FOH'ers Daily Smoke

[NicPac]

1 hour ago, djrey said:

They age so well don’t they? I’ve been burning through 2013 and 2014 boxes. Stellar and imo could go another 5 years easy.

Absolutely. That Short I had last night was sublime. I almost smoked a second. I have a large stock on different vintages in my collection, 2014 being the oldest. Can never have to many Shorts or BPC if you ask me. 

 

6 hours ago, mprach024 said:

This is why I freeze everything upon arrival, I’m terrified of this happening.  No matter who it’s from, Prez, other online vendors, or an LCDH.  Day in fridge unwrapped, at least 2 days at 0 F usually wrapped and taped in ziplock or clingwrap with as much air removed, another day in fridge unwrapped, then into my humi.

I should really do this...

[bkdash]

5 hours ago, mprach024 said:

   This is why I freeze everything upon arrival, I’m terrified of this happening.  No matter who it’s from, Prez, other online vendors, or an LCDH.  Day in fridge unwrapped, at least 2 days at 0 F usually wrapped and taped in ziplock or clingwrap with as much air removed, another day in fridge unwrapped, then into my humi.

 

17 minutes ago, NicPac said:

I should really do this...

Is this a common practice? Can’t say I’ve ever done it. Haven’t had a problem yet (knock on wood) but rh/temps don’t get out of hand in my coolers.

[Bijan]

9 minutes ago, bkdash said:

Is this a common practice? Can’t say I’ve ever done it. Haven’t had a problem yet (knock on wood) but rh/temps don’t get out of hand in my coolers.

It's best practice for anything bought in Cuba. Cigars for export are supposed to be frozen before they leave the island. Some freeze anyway just in case.

You'll be fine as long as your temp is 65F/18C or below. Above 70F/21C you get really into the danger zone (assuming the cigars were not frozen and have beetles to hatch).

[bkdash]

11 minutes ago, Bijan said:

It's best practice for anything bought in Cuba. Cigars for export are supposed to be frozen before they leave the island. Some freeze anyway just in case.

You'll be fine as long as your temp is 65F/18C or below. Above 70F/21C you get really into the danger zone (assuming the cigars were not frozen and have beetles to hatch).

Understood. I’ve had stints of temps in the lower 70Fs but not usually for very long. Need to think about a larger humidor with active cooling for the future. For now I’ll continue to check on the boxes frequently.

[Bijan]

26 minutes ago, bkdash said:

Understood. I’ve had stints of temps in the lower 70Fs but not usually for very long. Need to think about a larger humidor with active cooling for the future. For now I’ll continue to check on the boxes frequently.

There was a paper I'll try to find that showed that if you store at a a low enough temperature for long enough it would have the same effect as freezing. Forget if it was 40F or 50F.

Edit: I think it's a pretty low temperature. So freezing is still your best bet.

[EnigmatiC]

Punch Punch on the Gulf of Mexico outside of Tampa watching Eta roll through 

[THEMISCHMAN]

ULA JUL 15 Libertador

[Paso]

[CampDelta369]

If only I had 2 hrs of quiet a night I would go through boxes of these Lusitanias. Fantastic. 

[mprach024]

4 hours ago, NicPac said:

10 hours ago, mprach024 said:

This is why I freeze everything upon arrival, I’m terrified of this happening.  No matter who it’s from, Prez, other online vendors, or an LCDH.  Day in fridge unwrapped, at least 2 days at 0 F usually wrapped and taped in ziplock or clingwrap with as much air removed, another day in fridge unwrapped, then into my humi.

I should really do this..

If anything, I find it reduces that “sick” period after arrival.  45 days and I find the ammonia is gone vs 90+ when I don’t freeze.  This is my personal findings and should not be mistaken to be in any way scientifically accepted ?.

[Trimming]

[KavalanWhisky]

14 hours ago, Meklown said:

Upmann anejados. Disaster today - opened one of my (little used) desktop humidors to find it completely infested with beetles. No idea where they came from, all the cigars have been in there for more than a year, and had not displayed any issues prior to going into that humidor. No new stock has gone in for a long time. 

Might they have been inactive while in the previous storage but became active now? 

Will isolate sticks, freeze, and smoke over the following days. Luckily for me it's only around 30-40 sticks, and nothing expensive - monte 2s, rass, few more of these upmanns, party mad 1s, and 2x3 culebras. Try to expose the emptied humidor to sunshine as well. 

Any thoughts?

I had a mini scare a few weeks ago but turned out they were not cigar beetles but paper ones as there were no holes in the cigars but i still isolated and froze the boxes anyway and vac sealed the rest of my stock in case.

Glad it wasn't your main stash that was affected.

 

[BigGuns]

Unwinding on a crisp SoCal evening with a recent discovery of mine - Medio Siglo. The few I’ve had have been very enjoyable. Cheers!

[BigGuns]

28 minutes ago, VKUTT said:

Fairly recent discovery of mine as well. Those and the Siglo IIs are the best Cohibas IMO. 

May I ask how old that one was?

Oh, and by the way...GO RAIDERS!!

Not sure of age, as I purchased them as singles.  I have a 5-pack of.  III’s that are enjoying a world tour at the moment - looking forward to trying them.  Haven’t had the II yet.  Wanted to see what the Cohiba hype was all about, and with my limited experience, I get it!

 

 

 

And yes...... HOW ‘BOUT THEM RRRRRRAAAAAAAAIIIDDDUUUUUHHHHZZZZZZZZ?!?!?!!!!

[Meklown]

12 hours ago, mprach024 said:

Sorry to hear this.  I’d Chuck everything as it’s too risky and probably already contaminated.  I’d sterilize that humidor with rubbing alcohol to kill any eggs, let that completely dry for a couple weeks for the alcohol to dissipate with lid open, then wipe it down with distilled water, let it dry again, and then I’d restart the prepping/seasoning process.    
 

Im going to guess you got some NCs in that humidor?  Or sticks direct from Cuba?  At some point it got too hot in that box, maybe the angle of the sun this time of year was shining on it?
 

This is why I freeze everything upon arrival, I’m terrified of this happening.  No matter who it’s from, Prez, other online vendors, or an LCDH.  Day in fridge unwrapped, at least 2 days at 0 F usually wrapped and taped in ziplock or clingwrap with as much air removed, another day in fridge unwrapped, then into my humi.

I'm rather cheap and I don't think there would be harm in smoking all the cigars with holes in them - unless there are other opinions otherwise? I suppose the beetles wouldn't be poisonous (assuming they are still inside) and/or any excrement would be fine? Sounds disgusting but I suppose it is highly likely that they have always been there (in Cuba, before being frozen). 

The RASS and Monte 2s were from FOH and the others were all from one other retailer. I actually suspect it would be the temperature increase this summer that caused the eggs to (finally) hatch. 

1 hour ago, KavalanWhisky said:

I had a mini scare a few weeks ago but turned out they were not cigar beetles but paper ones as there were no holes in the cigars but i still isolated and froze the boxes anyway and vac sealed the rest of my stock in case.

Glad it wasn't your main stash that was affected.

 

That's great that your stock wasn't affected. I also plastic wrap all my aging boxes individually - to keep the beetles and myself out!

[Raskol]

C&C time. Parti Presidentes [UBM SEP18] - 24:24 

[Meklown]

16 m4 from 24:24 a couple months back to celebrate scoring a box of 16 m4 on 24:24 this morning

[Taco]

Connie B today & Punch DC last night

It’s been a good trip. Let’s go.

[Cigarsmoker81]

[JVasky]

Siglo I on lunch break

[JohnS]

Partagás Maduro No. 1 TUE May 2020

As I've mentioned previously, the Partagas Maduro Linea series (i.e. the Discretos-sized 52rg x 130 mm or 5⅛ inches in length No.1, the Short Piramides-sized 55 rg x 120 mm or 4¾ inches in length No.2 and the Maduro No.3-sized 50 rg x 145 mm or 5¾ inches in length No.3) has really 'come-into-its-own' this year in terms of quality and reputation. The reason for this I believe is two-fold: firstly, they've had a remarkable consistently in delivering quality, refined smoking experiences and secondly, they've been smoking so well despite minimal age.  In fact, I would nominate the Partagas Maduro No.1 as one of my three most consistent cigars for smoking enjoyment in 2020. (The others would be the 2018 Montecristo No.4 and 2019 Trinidad Esmeralda.)

This Partagas Maduro No.1 again more than delivered on flavour, despite the flaky white ash from beginning to end. It started off with a beautiful, quality refined sourdough and anise, settled into a coffee and very, very light chocolate and leather combination in the middle and really picked-up in spice in the final third. In terms of strength, this again had a touch more 'nicotine-kick' or punch despite the body of the cigar being a touch under medium. It also bellowed plumes of smoke per draw and more so after the halfway point.

Overall, this was still outstanding to excellent, but only because the flavours were exemplary. In regards to my previous Partagas Maduro No.1s, this would have been a 92 to 93-point cigar while that one was around the 90-point mark. Again, not bad for a cigar around six months old!

[mprach024]

Mobile Cigar Lounge!  Getting a little stir crazy with this quarantine and with it being 40 F here, so I threw the cart cover on, and fired up my cart heater!  Nice and toasty now enjoying this lovely PSD4.  Hints of caramel and leather, coffee, just a bit of wood.  This will be a great box in another year.

[westg]

A stunning 2003 Hoyo du Dauphin . Just look at it....in my top three for this year a little longer and much fatter would be nice

 

[Bijan]

4 minutes ago, westg said:

A stunning 2003 Hoyo du Dauphin . Just look at it....in my top three for this year a little longer and much fatter would be nice

 

Hahahahaha ?

I love those skinnies. Wish they still made as many as the olden days.

[Bijan]

RyJ Sport Largos.

Wonderful smoke! Classic RyJ flavours, great draw and lots of smoke for such a small cigar.