Mininum Humidity Before Cigar Damage?

[RickHendeson]

So it seems many people prefer humidity lower for CC than NC.  Often you hear people talk about low 60s (and even high 50s)?

Is there (preferably on a scientific basis) a minimum humidity at which damage to cigars is widely acknowledged?  Particularly the evaporation of essential oils, etc.?

[Siberian Bear]

0% with 451F ambient, damaged for good!

[Connoisseur Kim]

Based on my CC experience...

High Humidity (like 69-70%): Way too wet, too tight draw, causing wonky burning every time and leading bad construction issue (definitely not my preferred storage condition) ?. However, for some reason, 70% rule is de facto rule instead of 65/65 in local B&M (some vendors keeping NCs and CCs all together in the same storage condition)  ?...

Low Humidity (like 65%): Gives perfect feeling in my mouth (not too wet and tight draw) as well as better construction and taste ?. Sometimes burn line can be slightly off but it mostly occurred by my silly lighting mistake or Cuba is Cuba ?.

Note. I also would like to say it is impossible to keep 65/65 all the time even in airtight storage like wineador due to various factors such as heavy rain and arid weather. So, there is nothing wrong with ±1-2% difference occurring in humidity (64-66%) and you are still safe as long as the humidity never spikes up and down frequently (remains consistent) ?. By the way, I want to know why NC smokers prefer high humidity like 69-70% unlike CCs ?...

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[Burningman]

23 minutes ago, LonesomeHabanoAficionado said:

. By the way, I want to know why NC smokers prefer high humidity like 69-70% unlike CCs ?...

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In my experience the NC do better at 70% RH. They don't feel wet at that humidity the way CC do. It's rare that I have to dry box or have burn issues. I keep a small cooler for NC separate from Habanos for this reason. 

[Connoisseur Kim]

1 minute ago, Burningman said:

In my experience the NC do better at 70% RH. They don't feel wet at that humidity the way CC do. It's rare that I have to dry box or have burn issues. I keep a small cooler for NC separate from Habanos for this reason. 

Very surprising to hear!

[CaptainQuintero]

 A few years back I went down steadily to 54% over the course of a couple of months. The flavours got more and more intense the further down I went but I stopped at 54% as wrappers started to become fragile.

  It's certainly something I'd recommend people to try with a small humidor, gives a big insight into how your tastes are.

  In a perfect world I'd have a spare humidor set at 56-58 for ready to smoke sticks while keeping the rest stored at 65%; I'm not convinced how cigars would be effected in the long term at a considerably low Rh. 

  Just remember that humidors, or more specifically the cigars within them, take weeks and weeks to change to a settled Rh. It's a case of set and forget, no rushing or checking the hygrometers daily.

[CigSid]

Ok, there is a difference between storing to smoke (dry boxing) and storing long term (aging) If you store long term in the low 60’s to upper 50’s you will eventually ruin your cigars. This is a fact, not an opinion. I have purchased thousands of boxes over the years and believe me when I tell you that the ones that were stored with low humidity for years were not good at all.

if you want the best possible smoking experience (and no possibility of dumping your hard earned money down the toilet) store your cigars minimum 65 percent, preferably around 68 percent, then dry box for a few days at 58 to 62 percent. 

[CaptainQuintero]

Consult the oracle! 

@PigFish

[CigSid]

Just now, SenorPerfecto said:

Exact opposite of MRN, who stores longterm in the mod 50s RH, then "wet boxes" at 72 for 30 days before smoking.

Well, I certainly won’t call him crazy ?  however these findings are after 25 years of smoking Cuban cigars, and purchasing thousands of boxes...  And... because MRN says he does this, is this what you do as well?

[CigSid]

12 minutes ago, SenorPerfecto said:

Currently I am experimenting. I have been storing longterm in the low-mid 60s and lately "wet boxing" at 72 for days/weeks.

Could possibly be an expensive experiment, depanding on how many boxes you have...

[bpm32]

1 hour ago, CigSid said:

Well, I certainly won’t call him crazy ?  however these findings are after 25 years of smoking Cuban cigars, and purchasing thousands of boxes...  And... because MRN says he does this, is this what you do as well?

I find that in most things in life, like in sports or some craft or whatever, if you find some acknowledged "master" at something, he's always doing one really odd thing. Everyone goes, "should I be doing that too?". Typically, the answer is probably not, because his circumstances are different. For example, there was a famous Swiss Olympic gold medalist who shot in Free Pistol competition named Moritz Minder. He held his pistol sideways (different from gangsta style--palm up). Some people tried to adopt it, but the only reason he did it was he'd been in an accident that messed up his shoulder.

In the case of MRN, I don't know. Maybe because his cigars are so old, he's trying to limit aging, so he's storing them colder. In that case, maybe he had to do something weird and non-intuitive with the humidity? Just idle speculation on my part.  

[Colt45]

4 hours ago, CigSid said:

If you store long term in the low 60’s to upper 50’s you will eventually ruin your cigars. This is a fact, not an opinion.

If you have the time, I'd be obliged to be educated to the science - I'm always willing to learn - cheers.

[tsuh]

11 minutes ago, Colt45 said:

If you have the time, I'd be obliged to be educated to the science - I'm always willing to learn - cheers.

x2

I store all my cigars in the low 60s and they smoke and taste delicious.  This is including all my 7+ year stuff!

 

I would love to hear your reasoning.

 

Thanks!

[sjmistry]

I recently encountered an issue with a couple of my boxes. How long could cigars go not properly stored before damage occurs? 

-Shake

[CigSid]

3 minutes ago, sjmistry said:

I recently encountered an issue with a couple of my boxes. How long could cigars go not properly stored before damage occurs? 

-Shake

It really depends on how “not properly stored” they were. Can you supply some background information?

[CigSid]

6 hours ago, tsuh said:

x2

I store all my cigars in the low 60s and they smoke and taste delicious.  This is including all my 7+ year stuff!

 

I would love to hear your reasoning.

 

Thanks!

You say they taste and smoke delicious, compared to what? As most of the people who know me here, they say I have the best stored aged Cubans they have seen... I appreciate the compliments, however I appreciate more the tried and true method that creates the compliments.

[TBird55]

14 minutes ago, CigSid said:

You say they taste and smoke delicious, compared to what? As most of the people who know me here, they say I have the best stored aged Cuban they have seen... I appreciate the compliments, however I appreciate more the tried and true method that creates the compliments.

What temp are you storing your cigars?

[CigSid]

Just now, TBird55 said:

What temp are you storing your cigars?

I store all of my cigars at 68/68. I drybox at 60 percent and the time varies from several days to a week, depending on the cigars.

[Fugu]

6 hours ago, CigSid said:

Ok, there is a difference between storing to smoke (dry boxing) and storing long term (aging)

Sharing this opinion!

[sjmistry]

4 hours ago, CigSid said:

It really depends on how “not properly stored” they were. Can you supply some background information?

Thanks for responding. When I run short on space, I temporarily store boxes in freezer bags with a Boveda, usually a 62%. This time, the bag was left open. It was probably a few weeks/one month. Cigars felt dry but they still had their sheen. Ambient temp in the closet is about 65 degrees and humidity is usually around 30 to 40%. 

Is there anything that I should check for in regards to damage? If I put them back in storage can they be revived? Or are they gone? 

In the past, it has taken close to a month to receive cigars, when ordered and shipped to me. I am going about it as if I just need to let them reacclimate. 

-Shake

[HarveyBoulevard]

5 hours ago, CigSid said:

As most of the people who know me here, they say I have the best stored aged Cuban they have seen...

That's a very bold statement given the company we all have here. 

[HarveyBoulevard]

10 hours ago, CigSid said:

If you store long term in the low 60’s to upper 50’s you will eventually ruin your cigars. This is a fact, not an opinion.

I think you meant to say "this, in fact, is an opinion."

[SCgarman]

6 hours ago, FatherOfPugs said:

I don't let my RH fall below 60%, and so far it's served me well. Not really wanting to see how low I can go before something happens.

Below 60% you are playing Russian Roulette. I myself would not go lower than 62% humidity, but tend to be conservative. 

[CigSid]

39 minutes ago, HarveyBoulevard said:

I think you meant to say "this, in fact, is an opinion."

Thank you for your opinion ? 

[CigSid]

1 hour ago, sjmistry said:

Thanks for responding. When I run short on space, I temporarily store boxes in freezer bags with a Boveda, usually a 62%. This time, the bag was left open. It was probably a few weeks/one month. Cigars felt dry but they still had their sheen. Ambient temp in the closet is about 65 degrees and humidity is usually around 30 to 40%. 

Is there anything that I should check for in regards to damage? If I put them back in storage can they be revived? Or are they gone? 

In the past, it has taken close to a month to receive cigars, when ordered and shipped to me. I am going about it as if I just need to let them reacclimate. 

-Shake

I think you will be ok... just put them back in your humidor for a month or two, they should be fine.