How to freeze cigars?

T

TankerT

Young Ape
OK... I did do a search... but I might not have used the right keywords to do so. So, if this has been covered in a zillion other posts, I thank you for your patience with me.

So, anyhoo... I am concerned with cigar beetles, as I am sure many of us are.

Is there a specific way to freeze cigars so we don't damage them?

Thanks for reading, and your input in advance.
 
DON'T DO IT!!

Unless you are absolutely certain you have beetles. I haven't had them yet but you want to look for holes in your cigars. If you see them in one, isolate the one, throw it in the freezer in a ziploc; not too sure about how long, a day, perhaps?

Freezing takes the humidity out of the cigar so you don't want to do it unless you absolutely have to.

After the freezer time, you want to slowly bring the humidity back up and into the cigar. Not sure exactly the steps you take for this either. Not sure you want to throw it immediately right back into the humidor at 65 - 70%.
 
TankerT said:
OK... I did do a search... but I might not have used the right keywords to do so. So, if this has been covered in a zillion other posts, I thank you for your patience with me.

So, anyhoo... I am concerned with cigar beetles, as I am sure many of us are.

Is there a specific way to freeze cigars so we don't damage them?

Thanks for reading, and your input in advance.
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There is a thread with more info. Check out freezing & beetles. Simple explanation is double zip-lock freezer bags with cigars inside. I used the gallon size, myself. Leave in freezer 2 days, then refrigerate in refrigerator 2 days, then humidor. Worked well for me!:2
 
You're fixing to get bombed with several different opinions on the proper way to freeze your sticks.I have smoked for several years & have never had to freeze,alas many gorillas here freeze everything they recieve just for good measure.If your paranoid about beetles it's no big deal if the outbreak is just one stick,alas if it is the entire box then i would probably freeze them..2= :2 deposited...if in you do find a holey stick there is only one way to deal with beetles (burn them):chk
flamethrower2.jpg
 
TankerT said:
So, anyhoo... I am concerned with cigar beetles, as I am sure many of us are.
Click to expand...

I was until I came to the awareness it was purely newbie paranoia. I know I know... I've read scientific reports on this insect that say is can hatch even in 65° temps but nearly everything I've read said hatching in anything under 80° is quite rare. Being my humi is currently running around 69°-71° I think it's relatively safe. Now, I have a small collection at only around 11 stogies currently - though I just bought 16 more today! :ss But, if you have a very large collection then I think there is more need for concern. Anyhow, don't worry about them until you see any evidence of them or if you simply can't get your humi down below 73° or so. Also, don't run your humidity too high as well as that is bad and creates a more likely environment to spawn beetles. This is just my :2. I'm sure others here will disagree with me.



Rev.
 
Rev2010 said:
I was until I came to the awareness it was purely newbie paranoia. I know I know... I've read scientific reports on this insect that say is can hatch even in 65° temps but nearly everything I've read said hatching in anything under 80° is quite rare. Being my humi is currently running around 69°-71° I think it's relatively safe. Now, I have a small collection at only around 11 stogies currently - though I just bought 16 more today! :ss But, if you have a very large collection then I think there is more need for concern. Anyhow, don't worry about them until you see any evidence of them or if you simply can't get your humi down below 73° or so. Also, don't run your humidity too high as well as that is bad and creates a more likely environment to spawn beetles. This is just my :2. I'm sure others here will disagree with me.



Rev.
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Rev, the only problem with that is the beetles can hatch on their way to your humidor(especially during shipping in very warm conditions). I have seen too many theads with pictures here of beetle damage to not add one simple step to ensure my cigars health.
 
madurolover said:
Rev, the only problem with that is the beetles can hatch on their way to your humidor(especially during shipping in very warm conditions).
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Yeah I know. But oddly everyone I've personally spoken to (meaning in person and not online) has said they never experienced a tobacco beetle in their own humidor. I've personally seen the evidence of them at a local B&M in Hoboken, NJ. I was looking at a box of Montecristo's and several sticks had holes in them. I pointed it out to the owner, he was like, "uh oh... that's not good!", thanked me, and started removing all the damaged sticks. But, I have noticed he seems to run his walkin humi very warm & moist, moreso than normal of course. But anyhow, I'll take my chances rather than risk cracking wrappers and all that with freezing & thawing. Not to mention... my home freezer is full with food. :)

In retrospect to your comment about seeing many threads with beetle infestations... I'll have to say I mostly see people saying they've been smoking for many years without ever having one - like above ^^^.


Rev.
 
Please keep this in mind...

buggy_pams.jpg


ryjs_beetle_ravaged.jpg


ryj_beetles.jpg


Need I say more... :ss

Pictures from Andrew over at vitolas.net
 
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Rev2010 said:
In retrospect to your comment about seeing many threads with beetle infestations... I'll have to say I mostly see people saying they've been smoking for many years without ever having one - like above ^^^.


Rev.
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Yes that is the rule, however , there are exceptions. I have also seen threads from peple that definitly were not new to the cigar world that have ended up with infestations. As long as your temps do not run over 75 - 80 degrees then I would venture to say you are pretty safe. I just like to freeze anything that has had to travel. The way I figure it is that I would rather do this than spends the thousands it would take to replace all my stock. Also I have never had any type of negative effect on my cigars from the freezing process.
 
mrreindeer said:
DON'T DO IT!!

Unless you are absolutely certain you have beetles. I haven't had them yet but you want to look for holes in your cigars. If you see them in one, isolate the one, throw it in the freezer in a ziploc; not too sure about how long, a day, perhaps?

Freezing takes the humidity out of the cigar so you don't want to do it unless you absolutely have to.

After the freezer time, you want to slowly bring the humidity back up and into the cigar. Not sure exactly the steps you take for this either. Not sure you want to throw it immediately right back into the humidor at 65 - 70%.
Click to expand...

I always vacuum seal my cigars before I freeze them, and I have never had a problem with loosing humidity. I just smoked a cigar last night that was only out of the freezer and fridge for one day, and if anything it was to moist. I am sure if you don't seal your cigars good it would dry them out, but there are ways to avoid it.
 
madurolover said:
As long as your temps do not run over 75 - 80 degrees then I would venture to say you are pretty safe. I just like to freeze anything that has had to travel. The way I figure it is that I would rather do this than spends the thousands it would take to replace all my stock. Also I have never had any type of negative effect on my cigars from the freezing process.
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I hear ya and I agree. I'm just figuring he's new to cigars and is getting the newbie beetle paranoia a lot of us get in the beginning. As far as freezing, most of the horror stories I hear are from infestation in Cuban stogies that people brought back from Cuba. And yeah, I know it can happen with ANY brand from any country. But if I were to get any Cubans I would certainly freeze them after all the bad stories I've read. In that event, or in the event that I had a few thousand dollars worth of cigars in a humi I would certainly take the precaution and freeze. I'm still pretty much a noob with a small humi so I've learned to relax and not be so worried about it - so long as my temps and humidity levels are within limits of course :)


Rev.
 
I freeze everything the reason is a ounze of prevention - I have way too much stock in one place not to. Plus I have many boxes that do not get opened even once a year and I never open a box to check on it (don't believe in opening boxes unless it is to withdraw a smoke - I think it is bad for aging).

This combined with a experiment I read by a dealer that taste tested an unfrozen smoke, a freshly frozen smoke, and a frozen smoke that had had a chance to "rest" the results were in his and some other "testers" eyes that there was no difference once a smoke had time to rest.

Also cuba freezes (supposedly) them prior to shipping I figure if they were frozen once another won't hurt.
 
Oh goodie. It has been weeks since we have had this debate.

I am in the don't even think about it crowd. I live in the hot and humid south and have never had a problem in nearly 8 years of cigar smoking. Believe me when I tell you in the beginning I had no instruction and I did all kinds of things wrong.

I think my must freeze everything brothers here need to have a cigar and relax.
 
Rolando said:
Oh goodie. It has been weeks since we have had this debate.

I am in the don't even think about it crowd. I live in the hot and humid south and have never had a problem in nearly 8 years of cigar smoking. Believe me when I tell you in the beginning I had no instruction and I did all kinds of things wrong.

I think my must freeze everything brothers here need to have a cigar and relax.
Click to expand...

or decaf
 
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