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:r

You're face looks like you might have put more than just tobacco into that cigar! ;)

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That was a Burpha, er, Gurkha. That was the look of pain, just pure pain baby.

I think I was actually sober when that photo was taken too, which was really odd.

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This thread is intended as a helpful and informative thread for Q&A. Let's try and keep the mindless banter to a minimum, please.

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I've run into this issue a few times, but no one that I have talked to has even heard of it.

I get cigars that burn like a crater. The leaf in the middle burns nicely, but the wrapper refuses to catch a flame. I tend to light with a match, but but I don't get that on every cigar. The only way to get the wrapper to really catch is to smoke it for a little while, then flame the wrapper. It causes it to go up in flame and get caught up to the leaf...but then I miss out on the flavor of the wrapper.

I've gotten this on cigars I've stored in my own humidor, as well as when I buy and immediately smoke at my local B&M. Any ideas?

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My guess would be that they are too wet. Try dry boxing your cigars (box or humidor w/no humidification) for a few days before smoking them.

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Alex,
What is the rh of your humi? Rh is all in preference but I've had better luck with 64-68% rh than 70+. Often times B&M's will have their rh set at 70+. As far as the match thing goes I prefer a torch. I find it is easier to control than a match. Try using a torch and toasting the foot until it is a little bit red, blowing on it, and repeating until the entire foot is cherried evenly. This usually starts the cigar out with a more consistent burn.

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My humidor is currently sitting at 69%. That is where it seems to really balance out this time of year. During the winter it sags down to about 65% usually. Tougher to keep it dry here in TN. Pretty sure I could just about set them on my desk haha.

I'll see what I can do about dropping the humidity. Thanks for the advice, fellas!

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A good way to drop down the humidity is to grab some cedar chips that comes with some of the cigars if you have them then stick them in your humi for a while and they'll absorb some of the humidity and just take them out later...

Happy Smokin! :ss

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I prefer to dry box or leave the cigar out for a few hours before you smoke it if your Rh is a bit high. I prefer to have my cigars @ 65%

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I learned here to store Acid cigars in a separate humidor. My question is after all the Acids are smoked up is the humidor safe to store regular cigars in?

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I am just guessing but I would think that cedar would need some time to air out first. Thats what I would do anyway.

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Hello Dom. IMO, I wouldn't chance the herbs and oils that infused from the cigars in the cedar unless you enjoy those types of things in regular non-flavored cigars. Which by your original post seems you do enjoy those. It could be an interesting experiment :D

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It's actually the opposite not a big fan, but I have been handed a few by friends and they tend to sit a while before I get to them. I think from the info i gathered here i'll just set up a tupperdor that I can throw away after they're gone.
Thanks guys.

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You could probably just wash out the tupperdor and reuse it :2

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I'm +1 for the tupperdor. Some people believe that you cannot use an infused cigar humidor for non infused sticks after the fact. It makes sense to me if you don't want those flavors entering your cigar, but I don't see why, with some air time, the humidor wouldn't be safe for normal cigars down the road.

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I think it really depends on how many infused cigars were stored in there, how pungent they were, how long they were in there, and if they were stored loose or in their boxes.

If you pick up an old ACID box, some of them will still have an aroma to them years later, a humidor won't be any different, just varies based on the aforementioned.

Tupperdors and humidor storage are not the same and depending on how you like your cigars, you might not care for the tupperdor. I also would not count on being able to wash the aroma out of the tupperdor after a longer storage, ever pick up a piece of tupperware that was used to store a curry dish or spicy chili or anything with a lot of spices in it for a while and smell it? Five washings and weeks later and the damn thing still stinks.

If you want to store the ACIDs in a humidor rather than a tupperdor you can usually pick up a 20-count "(manufacturer) logo" humidor off of CBID for under $10.

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Very true. I am using one of those inexpensive 20 count humis for my handful of flavored sticks. Got the perdomo 20 ct with some cigars sometime last year for like $20. It has a decent seal as well. I think the humi can hold about 30-40 cigars though depending on size of course.

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Yup.

And when you think about the cost of tupperware, even the generic stuff, one that is about the size of one of those 20-ct logo humidors, in most cases, they cost almost as much as the humidor off of CBID and they look like crap...

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The only real advantage of the tupperware over a cheap (logo'd) humi is that you know that the seal on the tupperware is good.

A cheap humi is just that, and they often leak like a sieve which is not good if you want to maintain RH...

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There are no absolutes or "givens" Michael. I've had plenty of tupperware that doesn't seal worth a crap, and I have a few of the logo humidors that seal fine.

They are both cheap solutions, neither is perfect.

One of the things about the logo humidors that it seems most people don't realize or take into account is that, like many mass produced humidors, they are not sealed on the bottoms. It's simply a patch of felt glued to the MDF. Placing them on a porous surface, such as a wooden counter, will allow significant area for transfer. Placing them on glass, sealed tile or a sheet of plexiglass will significantly reduce this issue.

The other common place they can leak is the lip seal on the lid. Granted, some of them are very poorly fitted, but five seconds with some masking tape will usually take care of this. You can also go through the effort of removing and re-seating the lip if you so desire.

Practically, that's really the only places they can leak in service. If they have gaps in the lid or splits in the side seams, you should have sent it back upon receipt to CI for replacement.

I've never understood people's obsession with tupperware for cigars. Sure, fine for short term storage, but no air transfer = recipe for mold and soggy cigars in long term storage since they can seal too well.

Oh, and due to the lack of breathing, storing a mixed collection of ACIDs in a tupperware is not really a good idea unless you want them to all end up tasting the same and nothing at all like what Jon had intended because of the sealed environment, the stronger ones will affect the milder ones.

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I've always viewed tupperware as a temporary storage solution while I am short on space or cleaning/rearranging my humidor. I also always use beads in any of my humis, from cigar caddy to tupperware to 300 count to coolerdor, this helps keep a stable RH and reduces the chances for mold, etc.

In all of my larger humis (300 count and above) I have a small battery operated fan to move some air. Don't know if it really helps, but it makes me feel better...

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So here's something I was thinking about yesterday evening while enjoying a fine Siglo VI and grilling some steaks...why is one end of the cigar capped? Just so we can have the pleasure of cutting it how we please?

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The cap secures the wrapper from unraveling.

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But the wrapper doesn't unravel at the other end...

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Not if properly cared for. ;)

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And why would it?

This may help you understand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDBjQX54r5s

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If the cap is needed to keep the cigar from unraveling, there would need to be a cap on both ends. From the video it looked as though the cigar wrapper was rolled the same on both ends, just one end was cut and the other capped.

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False. Capping one end keeps a properly cared for cigar from unraveling.

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Take a sheet of paper and roll it into a cylinder on an angle. Tape the end where you finished rolling. Do you need to tape the other end?

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Enable your reputation, and you will see I have bestowed great praise on your wonderful analogy. :)

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Ah, makes sense, sometimes it takes me a while... :D

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Blenders create a "recipe" of sorts and they intentionally manipulate leaf placement and leaf proportion (Ligero, Seco, Volado - fillers and Capotes - Binders) along the length of a cigar to achieve a specific development in the overall flavor profile of a cigar.

They also take into account the leaf orientation (tip-stem alignment) which also provides a specific progression of flavor as well.

I also believe that capping a cigar not only indicates the blender's preferred end to smoke but also allows for oxygen to end the cigar and merry the blend over time (an unfounded claim, I admit). It would be interesting to take two identical cigars and cap both ends of one and age them to compare (which I haven't done yet).

Anyway, I hope this helps

~Mark

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Fantastic analogy!

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I was smoking a "house" cigar yesterday. It's a cigar that I've had in the past and I really liked. This one has been in my humidor (68% humidity) for about 6 months now and when I was smoking it, it tasted a little stale.
This was the first time that I have kept a "house" cigar this long and was wondering if these cheaper cigars typically don't age well? I know some wines need to be consumed sooner than later, others it gets better as you let it sit, yet others it doesn't matter. Is this the same with cigars?

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Six months should not affect a cigar adversely. That short a period is only rest, aging requires years, some say decades. Often "House" cigars are short batch cigars and the blends are very inconsistent. But I have also had cigars from the same box or bundle show totally different tastes, most recently with two Casa Magna's. Two of us lit up smokes from the same bundle at an event, one was spicy and full bodied while the other was bland and tasteless. :2

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Thats a huge difference in the casa magna! I've caught differences in flavors before, but never strength

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If they were unbanded I would have thought they were two different cigars.

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Ok, I was just wondering if i had done something wrong.
Thanks

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Would love to hear some opinions on whether to leave the individual cigars wrapped or not. I've been taking them out of their wrapper because I like the look of them in my humidor unwrapped but now I'm thinking of starting to leave them wrapped to help protect them while transporting. Any other advantages/disadvantages? What are your thoughts?

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http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...ighlight=cello
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...ighlight=cello
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...ighlight=cello
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...ighlight=cello
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...ighlight=cello
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...ght=cellophane

Its personal preference. :tu

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I think the aging process goes a little faster without the cello, but you're right. The main reason to keep it on is for protection during transport. But if you're using a traveldor, it should never be a problem anyways.

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I'm a new smoker currently living in Kuwait and I have a few questions.
1. I've been ordering cigars online, the mail room here is a metallic connex. The temperature during the day is normally 100-120 degrees and the RH is normally around 10-20%. I been making an effort to go and collect my cigars on the same day I see my name on the mail list. Will this have a big impact on the cigars?

2. When I leave Kuwait whats the best way to ship my humidor and collection of cigars to the US? Should I try to limit my collection because shipping will have an adverse affect on my collection?

3. I've read allot of post's about using Cigar Caddy's for travel. I was thinking about using a small 20ct humidor for travel. Does anyone see an issue with this? I was planning to use it when I go on vacation to the US for about 3 weeks.

4. Does anyone have any experience with customs? I'm not going to try and smuggle in Cubans, but I'm curious what the process is and if I need to keep my receipts to show them that my cigars were shipped to my by an online retailer in the US.

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I Can Answer Some Of Your Questions, Rob.:)

Cigar Caddy's Are Great For Short term storage, Say 1 week. Most People Try To Keep Their Cigars Stored between 55-65 RH & Below 75* F. I Would Worry About Leaving Them For very long in those temperatures you mentioned. It Would seem easier to smoke everything you have while in Kuwait So you don't have to worry about customs. Good Luck!:tu

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:2

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I'm new to buying cigars online. For that matter I'm new to smoking anything but Macanudos. I've been looking and reading and I see cigars that are "rare" and "limited production". But except for one cigar which the maker says is rare because it's made from tobacco from only one year I never seem to see an explanation of why the cigar is rare or limited production.
So it occurred to me if the cigar is that good and there is no reason stated for why it is made in such small quantities, why don't they just make more? I mean there is nothing about the fact that a limited number are produced that automatically means greater quality right? Is this only a marketing decision or are these rare and limited production cigars really "better" in some way?

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There are generally a couple generic ways something is rare. It is old and therefore in limited supply. It was never made in large quantities for whatever reason; a one off that failed, never intended to be sold, etc. etc. Or it was popular and all smoked up by everyone else.

Limited production is mostly marketing and some production issues. Every harvest from every different location brings a change to the leaf. So it might be a marketing ploy or that just that the crop in the blend recipe failed that year to meet expectations.

Are all limited productions/Regionals better in some way? No. Are some? Sure.

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Thanks for the answers. I don't see myself chasing down too many rare and expensive smokes right away unless I read something here that piques my curiosity about one. I'm still being amazed by the new moderately priced and plentiful cigars I'm trying.

I have another newbie question. I received an order from Famous tuesday and all the cigars had dates on them. I'm guessing these are the dates Famous received them and put them in storage. I think that's a great idea and I don't remember my first online order (from another vendor) being dated like that. Did I just miss it? Do all the big online vendors do it or only some?

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Hi Tim,
I've ordered from Famous before and I don't recall seeing a date on any of the samplers I've purchased from them. Now boxes sometimes have date codes. Maybe someone with more insite on Famous may have the answer. You could always email Famous and ask them as well. :2

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Maybe I will. I bought a five pack and five singles. The fiver had a dated slip of paper stuck on the baggie and each single had one in its bag or stuck on the tube or wrapper.

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Huh, must be something new from them. I received an order form them a few weeks back and nothing was dated. I like it though. :tu