Cigars in freezer for years

[BigCat]

So I arrived to work today to find a box of unopened H. Upmann dominicans on my desk chair. A friend of mine at work who gave up the hobby a while ago said he found them in the back of his freezer, where they have been for at least 5 years. The box was kept in a ziplock back and the plastic wrap was still on the box. The cigars are in cello. What are the chances these are any good? I know the answer is to smoke one and see, but I just thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone has had a similar experience.

[14holestogie]

My guess would be they'd be dried out, but.......


smoke one and see.

[357]

Any feezer burn, or cigars with ice crystals on them? Just curious.

[neoflex]

Originally Posted by 357

Any feezer burn, or cigars with ice crystals on them? Just curious.

That's not freezer burn thats Mold. Couldn't resist.

[hammondc]

Send them to me and I will let you know.

Seriously, just smoke a few. Great score though.

[CigarNut]

I hope that he acclimated them slowly to room temperature (putting them in the fridge) rather than just taking them out to room temperature...

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by 357

Any feezer burn, or cigars with ice crystals on them? Just curious.

Not that I can see, but I didn't ask. I didn't want to grill him too hard. I'll bring a few with me if I'm able to make it tomorrow to the herf for inspection and burning.

Originally Posted by hammondc

Send them to me and I will let you know.

Walked right into that one

Originally Posted by CigarNut

I hope that he acclimated them slowly to room temperature (putting them in the fridge) rather than just taking them out to room temperature...

I don't think that he did. I've only taken one out of the box and cello at this point, but there does not appear to be any splitting from what I can see on top.

If I were you, I'd have at least 5 after a 2 week minimum in the humidor to gauge the average quality, there will always be 1 fail in a box at least, from my experience anyway

[wayner123]

Good news is that if there were any beetles, those suckers sure are dead now!

[T.G]

Originally Posted by wayner123

Good news is that if there were any beetles, those suckers sure are dead now!

As long as the box & cigars don't have that "refigerator/freezer odor", which could permeate your other cigars and damage them, I would just toss them in a humidor for a month or two to stabilize and then smoke one. The box might have the odor, so I'd check it carefully, and maybe leave it out if necessary. Maybe you have to bring them back in a seperate tupperware if they have any of that freezer odor, but other than that, I figure that the worst that can happen once they re-acclimate is that it tastes bad.

[shilala]

If the bag was good, they couldn't dry out. I'd leave them in the bag for a good while and let them get their sh1t together and give them a shot.

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by T.G

As long as the box & cigars don't have that "refigerator/freezer odor", which could permeate your other cigars and damage them, I would just toss them in a humidor for a month or two to stabilize and then smoke one. The box might have the odor, so I'd check it carefully, and maybe leave it out if necessary. Maybe you have to bring them back in a seperate tupperware if they have any of that freezer odor, but other than that, I figure that the worst that can happen once they re-acclimate is that it tastes bad.

The bag and the plastic wrap on the box definitely have that freezer smell. I don't think the box and cigars do, but I'm still in my office with the bag and plastic wrap, so I'll need to smell them when I get home. If it smells ok, I figure I'll toss the box into the cooler and see how things go. I agree that the worst-case scenario isn't all that bad - they were a gift, after all. I may even spark one tonight just for sh!ts and giggles. The one I took out of the cello really looks and feels fine. I'll report back if I do.

Originally Posted by shilala

If the bag was good, they couldn't dry out. I'd leave them in the bag for a good while and let them get their sh1t together and give them a shot.

Too late. I took them out of the bag before I made the first post. Oops. So far I'm not seeing any splitting or ill effects. I guess we'll see.

[Ender]

Bring one to the Fuse herf tomorrow Collin and smoke it with Mike and I.

[RGD.]

In another post at an old home I posted about a handful of cigars that I had forgot and left in the freezer for almost a year.

No ill effects and they smoked just like they were never frozen.

As long as they were sealed it really doesn't matter if they were in the freezer for a week or years. Frozen is frozen.

Also people need to remember that just about all items placed in a freezer have an extremely high moisture content. Cigars don't. When I was doing a bunch of testing years ago (and my freezer is set to it's coldest setting), I have pulled cigars out and light them up immediately. Zero cracking, splits, etc. I lit them at various times, cut them open, twisted them, etc etc. Again keep in mind that cigars have a very low moisture content.

Anyway - toss them in your cooler and light them up when your ready.


Ron

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by RGD.

In another post at an old home I posted about a handful of cigars that I had forgot and left in the freezer for almost a year.

No ill effects and they smoked just like they were never frozen.

As long as they were sealed it really doesn't matter if they were in the freezer for a week or years. Frozen is frozen.

Also people need to remember that just about all items placed in a freezer have an extremely high moisture content. Cigars don't. When I was doing a bunch of testing years ago (and my freezer is set to it's coldest setting), I have pulled cigars out and light them up immediately. Zero cracking, splits, etc. I lit them at various times, cut them open, twisted them, etc etc. Again keep in mind that cigars have a very low moisture content.

Anyway - toss them in your cooler and light them up when your ready.


Ron

Looks like we had the same experience. I find this very interesting. I know it has to halt the aging process in its tracks, but that could have some merit with certain cigars.

[Louistogies]

Sounds interesting. I think it might just taste odd but who knows.

[nick2021]

Think I read somewhere that somebody frooze all of his cigars for a long period of time...trying to think where I saw that, but it's not the first time I've heard of cigars being frozen for so long

[sikk50]

I smoked a cigar that had been in a freezer for a year or so. Wasn't bad

[BigCat]

Well my curiousity got the best of me and I sparked one last night. I didn't have time to smoke the whole thing, but I smoked about half of it. I didn't notice any problems at all. It smoked great. It burned even - no need for any touch ups. There was no freezer taste. And as my wife said when I asked her to smell the box for freezer smell, "it just smells like cigars." I'm pretty impressed actually. My only complaint is that it was a little mild for my taste for that time of night, but for an earlier day smoke, these will do nicely - especially at free.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by BigCat

Well my curiousity got the best of me and I sparked one last night. I didn't have time to smoke the whole thing, but I smoked about half of it. I didn't notice any problems at all. It smoked great. It burned even - no need for any touch ups. There was no freezer taste. And as my wife said when I asked her to smell the box for freezer smell, "it just smells like cigars." I'm pretty impressed actually. My only complaint is that it was a little mild for my taste for that time of night, but for an earlier day smoke, these will do nicely - especially at free.

Cool. Good to hear.