About the only cigars I have ever tied into, other than a few Cuban Cohiba's before a few years ago, were nasty stock. I started flying to Belize every year on vacation and while I was there, I started trying several different varieties and was pleasantly surprised. At this point I have two humidors and several different selections. I still don't smoke that many, but I break one out on Friday nights, or when the boys are over for a beer. Are any of you guys into cigars? [Reply]
Also < 55% will begin to dry out your cigars which is bad and will lead to bitter cigars that unravel and burn fast.
>75% puts your cigars at risk of mold and that destroys ALL of them.
If you achieve perfect humidity, your cigars may achieve plume, which looks like white small mold but it is not. It is the sugars in the cigars crystalizing.
I had some plume early this year. Takes afew months.
I smoke too soon so it is hard for mine to achieve plume. [Reply]
Lastly, do not take your cigars out of the cellophane as it is not necessary. You should however take off the plastic wrapper to any boxes and just leave the whole box in the humidor if you own a large one like I have. [Reply]
The best budget humidor you can get IMO is a plastic container with a gasket lid, a cedar tray, and a couple Boveda packs. I have 2 of that setup (tupperdors) and LOVE them. There are folks on r/cigars that have hundreds of cigars including premium ones (Opus, God of Fire, CCs, etc) and they use that setup. They are pretty much foolproof if you can keep them in a temperature controlled environment. The Bovedas will last a year plus since they are air tight. You just have to open them every now and then to let them breathe and rotate the cigars. I use the large Sistema container, Mantello tray (or 2, it will fit 2) and 2 60g Bovedas (all from Amazon). You can usually do the full setup for around $50. I use the 65rh Bovedas because I like to stay in the mid to upper 60s for humidity. I have a couple other humidors, too, and do like the look of a nice wooden humidor. Honestly, though, I trust the tupperdors a lot more. The only reason I'm considering a wineador is to prevent temperature fluctuations. I had a scare when my AC went out this summer. [Reply]
Originally Posted by scho63:
I've always be tempted to buy one of the Caldwells but never pulled the trigger.
Have you ever smoked any Brick House? I have not.
I own a 250 capacity Newair electric humidor. I love it. Works great. I also have a 50 cedar lined humidor for overflow and when I need to dry my cigars out from 72-74% humidity. I prefer a moist cigar.
The only cigar that gives me a lot of trouble with a >70% humidity is the Alec Bradley Prensado. It's oily wrapper holds a lot of moisture.
I've tried 10 or so Brick House (the fresh pack samplers) and thought they were ok. I'd definitely smoke them again, but don't think I'd buy them as there are other cigars I'd prefer near the same price point.
Caldwell is solid all around. I've heard to expect the prices to go up because of the factory fire they had a couple months back, but haven't seen an increase yet.
Re: plume... I don't know where I stand on that subject. It is pretty hotly debated. I've read some of the study results from both sides. Some say plume is 100% legit, others say all plume is mold. I probably lean towards the latter but am not educated enough to argue one way or the other. Either way, I haven't experienced it. Regardless, everything I've heard is that even if it is mold, as long as it is on the wrapper only and not on the foot you can wipe it off and still smoke the cigar. Again, I've never experienced it so don't know how I would react. And I'm 100% not saying you're wrong; I don't have the expertise to give a well-informed argument either way. I do have some super toothy cigars and they absolutely have great added flavor with the oil pockets. [Reply]
My Dad smoked King Edward Cigars. They came in a box and those boxes became useful for collecting baseball and football cards. I was 14 and would go to the garage and lite up a cigar. Once I got use to them I enjoyed them. Most of my classmates chewed tobacco. I didn't care for chewing tobacco. [Reply]
Originally Posted by emaw82:
The best budget humidor you can get IMO is a plastic container with a gasket lid, a cedar tray, and a couple Boveda packs. I have 2 of that setup (tupperdors) and LOVE them.
The little white dots that are produce by the sugars can easily be wiped off and have no impact other than to know your sugar has a perfect age and humidity.
If you have ever been unfortunate to see mold, I haven't in my humidors but my cousin did once, they kill the cigar and usually you see other signs like greenish color and slightly swelled cigars from over moisture. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Woogieman: Hard to smoke a pipe without looking obnoxiously pretentious, but the smoke is so much cleaner and pleasant than a cigar's. Have to put a pipe on my "to-Do" list. That said, I haven't smoked many cigars lately, mainly due to my crappy humidors. I'm not sure of the price point for a decent humidor ($150+?), but it is definitely more than I have spent in the past! Those GD boxes with the cheap plastic hygrometer and humidifier with sponge just don't cut it if you spende $5+ per stick.
If you actually like tobacco and want to try a lot of interesting things, the pipe is the way to go. I think the quality of pipe tobacco is better than anything else out there, and you can buy some really nice stuff in bulk if you want so that it costs next to nothing. [Reply]
