Thank you gentlemen. I appreciate the advice.
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:-)
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I have a three drawer Humidor and its hard to keep the humidity at 70 percent. Any suggestions? I have Xikar Crystal Humidifier 100 Count and two Xikar Crystal Humidifier 50 Count.

My wife got me a humidor that has four glass sides and the top and bottom is wood as well as the drawers. I did season the humidor before the cigars went in.

thanks
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IMO:
70% is a bit high
Ditch the crystals and get beads or Boveda packs
Ensure the seals along the glass panels are intact.

Also, what kind of hygrometer (analog or digital) do you have and has it been salt-tested and calibrated?
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The hygrometer an analog and I have a small digital one in the humidor, has not be salt-tested how do I do that? I was thinking about the beads. I have close to 50 cigars in my box lots of good gifts from friends.

any suggestions on earthy full cigars?
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Ignore the analog.

Salt test - http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...highlight=salt

As for cigar suggestions, all I can tell you is to read the Cigar Discussions and Reviews here. Tons of information.
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thanks
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If you have to pick ten cigars to live off of what would you pick and why?
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Bolivar Petite Coronas
Cohiba Siglo IIs
H. Upmann Connnie 1s
Montecristo #4s
Partagas Shorts
PSD4s
Quai D'Orsay Coronas
RASCC
San Cristobol El Principes
Trinidad Reyes

Why? 'cause they're all so ****ing delicious!
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I have a question. Not to change the subject. I heard that an igloo cooler with crystals and a hygrometer can make for an effective humidor for long term storage. Is this accurate? Does not having the Spanish cedar make a difference?

I was planning on using the cooler system for bulk storage and then transferring to my square box cedar humidor as space allows.

Thoughts?
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Just saw the bit about beads vs crystals. Sad because I just upgraded from the sponge and standard hygrometer to the xikar digital hygrometer and crystals thinking I was getting the best setup. I had never heard of beads...
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Also, I have the hygrometer magnesium adhered to the lid but it keeps falling down. Thinking of using gorilla glue or epoxy to get it to stay...
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hygrometer "magnet". sorry.. autocorrect
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Get these HCM BEADS


Just toss it in and leave it on top... no need for it to be glued on the top. Hell i don't even use one.
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Coolers make great humidors. They seal well and hold lots of cigars and are relatively inexpensive.

Spanish cedar aids in humidification, and can impart some scent or flavor to your cigars, but it is not needed. More like a nice-to-have -- which you can still have by taking Spanish cedar from cigar boxes and placing it in your cooler.

Finally, if you do add cedar, consider seasoning the cedar first, otherwise if the wood is dry (or wet) it is likely to play havoc with your RH.
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Not sure where you live, but where I live we average 11% Ambiant RH so two way humidification is less necessary. I used crystal for quite awhile before switching to beads. Beads are unmistakably better, but with some playing around I was able to make the other methods work fine.
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Remdoc10 I have a coolidor and I use the hearfelt beads. So far they work fantastic. That doesn't mean there isn't something better out there.

On a different topic, I'm wanting to understand all these other descriptions people use for cigars. I understand the hay bail smell, several cigars I've had, had that smell when I got them. I know chocolate and coffee of course, but when you say leather, or earthy, I'm not exactly sure what that means. Does it smell like dirt? I'd like to get a list of a few cigars that are good examples of these different flavors. Hopefully some not very expensive ones if they have off flavors, but good examples. I've had some peppery ones and I do like the peppery flavored ones too. Can you guys give me some examples of cigars that would be good examples of these descriptive or off flavors?
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I don't have some recommendations, but this might help:


[IMG]Image[/IMG]

It's a good reference on flavor categories and can help you look for more nuanced flavors in your cigars. So when someone describes a stick as "spicy" or "woody" it can get you thinking more how those break down further.
There are dozens of these out there; just google "Cigar tasting wheel" if you want more options.
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Thanks Porch Dweller, that's a good start for me I think. That will kind of help me know what to look for. I do that with craft beer all the time.
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Mark if you have people to herf with it's always great to have someone smoking a cigar they are picking up such and such a flavor or tasting note, then you get to hit that same cigar and try to pick up the same flavor notes, everyone has a different palate (I personally have the palate of a goat), but you can learn a lot and learn what to look for, sometimes ... rarely but sometimes I'm able to pick something out that others are struggling to name. (Ok maybe twice :-) ).
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