freezing cigars

3 boxes of cigars just arrived; however I am away from town for another night. They have been with a buddy now for two days. Should I have him put them in the freezer until I get back as he does not have a humi?

Thanks..

[Blueface]

Ahhh............
The old "To freeze or not to freeze".
Great debate to come.

I have been smoking cigars for 20 years and buy quite a bit to supply a dad, a son, a son in law and share with friends.

Have yet to ever freeze a single cigar.

However, that is just me. For as many "me's", there will be those that do solemnly swear by freezing.

[shilala]

I don't freeze anything either. Out of thousands of cigars, I've seen one beetle eaten cigar, and it came to me that way from a B&M.
I don't think there's anything wrong with doing it, I'm just lazy.
So far as your buddy doing it, I'd say no. There's too much chance for him to mess it up. For instance, if he puts them in the freezer and doesn't put them in ziplocks, or if the bags come open.
It's just something I'd feel much safer doing myself, and the cigars are safer left in the box they came in.

great...thanks guys....I am actually home tonight now so I will take care of them. I have never put a cigar in the freezer either.

[bobarian]

I freeze everything.

[CasaDooley]

I freeze, therefore I am.

[goalie204]

most of the guys i know swear by it. I've never done it. I'm also fairly sure i've read somewhere about those who did the freezing and STILL had beetles, so whatever.

Seen lots of people discussing this, it seems that freezing cigars is a good way to guard against beetle damage. However, you must be careful to take care of them when defrosting with regard to the RH value. There is another long thread on here about freezing cigars, will try to find it and post a link.

[dunng]

I freeze everything before it goes into my storage humidor...

There is a sticky on freezing here:

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...reezing+cigars

[Wharf Rat]

It seems to me that the OP's question isn't being answered.

Freezing cigars is not a way to preserve freshness. I doubt that a couple of days in the shipping package will cause your cigars to dry out and go stale. But, if you are concerned, ask him to put the cigars in big ziplock bags. This will hold whatever humidity is in the cigars as received.

The question of whether to freeze for beetles is a separate question. Personally, I freeze everything since I got infested. I think the infestation came from some cigars I picked up at little shops in Ybor City.

I never freeze any of mine.

I have never frozen anything in 15 years of smoking but that pic of that Padron box that was beetle food scared me just a bit.

[Stinky]

Originally Posted by goalie204

most of the guys i know swear by it. I've never done it. I'm also fairly sure i've read somewhere about those who did the freezing and STILL had beetles, so whatever.

Freezing cigars in a home refrigerator-freezer will not kill the eggs of tobacco beetles. I've read numerous books and articles over the last decade on this and the one constant from every authority is the freezer MUST be set 10 degrees below ZERO (Fahrenheit)! ! ! . . . and that's a DEEP freeze! Putting your cigars in the household 'frig-freezer' next to the ice-cream will only tend to dry them if not sealed tight in a vapor proof bag.

Keep in mind: All tobacco has eggs from the tobacco beetle. Most (reputable) cigar manufactures treat or freeze their cigars to eliminate this pest from their products.

Why? Why won't a freezer set around 30-degrees kill the beetles??? After reading more about the Lacioderma (aka tobacco beetle) you will soon discover Mother Nature designed the egg of this pest to withstand freezing! Freezing at 25 to 30 degrees will kill a hatched larva (aka worms) and/or a developed live beetle. . . it's the un-hatched eggs that are not affected. The DEEP freeze must be kept for at least 72 hours to crack them little (really tiny) eggs. . . and that's what kills! Crack the eggs. . . no hatching!

Your typical home refrigerator-freezer will not go below 15 or 20 degrees (above Zero!) even if you set it on the lowest setting. You'll need a "Deep Freeze" that can be set under a MINUS 10-degrees. Just imagine how hard your ice-cream would be if you set it at ZERO!!!

This sub-Zero aspect is HUGE when it comes to the discussion of freezing cigars. Any questions? ? ?

[Wharf Rat]

Originally Posted by Stinky

Your typical home refrigerator-freezer will not go below 15 or 20 degrees (above Zero!) even if you set it on the lowest setting. You'll need a "Deep Freeze" that can be set under a MINUS 10-degrees. Just imagine how hard your ice-cream would be if you set it at ZERO!!!

This sub-Zero aspect is HUGE when it comes to the discussion of freezing cigars. Any questions? ? ?

I agree with you, except that folks should check their freezer temperature rather than making assumptions. My builder special frig / freezer is at -10F. I just measured it.

[Stinky]

Wow! Your ice-cream must be ROCK hard!

What kind of thermometer do you use? And. . . is there a reliable thermometer available on the market you would recommend to measure sub-zero temps?

[Wharf Rat]

Originally Posted by Stinky

Wow! Your ice-cream must be ROCK hard!

What kind of thermometer do you use? And. . . is there a reliable thermometer available on the market you would recommend to measure sub-zero temps?

I've got an old fashioned one - glass with liquid in it. Checked with boiling water and ice bath...

[loki]

dunk em in liquid nitrogen

[Ogre]

Originally Posted by loki

dunk em in liquid nitrogen

There is just one problem with that. They just don't burn well after that!!!

[Wharf Rat]

Originally Posted by Ogre3239

There is just one problem with that. They just don't burn well after that!!!

Are you saying you tried?