Cigar Storage Question

L

levell3

ChestBeater
First off, I have come to a realization that I spend TOO much of my day thinking about cigars but I heard something interesting last nite on the radio on the Cigar Dave show. (Disclaimer: Not a big fan of the guy seems like a Rush wannabe but only thing on the radio dedicated to stogies.)

Anyhow I know as fellow cigar lover we put A LOT of emphasis on proper storage of cigars and I think the merchants want us to believe that cigars are these delicate flowers that the slightest change in RH or temp will destroy them. I know I have put my fair share of green backs into humidors and humidification devices. But I have always wondered back in the day before 70/70 they didn't store cigars in perfect conditions and I am sorry but I don't care where you live even in the sultry island of Cuba RH and temp will flucuate and I don't think all their cigars were ruined because they didn't store them in a Manning with a paradigm device. And before Fuente started adding the little wetnaps in their boxes they shipped from the DR to your local retailor in the middle of the summer in blazing heat so in theory wouldn't they have been ruined and I don't buy that theory that because of the plastic wrap around them it kept them at optimum smoking condtion. Waaah! The whole thing is that everyone says that the oils will disappear but I thought we learned in chemistry oil doesn't evaporate?! Now I agree if you let a cigar TOTALLY dry out it will crack and turn brittle and if you try to rehumidify it it'll never be in the same shape. Like trying to rehumidify a dry leaf not gonna happen.
OK back to what I heard on the radio Dave was talking to General Cigar about a new line of cigar they were releasing and they were saying how they were shipping the tobacco they were using for it to the DR in the summer and back to CT in the winter to dry out so it looks like the retailors are not overly concerned with the precious oils drying out. I guess all I am asking is how REALLY important is it that the cigars be kept in prestine conditions because long before the acessories craze they weren't stored in ideal conditions and they still smoke wonderfully. ;)
 
I don't know how far back desktop humi's go, but in the 1920's Zino Davidoff returned from Cuba and installed the first humidor in his shop. He claims to have built the very first Humidor ever. He had spent several years in Cuba learning everything he could about the Cuban puro and came to the conclusion that if they smoked and aged so well in the climate of Cuba, then he must recreate that climate elsewhere.

I know what your saying about the climate changing in Cuba, but for most part it stays level.

Before Zino put the caves in, cigars were smoked soon after leaving Cuba.
A major portiion of the tobacco was shipped to other countries and rolled there and then consumed. If you keep bundles of tobacco wrapped, the leaves will maintain moisture better.
Once the cigars boom hit and aging became a passion, humidification became a reality. Customers could buy a 10-20 thousand cigar reserve, and know he always had his favorites that have been stored and aged properly.

I would say before 1920, sure no humi, they were rolled last week or last month. After 1920's, let buy more and age them in our own homes or at the local tobacconist, so we need humi's.

People have spent the years since 1920 asking the same questions and experimenting with this. They have for the most part come to the same conclusion. It's a vital part of storing and aging cigars. Now as to how much RH, that's your personal taste.

This is just my opinion, the facts could be wrong.
I could be wrong, hell we could all be wrong, but I do know I hate dry cigars.

:) :) :) :) :)

Jack
 
Levell,

You have hit on the question that most cigar aficianados ask at one point in time or another. In short, your question is: "How much of this bilge is BS and how much is actually noteworthy." The bottom line is this, and I think Lew at JR's said it best, cigars are not delicate, they can dry out & be re-humidified, they can be frozen & unfrozen, shipped & packed, cold & hot...so why are we so damn gullible to believe that after hundreds of years of existence, why do people believe that we are just now making these great strides in learning how to maintain & care for cigars?

I agree with just about everyone here. 70/70 is such a crock of crap and so many people make you & I, the average leaf lovers, believe that if we deviate from their standards (70/70), that we are going down the slippery slope that all rank amateurs go down. We don't have a true appreciation for the cigar.

Bottom line is this, we aren't building swiss watches here, we are storing cigars. Plain & simple. Let us do the necessary time tested things to maintain them properly.

I digress...
-Justin
 
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