Originally Posted by HK3-:
I totally agree with the lower RH levels giving a more pleasurable smoking experience.
***Caution to those who are going to attempt an extreme drop- any sudden spikes upward in humidity will cause the wrapper on your sticks to split.***
That's a good argument for the "cello on or off?" question.
Also a good reason to keep new boxes closed in the humi.
:-)
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Like Dave mentioned my problem stems more from where I smoke the cigars then from how they are stored. I shoot for around 65% RH. If I get the rare chance to smoke a cigar inside they are great. However, I smoke almost 99% of my cigars outside. During the summer months here in the south the performance of my cigars is, well, terrible. The air is so thick and the heat is so high that the cigars basically swell up while you smoke them. Usually, as described, the last 1/3 is not nearly as enjoyable as the first 1/3. In the colder months, cigars smoke great. Problem is trying to stay warm while sitting still in excess of an hour.
I need to move back to southern CA.
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Like many here, I started with the 70% rule. While most of my NCs seem to smoke fine at a higher RH, and I leave that particular humidor around 68-70%, the CCs are a different story.
The CCs reside in my cabinet, and I keep it more in the 59-60% range. I've kept it that way for the last year of so, and find that for the most part the cigars smoke better and the flavors are a little more pronounced.
Then there are a few, rolled a little tightly, that benefit from dry boxing for a while as well. Although I don't really put those in a box - they just sit out in the open for a few days. Nevada
is one big dry box.
:-)
Looks like I may have to look into some 55% beads and do some experimenting with a desk top humi. Food for thought.
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