to why alot of your cigars are losing flavor quickly. Try bringing the humidity down under 70 and check your hygrometer with a boveda test kit. The cigars that are bloomed..... Wipe, dry box for several days and smoke.
Regards,
Jfire