A case for smoking them dryer
 

The stereotype of NC storage at 70% and Cuban at 65% was my guide initially. Over the years have found my preferences moving ever lower in RH.

Summer is a strange time to smoke here in the MW. Humidity gets very high and real or percieved I tend to not like the last 1/2 to 1/3 of larger cigars as they seem to get to "wet".

Have moved my general storage down to around 60%. More like 58% in reality.

A while back got some 55% beads for the travel humi to try and prevent the last half disappointment. Have tinkered with 50% on some cigars that I smoked this past weekend. At 50% the opposite seemed to be happening. Took about a 1/3 to get the right flavor profile on an older Partagas 898V.

Maybe 52.5? :D

Of course the opposite is true during winter months if smoking outside.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Well, that's just as R as RH, no?

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I think I am fairly atypical in that I keep everything, CC and NC at 70%. I find I like them better that way. The room they are stored in stays at about 65-70 during the summer, maybe a bit colder during the winter. I seldom have draw problems and it is only with high outdoor humidity that I seem to have tar/bitterness issues with the larger sticks.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Thanks Dave, gonna give this a shot with a few different dry boxes and hygros.:tu

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Intersting. I tend to prefer a rather high RH and I smoke a lot of bigger sticks, but I don't ever seem to have this kind of problem, even nubbing them.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I just keep my smokes at 70% and then dry box them for a day or two and they pretty much always come up as a great smoke.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I notice that things seem to smoke really well after a couple of hours or a day in the travel humi. Usually if it is a short trip I won't use any beads or anything so it could be due to the lower RH.


But then again it could be because everything just tastes better at a herf. ;)

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I store even drier Dave.50 to 52 percent seems to work for me with my sticks not cracking or seeming too dry.

In addition,when using a traveldor which is a Pelican case I never use any additional humidification.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Spot on with Klugs and Trishield - it is so humid down here that it is a challenge to get them dry however I enjoy them best around 55 to 60%.

I think it would be an interesting experiment to see if the RH is the factor or if the contrast with the current ambient humidity is what makes us enjoy the stick more or less.

Does that make sense? I need to finish one the Rev started and then maybe we attack this one.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

How low can you go???

How low can you go???
http://starsandmoon145.files.wordpre...7/06/limbo.jpg

I have been keeping NCs at 65 RH and CCs at 55 RH!!!

Nice to know I can go lower!!!:tu

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

WOW!! And I thought I was the only one doing this. I have my vino at around
60-62% RH, 64 degrees and everything has been smoking FANTASTIC!!

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

To this end, how effective are beads at regulating? In other words, if your ambient RH is higher than that of the beads, will the beads help to lower the RH to their level or are they only additive?

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I am about 65% and 65 degrees. I dry box for a day or two and so far so good.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

My Set & Forget is set at 61%, and my cigars smoke and taste to my liking.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

what dave describes is what is also happening to me. if i remember to drybox for a day, ususally helps...

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

If the beads are dry, they will soak up excess moisture until they get to their programmed rh. So, if your rh is 70 and place dry 60% beads in there, it will lower the rh.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Ah. Cool. Thanks! I thought as much, but I've never had cause to try it.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I keep the cooler at about 56-57%, seems to work. Assuming the travel humi doesn't maintain the same humidity, I'd guess by the time we got the Johnson Is. I was smoking at about 53-55%, and they were perfect.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Steve Herman, who passed away awhile ago but was a regular poster on alt.smokers.cigars also liked lower humidity. He claimed that the natural aging process of cigars would be significantly slower at 65-70% and kept his cigars at 50-55%. Steve was a living encyclopedia of cigars so, I'm sure he did extensive research. I'm always trying for 62%.

MCS

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

To my liking as well. :D

I seem to be pretty happy anywhere between 60 and 65. Too low (below 55) and I experience the same thing Klugs described in the OP. Too high (over 65) and the cigar is just too wet for me. Been experimenting with the dry box a little, too ... need to pay closer attention, though. ;)

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I have said it before - we're talking cigars here, not vaccine. People tend to worry too much about temp and humidity, when all they need do is keep their smokes smokable and safe. JMHO.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I store at about 68-70 RH, but move handfulls at a time (mixed) into a box at 62-63 RH for smoking. This has been working for me.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I think it is also important to keep it as constant as possible, cannot get better then +-2% swings between seasons/mornings/evenings/etc. It cannot be good to cycle cigars betwneen 55% and 70% often. I started, like most of you, at 70%, now am down to 65% with 65% as the max (I get 2% fluctuations so my humidity ranges between 61% and 65%) and I am very happy straight out the humidor, no dry boxing since going down here. Probably will not be drying sub-60 as I am happy as a clam right here.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I'm currently at 60.8 for humidity, I tend to prefer a drier smoke these days myself.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Very interesting if true..:tu

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

This is right up there with which is better, iPhone or Blackberry maybe even Ford or Chevy! Will never have a consensus. One issue is how close is the measurement, using store bought hygro equipment maybe +/- 3-5%. I am running about 66 degrees/67% on the AcuRite and seems to work pretty well but don't have any CC's. I had a humi problem last year in TX and got down in the low 50% ranges for a week or so resulting in trashing my smokes . Somewhere in the 55-70% readings is probably acceptable but it is trial and error based on equipment accuracy, humidity consistancy, type of smoke and most of all personal taste. My 2 Cents!

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I like to smoke my cigars around 63-65% humidity.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I don't trip over my CC's unless they are below 58%.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Doesn't matter how many times I look at this thread, I still read it as "A case for smoking them in the dryer" and immediately wonder why you'd smoke them in a dryer.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Wow. I've been keeping mine at around 60% since I got my 1st humi living in Florida. Has been great.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

OK, so 52-65 is a reasonable range for smoking ready sticks.
I begin to fight mine once they get above 67.

Would any or all of you entertain low RH (below 60) for long term?

Dave, the midwest is sucky... but the RH up there by the lake STILL seems lower than the Armpit of The Midwest, St. Louis.:rolleyes:

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Long term aging by many is done at lower temperatures and humidity. The theory being it takes longer but you end up in a more complex flavor place.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Grrrrrrrreat thread Dave!! Thanks!

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Thanks, I thought I had heard that before. But I was wondering about the below 60 thresholds. I thought I remembered 60/60 as a long term target.
The 50% mark is what worries me as that is why I have all but stopped keeping NCs on hand. The winter here kills them. They taste like donkey balls when dry.

Great thread BTW :tu

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I like mine around 64%, but I keep inching lower, too.
I find that the richer, more full bodied, dark, long finish maduros taste better to me at around 65% or a little wetter. To generalize, nicaraguan stuff.
CC's and dominicans I like dryer, 64% or a little lower.
Like I said, I keep inching downward and watching the results, but the real rich, thick, strong stuff I like a little wetter.
The airier, spicy, and fragrant stuff I enjoy better dryer.
That's just my observation, no real studying about it.
I definately like my anejos and blue band o's and El Originals at around 68% or so. As wet as I can get them without screwing up the burn. :)

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

You and I have learned some of the same things at different schools brother! :tu

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I totally agree with the lower RH levels giving a more pleasurable smoking experience.

***Caution to those who are going to attempt an extreme drop- any sudden spikes upward in humidity will cause the wrapper on your sticks to split.***

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I really have nothing to add to this thread, but I would like to bring up one point. For those who store at or around 60%, juice them up a little if you ever send some off in a sale. I've received smokes that were quite dry and cracking after 4/5 days in the postal system. Especially the winter months. The thinner wrappers seem to be the most problematic. This may have been just my bad luck, but I thought it was worth mentioning. That being said, I keep mine at 65%.

Larry

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

I keep mine at 66%, but it is really dry here in Phoenix.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Have trouble getting my humi above 62%. Glad to hear that it was just looking out for my smokes. Now to experiment with a little lower.

thanks for the great info. :tu

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

That's a good argument for the "cello on or off?" question.
Also a good reason to keep new boxes closed in the humi. :tu

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Like Dave mentioned my problem stems more from where I smoke the cigars then from how they are stored. I shoot for around 65% RH. If I get the rare chance to smoke a cigar inside they are great. However, I smoke almost 99% of my cigars outside. During the summer months here in the south the performance of my cigars is, well, terrible. The air is so thick and the heat is so high that the cigars basically swell up while you smoke them. Usually, as described, the last 1/3 is not nearly as enjoyable as the first 1/3. In the colder months, cigars smoke great. Problem is trying to stay warm while sitting still in excess of an hour.

I need to move back to southern CA.

Re: A case for smoking them dryer
 

Like many here, I started with the 70% rule. While most of my NCs seem to smoke fine at a higher RH, and I leave that particular humidor around 68-70%, the CCs are a different story.

The CCs reside in my cabinet, and I keep it more in the 59-60% range. I've kept it that way for the last year of so, and find that for the most part the cigars smoke better and the flavors are a little more pronounced.

Then there are a few, rolled a little tightly, that benefit from dry boxing for a while as well. Although I don't really put those in a box - they just sit out in the open for a few days. Nevada is one big dry box. :D

Looks like I may have to look into some 55% beads and do some experimenting with a desk top humi. Food for thought.