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Anyone? This is always covered in reviews, but I don't know why.
Bonus points for why people on this forum store their cigars below 70 RH. (60-65?)
Is it just me, or is it really hard to smoke in the cold? I had a gurkha symphony today, burned perfectly (conical tip after ash drops) until it got cold out when it was about halfway. Then it became inwardly dented and started dying. Try as I might it wouldn't burn happily anymore. It had been sitting in a steady humidor for a couple months...
The draw on my symphony was generally poor, but I had a couple very tasty draws. Not nearly every draw though, not sure why.
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Major veining can cause burn issues but I think for the most pare veining is mentioned as a descriptive term to give you an idea of what the cigar wrapper leaf looks like. As far a storing below 70% rh, I store mine at 65% because I find they burn and draw better at that humidity.
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1. Veins
Personally, I am not against veins. While less veins lend to a smoother wrapper leaf and indicates that the cigar was most likely grown under cheesecloth, it might also indicate that the cigar will be less powerful. Whereas a cigar grown in the sun will generally be darker, oilier and more veiny.
However, if there are MONSTROUS veins then a burn can run up a vein and cause the cigar to burn unevenly. With air now able to get into the cigar from the side where the vein burned rapidly, the tobacco still combusting further down doesn't get as much air to combust. So, that's a bad thing for an even burn.
Reviewers will mention the veins as a clue to evaluating the cigar. It is just another source of information about the cigar. When reviewing a cigar, you want to be attentive to every aspect of a cigar. This can help you write a better review or just simply enjoy your cigar to the fullest.
2. 70/70
While most humidor instruction guides recommend that cigars be stored at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 percent Relative Humidity, these are just a guide. Retailers tend to keep their inventory at higher humidity levels to compensate for the loss of moisture in a cigar during shipping. Also, for walk-in traffic, a customer may not have a humidor at home. So, a more humidified couple of cigars might last longer in a baggie.
On the other hand, most cigar aficionados prefer to keep their humidors at between 65-68% RH. Some say that Cubans burn and taste best in that range. Some despise a plugged cigar so much that they'd rather play it on the safe side. Some might suggest less chance for a mold outbreak. Some might claim that the aging process slows down with less moisture present.
Even at a slightly lower range, if the foot of a cigar is squishy/spongy then it should be moist enough to smoke. Alternatively, if it cracks and crackles then that's a sign that it's too dry. Adjust your humidor accordingly.
3. Burn issues in the cold
As long as you lit your cigar properly and maintained a sufficient ash while smoking, there should have been enough heat inside the barrel to keep the cigar combusting properly. Exactly how cold was it?? Was there a tremendous amount of wind?? Still, I'm not sure it was the weather that messed up the burn. My guess would have to be the construction of the cigar or the storage conditions.
Not enough information to make a really educated guess here, though.
Hope that information was helpful.
No Reserve, No Retreat, No Regrets!!!
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Thanks guys, that was very informative.
Aging process slows down with lower RH. Is this good? I've heard conflicting reports.
As for my cold burn, I think it was cause by humidity. I took the cigar out a few hours before lighting it, which probably allowed the foot to dry out enough to burn quite well. It wasn't really that cold or windy (for vancouver).
I think my options are:
1 - Maintain 65rh
So how can one maintain a 65RH humidor without an electronic humi? I'm using 70RH crystal right now. Boveda packs seem like a really good business model more than anything else.
2 - Dehumidify a bit before smoking.
Is there a reliable way to do this?
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I think B Dub hit it on the head. Personally I keep my smokes between 61 and 63 rh and they seem to smoke great.
Scott
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Thanks. I'll be getting some.
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Beads for sure. Didnt take long for me to switch after coming to stogie chat
I like smoking lightning
