Dry Boxing

Hi All,

I did a search on dry boxing because, as a noob, I'm suspecting my cigars may be smoking a bit wet even though I keep the smokes at a constant 68-72% rh. I noticed that 2/3 way through a Cu*Avana robusto, the cigar feels a bit soggy/moist to the touch. Versus, a 5 Vegas Gold that is firm to the very end.

That said, I'm thinking of dry boxing the Cu*Avana for a day and see if that helps, as some cigars may prefer to be a bit drier. My question is, can a dry box be a well sealed cigar box that is void of any humidification device? Or is the dry box actually humidified at a lower Rh, of say, 60% rh?

Thanks, :smiley20:

There's all sorts of threads on dry boxing here. In a nutshell, no humidifier and somewhere around 50% for a day or 2.

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Originally Posted by cigar547

I noticed that 2/3 way through a Cu*Avana robusto, the cigar feels a bit soggy/moist to the touch. Versus, a 5 Vegas Gold that is firm to the very end.

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Are you smoking that cigar in the rain? That seems a bit extreme for an improperly humidified cigar. Normally, if a cigar is overhumidified, it's difficult to get a good volume of smoke. Not "soggy". The cigar isn't wet in any way?

Don't look too much into the dryboxing, it's just a box that's dry (no humidification). Hell, I guess theoretically you wouldn't even need the box, just put it on a desk - the whole point is airing the cigar out a bit more than your humidor would.

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Originally Posted by mrtr33

Are you smoking that cigar in the rain? That seems a bit extreme for an improperly humidified cigar. Normally, if a cigar is overhumidified, it's difficult to get a good volume of smoke. Not "soggy". The cigar isn't wet in any way?

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haha, not in the rain. perhaps I did a poor job describing it. the Cu*Avana feels fairly firm before i light it up. but the last 1/3 will develop soft spots when i gently pinch it. it's like squeezing foam, except it doesn't spring back very quickly. I'm guessing, which i can be totally wrong, the over-humidified cigar creates too much steam and it builds up in the cigar thus making it "soggy?"

what do you think? what can make the cigar develop soft-spots? :smiley41:

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Originally Posted by mrtr33

Are you smoking that cigar in the rain? That seems a bit extreme for an improperly humidified cigar. Normally, if a cigar is overhumidified, it's difficult to get a good volume of smoke. Not "soggy". The cigar isn't wet in any way?

Don't look too much into the dryboxing, it's just a box that's dry (no humidification). Hell, I guess theoretically you wouldn't even need the box, just put it on a desk - the whole point is airing the cigar out a bit more than your humidor would.

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You want it in a box, preferably a wooden cigar box. The closed wooden container allows the cigar to lose humidity evenly and prevents it from drying out too quickly. It also helps things if you can't get to it right away.

If you like the way a cigar smokes and tastes, then it doesn't matter if the cigar gets a bit squishy. Assuming that the two cigars were in identical condition (which may not be the same as stored in identical conditions), then the difference could simply be due to the different wrapper and binder tobaccos used.

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Originally Posted by Shelby07

You want it in a box, preferably a wooden cigar box. The closed wooden container allows the cigar to lose humidity evenly and prevents it from drying out too quickly. It also helps things if you can't get to it right away.

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Agreed. You can also remove the stick from the cello and go ahead and clip/punch it to speed up the de-humidification process. I do this when taking a smoke from the aging cooler to smoke the next day and have had positive results for my smoking preference.

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Originally Posted by ashauler

Agreed. You can also remove the stick from the cello and go ahead and clip/punch it to speed up the de-humidification process. I do this when taking a smoke from the aging cooler to smoke the next day and have had positive results for my smoking preference.

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Ah, yes, i took them out of their cello, but never thought to pre-clip/punch. I'll give that a try.

I have the perfect cigar box to dry box the smokes. it's built almost like a humidor, w/ even a "whoomp" seal when you close the lid.

Thanks for everyone's inputs!

currently looking forward to my date w/ a Ghurka Symphony tonight. this hobby makes me sick. I don't smoke very often, but weekends are definitely cigar nights. I feel perverted fantasizing about my weekend dates and porn-rummaging through cigar catalogs. :smiley23: