Temp control - how important is it?

[Porch Dweller]

Originally Posted by nutcracker

So interestingly I had been worried about temp because I have some cigars in a wine cellar. I recently came across a comment from Edward Sahakian (the manager of the Davidoff store in London, England) on James Suckling's website. He suggests 13 degrees Celsius 65% humidity as perfect for aging cigars.

I am now officially confused, based on my understanding of RH, however this is a highly respected cigar retailer who probably has a lifetime of experience with sort of thing.

Cooler and drier than conventional wisdom.

I used to keep mine at 70% just because I'd read that that was the optimum for NCs. It wasn't until I came here to CA that I saw that many, many folks prefer their's lower. So I did some experimenting and realized that 63-65% is my preference; they just seem to burn and taste better.

As for temperature, I keep my wineador at 65* (18C). I could go lower but sometimes I'm taking a cigar out and heading straight outside to where it could be 98* (37C) and 85+% humidity and that big sudden change seems to affect the burn. I usually take about five to 10 out at a time and put them in a humidor to let them adjust to the temperature changes, and just pull sticks out of the humi to smoke. But sometimes there's something in the wineador I want to smoke NOW, so I don't keep it as low as it can go.

[markem]

Originally Posted by nutcracker

So interestingly I had been worried about temp because I have some cigars in a wine cellar. I recently came across a comment from Edward Sahakian (the manager of the Davidoff store in London, England) on James Suckling's website. He suggests 13 degrees Celsius 65% humidity as perfect for aging cigars.

Low temp and humidity seem to be the norm for aging, which is different than storage for smoking. Most vendors that I know of who age stock want to age it in the mid-to-high 50s. However, whatever works. Airflow, light, etc. can all play a difference, so it eventually comes down to preference.

[Ashcan Bill]

Let me expand a bit on my cigar storage methodology.

First off, I don't pay attention to the humidity readings on the few hygrometers I still have that work. I've adjusted my humidity setpoints based on how the cigars feel and smoke. It did take a few years to figure out what made me happy on that score. Supple enough to squeeze a bit without cracking the wrapper, but dry enough to smoke without the danger of accidently sucking my tongue down my throat.

Secondly, most of my stock lives in an Aristocrat with the "Set and Forget" temperature/humidity system. The system works well and I did exactly that years back - set it and forgot about it.

I found that for me, setting the humidity for 60% gives me what I want both for aging and for smoking. Now the actual readings will vary at different locations throughout the cabinet - some areas will be in the mid to upper 50s and other areas in the lower 60s. No large storage area will be completely constant. And I suspect I store my cigars at a much lower humidity than most. Anywhere from the mid 50s to low 60s is what I shoot for.

Because I live in the desert where it can get warm (115 yesterday), I ordered the cabinet with double cooling units. I keep the system set at 72, while my home A/C is at 78 so the cooling units do cycle off and on during the warmer months. And if I go on vacation and up the setting for the house while we're gone, the Aristocrat maintains itself fine.

Most manufacturers take measures to kill the bugs before the cigars leave their control. And as I said, I keep mine at 72 degrees so if I did get any with eggs, they most likely wouldn't hatch until I moved them into my death row humidor. I'd see the bugs quickly then. So I don't worry about freezing cigars. Never have. (And back in the days before the internet, I didn't even know about tobacco beetles. All those years I should have been worrying, and didn't. The horror of it.)

So yeah, all I do anymore is buy 'em, stack 'em and smoke 'em. I don't worry about what the hygrometers say (did I mention most of mine no longer work?). I let the Set and Forget system do it's thing. I sleep well.

[heyferg]

[quote=Porch Dweller;1976597]I used to keep mine at 70% just because I'd read that that was the optimum for NCs. It wasn't until I came here to CA that I saw that many, many folks prefer their's lower. So I did some experimenting and realized that 63-65% is my preference; they just seem to burn and taste better.


FWIW - this is my experience as well. For years I always kept my cigars at 70%. Then I split a box of PSD4s with a friend of mine. We were smoking at his place and he gave me one of the SD4s and it was 100 times better than my cigars from the same box. Better burn, better taste, just plain better. We starting comparing notes he told me he kept his humidor at 60-62%. So I started experimenting and found that I like cigars kept at 65% best.

Live and learn!

[JJKJR]

I had only one episode of beatles and I swore that it would never happen again. It cost me several nice sticks. I now freeze ANY cigars I put in my humidor. It's a very simple process which has no negative effects on the cigars.

[8zeros]

Originally Posted by JJKJR

I had only one episode of beatles and I swore that it would never happen again.

I haven't seen a Beatles episode since I was too young to smoke.
I try to keep the humidity down and the temperature is whatever room temp allows.
I have a cooler in the cellar for boxes. It's always cool down there. Cold in the winter. I try not to keep too many in the humidor upstairs. I haven't seen a beetle attack yet and don't want to.

[JohnRogers]

So afternoons between 2pm and 7pm when the thermostat is set at 78 my Tupperidor should be in the fridge?

[CigarNut]

A few hours at high temps will not generally cause a problem. Having said that, if you were to freeze your cigars then you would not have to worry about high temps.

[czerbe]

I had one outbreak of Beetles and I caught it early. I still do not freeze my smokes.. I do my best to keep them stored about 70F and even though it does get up to the upper 70s sometimes I just can freeze them. I am looking at building a wineador in the near future.

[baust55]

I set wineadore at 65f and try for 65% RH but it varies from 62% to 68%