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cigar storage

bbrandtbbrandt Posts: 2
in Cigar 101
I store my cigars in an open humidor inside a wine cellar. The humidity is pretty constant, between 62%-68%. My collection includes some Cohibas, Olivas, Rocky Patels, Romeos, and a few Partagas and Montecristos , about 70 in all.
I leave the plastic wrapper on them, but some are too dry when I unwrap them, especially the Montecristos. Am I better off unwrapping them for long term( 6 months) storage? Thanks for your wisdom

Comments

  • kenefick1kenefick1 Posts: 5
    A keep all of my smokes in the wrappers until I smoke them, and haven't had any dry out. I'm wondering if the actual humidity may be the culprit. I've always read and heard you shouldn't let them get below 65% at the lowest. My humidor stays at a pretty constant 70% and haven't had any issues like that.
  • avengethisavengethis Posts: 5,690 ✭✭✭✭✭
    kenefick1:
    A keep all of my smokes in the wrappers until I smoke them, and haven't had any dry out. I'm wondering if the actual humidity may be the culprit. I've always read and heard you shouldn't let them get below 65% at the lowest. My humidor stays at a pretty constant 70% and haven't had any issues like that.
    Keeping them in the wrappers will not change how they abosrb or release humidity. I leave mine in theirs at it can help when I shuffle through things to help protect them. Regarding your issue I would double check the calibration of the hygrometer to make sure the %'s you are getting are accurate. My best guess is though that you should really keep the humi closed with its own humidity source to keep it locked in on the range you want. There are a lot of variables that could change in a fruit cellar. I keep my humidity at 65% for storage and some smoked I have found smoke best at or around 62%. Its all personal preference though for what you like and enjoy best.
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  • ShadowInTheMoonShadowInTheMoon Posts: 507 ✭✭
    If they are smoking to dry you might have to get a seperate humidor and keep that ones humidity higher but the wrappers have no effect on it. They are designed to let humidity in and out
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  • The3StogiesThe3Stogies Posts: 2,652 ✭✭✭✭
    Doesn't really matter but I prefer mine naked for personal reasons. This comes up every so often and being Curious George I did both. No difference in flavor, burn or damage as far as I can tell between cello'd and naked. Cello will act as a shield to protect them when you are rummaging around in your humi's, or want to put one in your pocket for a little later, or bomb someone.

    However I like to keep them naked for this reason. The longer you have the cigar the cello starts to turn brown as it ages. Assuming these are oils and such, getting trapped in the cello, I wanted them to be transferred to the cigar next to it, or the wood in my humi's they are against, instead of the cello I'm just throwing away. My small humi is sometimes empty for a short time but the cigar aroma when you open it is still quite prevalent. Don't know if this is even true but they're my cigars and I'll do what I like, lol.

    I'd close my humi anyways, 65% is about as low as I try to go.
  • HaysHays Posts: 2,337 ✭✭✭
    Your problem is not really the cello (it proves no barrier to humidification), but simply that wine and cigars are not meant to be stored in the same conditions. Wine requires much lower humidification RH in storage and (in my experience) a generally lower temperature than I would prefer to store my cigars. A lot of guys like to throw around all kinds of RH %s (65%, 62%, 75% whatever) as their personal favorite and swear by it, but there´s a reason that 70*/70% RH is the golden rule for cigars. If you're finding that your smokes are too dry when you go to enjoy them, this is definitely the culprit - either get a closed humidor with some increased humidification, or remove them from the wine cellar entirely and into a separate humidor.
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  • RhamlinRhamlin Posts: 9,049 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm assuming when you say wine cellar you mean an actual cellar you walk downstairs to get to. So I'd recommend closing the Humi and putting some form of humidification in it such as kitty litter or beads or boveda. I don't like mine to get below 65 myself and I prefer 68 thereabouts.
  • bigharpoonbigharpoon Posts: 2,963 ✭✭✭
    What is the temperature of the wine cellar?
  • christian1971christian1971 Posts: 467 ✭✭✭
    All my cigars are kept in a coleman cooler, with 65% boveda packs. Most of my cigars dont last long enough, since I smoke them fairly soon. So I dont worry about wrapper. Although long term I would remove the wrapper. Havent had to change my boveda packets yet. Got them 8 months ago and still like new.
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