Rehumidifying old cigars
 

I have a very nice handmade oak humidor which I bought about 20 years ago and haven't opened in a very long time and which still contains what I remember to be some very, very nice smokes. Recently my son returned from a trip to South America and brought home a few very nice cigars which he thought I might like. In thinking about how to keep these new ones properly stored I decided to try to raise my old cigars from the dead. I have obtained a Xikar Crystal humidifier box for the humidor which I have charged and put into the humidor.

I am wondering how long it might take until the old cigars, which have not seen the light of day in at least a decade, rehumidify, and is it even possible to bring them back?

Thanks in advance.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Welcome to the Asylum. :)

20 years uncared for? Some will tell you "why not take a chance and see where they end up in a few months?". I'd say any chance of having anything even close to their old flavor is long gone, and to cut your losses now.

Now I'll let the eternal optimists chime in. :r

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

OK, here's the optimist . . . though I don't fit the mold. If the humidor is a good one with a nice seal, and if it has been closed for a long time, those sticks may still be in decent shape. The moisture inside the box had no place to go, and the cigars would reabsorb whatever they released.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Thomas with the half fulll glass. Will wonders never cease? :D

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Brother, it's never a matter of the glass being either half-full or half-empty. It is of the glass being the appropriate size for its content.

Oh, and welcome to the all-Tom thread of the Asylum.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

All Toms on this bus...

The box is a good one. I will keep them properly humidified and see what happens.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Good luck to you, Tom, hoping for the best results for you.

Pop in to the New Inmate forum and introduce yourself to all the non-Toms. :)

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Thank you. I shall.


Oh, you meant the OTHER Tom. Nevermind. ;s

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

I shall be much like Dennis Hopper in defending Thomas......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TAixFYnDh4

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Well, my :2. I agree with Tom. The first Tom, not the second Tom. Even if the humidor had a decent deal, over that length of time, any humidity it held would have been lost to outside ambient conditions. The oils in the cigars would have dried up, and they'll be nothing like they once were.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Hey! A non-Tom! Hi Bob! :D

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Hey Tom! :noon

OP Tom, as I think about it more, you've got nothing to lose by trying to rehydrate them. I just wouldn't expect much out of them.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

To be accurate, Bob, I was the THIRD Tom, not the second. :D

Welcome to the Tom Asylum.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

The Tom that made this post is now in a timeout, he has already used that video in the last 48 hours.

Tom that is the OP, welcome to the asylum, I'm going to have to go with Timeout Tom and say cut your loss, re-season your humidor and put the new sticks in it. (keeping the sticks your son brought you in a Tupperware until the box is seasoned properly)

-Half Empty Adam

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

FYI, OP Tom, "Half Empty" Adam refers to his apartment, not his stemware. :D

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Time to finally chime in....keep the old sticks and IF you survive this forum, and get invited to the Shack, bring the sticks as dog rockets...:noon

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Hey, look, it's the Tom Tom Club.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

:tpd:

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

I guess I'll be the party pooper!

With no doubt, those cigars are dead my friend. and I do mean dead, all the oils will have dried up, years ago, as well as any botanical residues that may have existed. The only thing left is very, very, dry tobacco. If you rehydrate them, they may burn fairly well but there will be no flavors of any kind available.

Sadly, that's what it is!

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

I've personally smoked a fair number of cigars that were kept in the worst kind of conditions, resurrected, and smoked pretty good.
1.) You've got nothing to lose.
2.) It's gonna take at least a year to make them smokable, maybe longer.
3.) Conch Fritters!

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

OK, an update -

I dumped all of the old cigars. You were right, on close examination they were worthless, completely hard and dry. For a moment I considered making sachets out of them because they smelled so good, cedar from sitting in the humidor for 20 years, but any stress at all and they just disintegrated, so out they went.

So I'm re-seasoning the humidor, I've got a good hydrometer/thermometer that I took out of one of my guitar cases and it's dead nuts according to the salt test so I'll use that in the humidor. I've got the XiKar thing in there now along with about a dozen singles I bought yesterday at my local tobacconist, and I have beads on order that'll be here this week, so I'm off to the races. Now I just need some more cigars.

The singles? A couple of H. Upmann 1844 Reserves, a couple of Punch Rare Corojos, a couple of Hemmingway Short Stories, an Oliva Series V, some kind of CAO, and the two Cohiba Siglo III's that my son brought from down south.

Thanks for your comments, they were very helpful...see ya's around...

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Good move, Tom, hope you stick with it this time, and stick around....we can be a fun bunch if you get past our smell. :D

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Easier said than done. :pn


Oh, maybe you meant :ss Nevermind.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Yeah, I figured why take up all this space in my humidor with dubious cigars that I will need to wait at least a year to even try.

I have a lot of catching up to do. So many new cigars out there, and I want to try a lot of new ones.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Whee!!!!!!
:adam

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

You should check out the Newbie Sampler Trade. It's a great way to get some new sticks to try and also ease into how trading goes here. Also, once you've been around the forum for a little bit some new areas will open up to you, including the Buy/Sell/Trade area. In there is a Simple Pay-It-Forward thread and a Make-a-Wish/Pay-It-Forward thread. These are also great ways to get some new sticks to try.

Re: Rehumidifying old cigars
 

Welcome, Tom. It's good to see another guy that doesn't know what to do with all his money. The world of cigar smoking (collecting) can be quite fun. Nice selection you have posted above, a really good place to start. Enjoy yourself and post often.