Smoke Time

[mrtr33]

Am I doing something wrong? Is it bad form to just pull a cigar out of the humidor and light it up? Should I let it rest after I pull it out?

Just so I have the process down correctly:
I receive a shipment of cigars, and let them rest in my humidor. After a couple of days, I guess I can assume they are good enough, then do I have to set them out again before I light up? ??

I guess I'm just getting some conflicting information. Some places I've read set the cigars they are about to smoke in a cedar box (like a padron anniversary series - of which I've picked up a few empties) for a little while before lighting up. Others encourage resting in the humidor for a few days first, then after they get readjusted, are ready to be smoked. So far everyone agrees that they need to spend some time back in the humi to regain humidity.

Has anyone noticed any difference better or worse? Thanks!

[bigwhiteash]

Any cigars that I purchase, I like to let them rest in the cooler for at least a week just to let the humidity equalize. Most retailers store cigars at 70% rh, a bit too wet for my tastes. I get better burn at 65%. However, once they have rested/equalized, I'll just grab one up, snip it, and check the draw. any that are tight go into a drybox, (desktop humidor with no humidifying device). otherwise, just fire it up and enjoy. Some here use the drybox diferently, and store cigars that they plan to smoke in the next couple days, but I just cant predict my tastes that well.

Short answer? Grab 'n' GO

[basil]

Smoking a cigar right out of a new box is a temptation I nearly always give in to. Sometimes they are fine, sometimes too wet. I agree with BWA, 70 is too wet. I'm pretty sure I've received boxes that are significantly wetter, and they don't smoke worth a shit.

I live in a dry area, and I think local climate needs to be considered. We have one B&M here and while they have a decent selection, they don't smoke cigars and they don't know shit about taking care of them. So, cigars that don't sell quickly - within a month or so - may be dry enough to necessitate re-humidifying before they can be enjoyed. Left in that store long enough, they are ruined.

So, I'm pretty careful at home. The ambient rh is nearly always lower than 65%, so I check my hydros at least a coupla times a week. When cigars come in that are too wet (and I don't plan to sit on them for a while), I have to give them as long as 3-4 months before they (slowly) come down to something smokable.

[ashauler]

I keep my humidor at smoking rh, which I agree is in the lower/mid 60's for me. Like BWA I have absolutely no idea what I'm gonna smoke until I open the humi so its for sure grab and go for me.

As far as new purchases and aging, I have two coolers, 1 big one for aging/relatively long term storage around 70%, and a smaller one to quarantine my new purchases in. I quarantine the new cigars for at least 2 weeks at the same rh as my storage cooler. At the end of two weeks I usually put a couple sticks in the humi and the box in the storage cooler.

Like Basil, I can usually never resist the urge to smoke one right off the truck either and usually they are too wet to smoke well, but I still do it.

[bigwhiteash]

I'd like to add that I will always smoke one right out of the new box. not only due to the temptation, but it gives me a base to compare against when I smoke one next year.