new humidor

[chris1980]

skipper i use beads now but that is a old pic i have like 3 other ones now and the one on this thread is filled and cant fit any more in there

[tafdom]

[user=1168]Piast[/user] wrote:

Nice humidor, however, keep in mind that when you start mixing other cigar lines, your mild or sweet tasting cigars may start taking on the flavor of your stronger or more earthy type cigars.

I smaller humi will have a better chance of marrying. I see some put the groups in baggies to seperate the flavors/ Nic, Hond,Cuban etc.  I doesn't matter to some but it does to me.

With that minor caveat out of the way, I should also add that, alas, even long filler cigars come in different qualities, and as such will vary in their abilities to enhance with aging. Cigars are plant matter and all plant matter will alter over time, some for the better and some for the worse. All the more reason to be concerned with how your premium stogies are stored.

Given the high demand for cigars these days (yes, I know the"CIGAR BOOM" has ended, but there is still a high demand for premium smokes), most cigars do not get sufficient aging time, either in the production aging rooms or in the retailer's humidor. Of course, you can pay top dollar to buy "VINTAGE CIGARS", which use tobacco that has been aged longer, or you can take some premium non-vintage stogies and lay them down in your own box for aging.

Since most cigars enter the market in a "GREEN" state, you should give them a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks in your humidor just to smooth out the rough edges and bring them up to par before firing them up. This short term maturation will allow the tobacco to stabilize its moisture levels. However, if you have more time, and sufficient room, most premium cigars will benefit from at least a year of aging in your humidor, producing a more smooth, complex and satisfying smoke. Some of the best cigars will continue to improve over many years.

Throughout the first 3 to 4 months in your humidor, the tobacco oils and moisture will begin to migrate and distribute evenly throughout a cigar, creating subtle changes in the flavor. This process is known as "MARRYING." This is also why it is a good idea to store the same, or similar, cigars next to each other in a humidor for long term aging. The marriage process will distribute oils and their associated flavors not only within a cigar, but across adjacent cigars. If a humidor is filled with the same, or very similar smokes, marrying will produce better consistency of flavor. However, if you mix very different blends of tobacco (spicy, mild, earthy, etc.) in the same box for a long period of time, the mixing of flavors can produce nasty results. A good reason to use the dividers that come with your humidor. And, for the same reason, be sure not to store flavored cigars in the same box with your non-flavored premiums.


Another tell-tale sign of properly aged cigars is the appearance of "BLOOM" (also referred to as, "PLUME"). This appears as a light whitish gray powder that is left from the cigar's essential oils drying on its surface, and is considered a very good sign that the proper aging is taking place. Not all cigars develop bloom, but those that are heavy in oils almost always do over time. Cigars exhibiting bloom are typically exceptional in flavor.

Some people say that the structure of a cigar will also affect it's suitability for aging. A thicker (larger RING GAUGE cigar contains a greater variety of tobacco leaves and, thus, a potentially more COMPLEX flavor. However, I think that the character of the tobacco is more telling. Tobaccos grown in wonderfully rich soil, with the perfect mix of sun and water will have a strength and an innate complexity that will benefit from aging. It is much the same with wines. The higher quality the grape yield, the better is the potential for aging. Some vintages of grapes, will yield a more complex wine with the potential to last for many years and improve with age. There are many cigars that will consistently improve over decades, while other cigars will have a limit to which they can continue to improve.