Oliva Serie O storage

K

kayaker

Come get some!!!
So I've read quite a bit on this board that suggests 65% beads for storing cigars may be better that the usually recommended 70%. I bought 65% beads but my freshly calibrated digital hygrometer still reads 67-68% rh.

That's fine. However, I recently smoked an OSO robusto and really enjoyed it. I plan on picking up more so I looked them up. The standard text for the Serie O includes:
"Puros should be aged at generous humidity levels (70-78%) to preserve
the natural oil."

How much difference will it make if they are stored 65-70%? Should they be stored separately at the higher RH. If so, will they need to be dry boxed before smoking.

Please help a confuddled noob.:confused:
 
78% RH?!?
Wow, I get all twitchy when I see 70% on my hygrometer given that I live in Mold City USA (aka Seattle area).

For the record, my Oliva O's are stored at 64% and thus far, I haven't noticed any degradation in taste/flavor. Of course, I've only been storing them that way for a bit over 2 months so who knows, may be after a year or two, they may get all dried out.

But then, the odds of my Olivas surviving that long without getting torched is slim to none given that I'm fast pushing 3+ cigars/day (if my doctor asks, it's still 1/day...just 1 very large cigar that just happen to come in three pieces...).
 
Wow! 70-78?

I keep mine at 65% and they smoke fine.

If you want an answer from an expert, PM BengalMan and ask him to respond in this thread.
 
kayaker said:
So I've read quite a bit on this board that suggests 65% beads for storing cigars may be better that the usually recommended 70%. I bought 65% beads but my freshly calibrated digital hygrometer still reads 67-68% rh.

That's fine. However, I recently smoked an OSO robusto and really enjoyed it. I plan on picking up more so I looked them up. The standard text for the Serie O includes:
"Puros should be aged at generous humidity levels (70-78%) to preserve
the natural oil."

How much difference will it make if they are stored 65-70%? Should they be stored separately at the higher RH. If so, will they need to be dry boxed before smoking.

Please help a confuddled noob.:confused:
Click to expand...

Ian,

I have plenty of Oliva and its all stored at 68% and they all smoke great. While storing them a little higher to preserve the oils is true, storing at 68% is perfectly fine. Personally I think if they are stored in too high of humidity you may experience burn issues.

Throw em in the humi, smoke away and enjoy. :)
 
BengalMan said:
Ian,

I have plenty of Oliva and its all stored at 68% and they all smoke great. While storing them a little higher to preserve the oils is true, storing at 68% is perfectly fine. Personally I think if they are stored in too high of humidity you may experience burn issues.

Throw em in the humi, smoke away and enjoy. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Ian. I appreciate the info.
 
this maybe a super n00b question but what does RH have to do with oil content of a cigar? oils don't evaporate, right?
 
spincycle said:
this maybe a super n00b question but what does RH have to do with oil content of a cigar? oils don't evaporate, right?
Click to expand...
Not really, but they can dry out. A cigar improperly kept will lose its oils, and then it becomes almost irrecoverable. I don't know if it's evaporation, or what, but they go somewhere.
 
spincycle said:
this maybe a super n00b question but what does RH have to do with oil content of a cigar? oils don't evaporate, right?
Click to expand...

Oils do evaporate, they just take very very long. Also, oil is made up of molecular compounds of varying size. So, the lighter compounds in oil will evaporate a bit quicker than the heavier compounds.

In any event, I think Oliva mentions this simply cause they're talking about ageing on a long scale - over the span of years.


Rev.
 
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