Mistreated and dried out smokes.


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I have recently just come out of a situation where some of my collection were stored at 55RH for a 3-4 month period. The cigars themselves were mostly wonderful flavour wise, though sadly were prone to splitting as I smoked them. This experience makes me more inclined to say that the problem with dry cigars is not lost flavour but harsher burn and construction issues.

Thee situation you described above is basically a perfect point to smoke Cuban cigars. Lets use a wine analogy:

When growing grapes water is your best friend and worst enemy. Too much water and the vines aren't stressed enough to produce vibrant and flavorful grapes. Too little water and the fruit can be small and bitter. The perfect amount of stress, heat and water can produce grapes that will turn into wine that once blended, bottled and stored properly can age gracefully for decades. Cigars are no different.

The biggest mistake I think a lot of well meaning cigars lovers make is storing their cigars at too high of a moisture level. The rh percentage your hydrometer reads is only part of the story of what is going on with your cigars. My experience over the years tells me Cuban cigars like a temperate environment (not too cold or hot) and smoke the best when not over hydrated. The 70% rh listed on the box insert should be ignored. This advice may have been relevant decades ago when the tobacco being used was very different than today's. Today I prefer my cigars to be stored at 60% rh and 70-75F because the lower moisture content means I am tasting more of the chemicals that create the flavors in the tobacco leaves and less boiled water. Just like you wouldn't want watered down wine, you don't want watered down cigars!

Your 55% levels are possibly a bit low, depending on the temp of storage and air circulation, but by no means catastrophic even if it had been 3-4 years vs months. Enjoy those wonderful cigars!

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Well said, Orion. It's all a matter of personal preference, and I age cigars less than 10 years, so low humidity (high 50s to low 60s) has always been my sweetspot with CC.

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Cuban Cigars are tougher buggers than many imagine.

I have found cigars in my unhumidified otterbox (that I kept in my fishing canoe) after a year. They looked more than a little ragged but they smoked fine. Not brilliant mind you...but fine.

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Cuban Cigars are tougher buggers than many imagine.

I have found cigars in my unhumidified otterbox (that I kept in my fishing canoe) after a year. They looked more than a little ragged but they smoked fine. Not brilliant mind you...but fine.

I walked from Sunshine Beach to Hastings Street over the hill, on a 30 degree night, had dinner, got tipsy, and leaving the restaurant said "I would punch someone in the face for a cigar!" And my mate said, "punch yourself dickhead! You put one in you pocket hours ago."

Pulled it out, it was all sweaty and frayed because I didn't have a pouch, and it was one of the best cigars I've ever had.

Was a PLPC.

Sent from my iPhone

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I believe there isn't one cigar smoker I know in real life who doesn't have a story of forgotten cigars (in the car, in a drawer at the office, etc.) that were dramatically dried up, but proved to be delicious…

This is what moved me to enjoying dryer cigars full time. The evidence of water content and cigar taste is there, you just have to stop judging the cigars condition and taste BEFORE you actually taste it....

-Piggy

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  • 1 month later...

That was a beautiful stash. Please smoke everyone. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

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I usually use those types of cigars as a party smoke. I have a box that I put cigars in that I left out in my truck etc. Then when I go to a party and won't be too concerned about smoking a stellar cigar I pull one of my "seconds" out.

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