I have a very nice handmade oak humidor which I bought about 20 years ago and haven't opened in a very long time and which still contains what I remember to be some very, very nice smokes. Recently my son returned from a trip to South America and brought home a few very nice cigars which he thought I might like. In thinking about how to keep these new ones properly stored I decided to try to raise my old cigars from the dead. I have obtained a Xikar Crystal humidifier box for the humidor which I have charged and put into the humidor.

I am wondering how long it might take until the old cigars, which have not seen the light of day in at least a decade, rehumidify, and is it even possible to bring them back?

Thanks in advance.
[Reply]

Welcome to the Asylum. :-)

20 years uncared for? Some will tell you "why not take a chance and see where they end up in a few months?". I'd say any chance of having anything even close to their old flavor is long gone, and to cut your losses now.

Now I'll let the eternal optimists chime in. :-)
[Reply]

OK, here's the optimist . . . though I don't fit the mold. If the humidor is a good one with a nice seal, and if it has been closed for a long time, those sticks may still be in decent shape. The moisture inside the box had no place to go, and the cigars would reabsorb whatever they released.
[Reply]

Thomas with the half fulll glass. Will wonders never cease? :-)
[Reply]

Brother, it's never a matter of the glass being either half-full or half-empty. It is of the glass being the appropriate size for its content.

Oh, and welcome to the all-Tom thread of the Asylum.
[Reply]

All Toms on this bus...

The box is a good one. I will keep them properly humidified and see what happens.
[Reply]

Good luck to you, Tom, hoping for the best results for you.

Pop in to the New Inmate forum and introduce yourself to all the non-Toms. :-)
[Reply]

Thank you. I shall.


Oh, you meant the OTHER Tom. Nevermind. :-)
[Reply]

I shall be much like Dennis Hopper in defending Thomas......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TAixFYnDh4
[Reply]

Well, my :-). I agree with Tom. The first Tom, not the second Tom. Even if the humidor had a decent deal, over that length of time, any humidity it held would have been lost to outside ambient conditions. The oils in the cigars would have dried up, and they'll be nothing like they once were.
[Reply]

Hey! A non-Tom! Hi Bob! :-)
[Reply]

Hey Tom! :-)

OP Tom, as I think about it more, you've got nothing to lose by trying to rehydrate them. I just wouldn't expect much out of them.
[Reply]

To be accurate, Bob, I was the THIRD Tom, not the second. :-)

Welcome to the Tom Asylum.
[Reply]

The Tom that made this post is now in a timeout, he has already used that video in the last 48 hours.

Tom that is the OP, welcome to the asylum, I'm going to have to go with Timeout Tom and say cut your loss, re-season your humidor and put the new sticks in it. (keeping the sticks your son brought you in a Tupperware until the box is seasoned properly)

-Half Empty Adam
[Reply]

FYI, OP Tom, "Half Empty" Adam refers to his apartment, not his stemware. :-)
[Reply]

Time to finally chime in....keep the old sticks and IF you survive this forum, and get invited to the Shack, bring the sticks as dog rockets...:-)
[Reply]

Hey, look, it's the Tom Tom Club.
[Reply]

:-)
[Reply]

I guess I'll be the party pooper!

With no doubt, those cigars are dead my friend. and I do mean dead, all the oils will have dried up, years ago, as well as any botanical residues that may have existed. The only thing left is very, very, dry tobacco. If you rehydrate them, they may burn fairly well but there will be no flavors of any kind available.

Sadly, that's what it is!
[Reply]

I've personally smoked a fair number of cigars that were kept in the worst kind of conditions, resurrected, and smoked pretty good.
1.) You've got nothing to lose.
2.) It's gonna take at least a year to make them smokable, maybe longer.
3.) Conch Fritters!
[Reply]