Ammonia/Musty Smell

T

Tenor CS

ChestBeater
For various reasons, I have not smoked a cigar for about 2 months. I have a nearly full 150 ct humi full of tobacco goodness in the bedroom closet waiting for me.

My problem:

All of my cigars now have a kind of musty/ammonia type smell.

My questions:

1. Any ideas what caused it?
2. Can these stogies be saved?

Some answers to questions that always seem to come up in these threads:

1. I store my cigars in the cello if they came with it. If they came naked, I put them in individual zip top finger baggies.
2. For humidification, I have 1/2 lb of 65% heartfelt beads.
3. I have a properly calibrated Hygroset II hygrometer. It is currently reading 71 deg/64% RH.
4. I do rotate my sticks every week-10 days.

Any advice from the fellow gorillas is much appreciated!
 
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Newer cigars in there still fermenting, I would think. If you go to smoke one just take it out and let it breath for a while. All cigars give off a little ammonia, especially the ones more recently made.
 
With an unused and really full humidor with a very tight lid you may not have enough air exchange for the gases to escape.

I think you should completely empty the humidor and let it sit open while your stash is spread out somewhere where the air is moving (maybe on a bed under a ceiling fan). Wait about an hour and reload. By then all the trapped gases should be gone. You may have to let any cigars you intend to smoke sit out for an additional hour before you smoke them for awhile and open your humidor every day for a few moments to let the air exchange for a few weeks.
 
If you keep them in a cellophane bag you will get an ammonia smell. I think it is from aging. Letting them air out a bit will probably help.
 
Cello tubes that cigars come in breath pretty well. Baggies, which are not really cellophane, do not at all. I wouldn't keep them in baggies if you are going to be smoking them any time soon.
 
duhman said:
Cello tubes that cigars come in breath pretty well. Baggies, which are not really cellophane, do not at all. I wouldn't keep them in baggies if you are going to be smoking them any time soon.
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Thanks, duhman. How about if I cut the "ziploc" part of the baggie off, so it's just in a plastic sleeve? I'm just trying to find a way to protect my sticks that are sold un-cello'd, like my Ashton VSG's.
 
Tenor CS said:
Thanks, duhman. How about if I cut the "ziploc" part of the baggie off, so it's just in a plastic sleeve? I'm just trying to find a way to protect my sticks that are sold un-cello'd, like my Ashton VSG's.
Click to expand...


What are you protecting them from? There is still a lot of people who believe that long term storage should be cello free. I personally do not like the look of cello on so after about 6 months I get them naked.
 
You don't touch them with your hands do you? Please say you use gloves.

Just kidding.

I think the open ziploc bag is still a bad idea because it forces all the air exchange through one small opening. If it get crimped in any way you are right back to square one.

Also that rotation thing... I never do it. Well twice a year when I clean out the humis. That is something someone invented to get people to fondle their cigars more. Let them be in peace. The more you handle them the more likely they are to be damaged even in the cello.
 
Is there some no-no that I'm not aware of just re-using some of the cellos from other cigars?

I know most of the cigars I have come in cello and over time, I've collected a fair pile of them.
 
A hearty thank you to all who responded. I let my stash air out yesterday and removed all cello and plastic from inside the humidor.

Now, all that is in the humidor is 100 naked sticks, spanish cedar, and heartfelt beads.

The ammonia smell is greatly reduced. Some sticks still have some aroma. I will try, as suggested, to air out any sticks for an hour before smoking.

Long ashes to all!
 
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