See the HUMIDOR in life =)

Having seen the BraeHaus thread regarding his cigars I finally decided to jump in and so I bought a humidor for myself. Just a small one 20 cigar capacity (I don't smoke that much) and to fill it quickly I bought a this bundle of cigars from cigars international. Cheap I know but what they hell, I will share them all with friends. I will be hitting up Lake Tahoe Cigar Co. this weekend to get some better cigars, most likely some sort of Punch. If anyone has any suggestions that would be awesome.
P.S. It probably took me to long to think of this title. =(

Congrads on starting another expensive hobby!! I find nothing better then a brew and smoke after a long day.

In regards to your box, did it come prepped? By this, is it already seasoned and the humidity up? Or did you buy it off the self? If you need to prep it, PM me and I'll walk you through the process, easy and it take a few days. Make sure you have a decent hydrometer and RH crystals, you will be up the creak without them!

And great choice!!! I love the Consuegra's! In fact I just had one last night!

I believe that it is not prepped. if i remember correctly i need to put a small bowl of distilled water and let it all evaporate into the box, refilling till no more evaporates. not sure after that so any advice would be great.

If it isn't seasoned, you'll want to sponge some distilled water on the inside surfaces until they're damp. Wait 24 hours, repeat. Then use a humidifier for maintenance.

Try an Ashton VSG or Diamond Crown Maximus. They're both mid-priced, medium bodied, and quite tasty.

Sweet, I really have been looking at getting one lately. I had a couple good cigars this last week that I really enjoyed, and picked up a few others, but have them sitting in my fridge. Looking at that site, they are not too much money, might have to place an order.

welcome to the DARK SIDE!

there is no secret to "prepping" or conditioning your humidor. It'll most likely be shipped not prepped due to the unpredictable conditions shipping will offer.

when you get your humi, take DISTILLED WATER and apply it to a clean sponge or clean cloth and wipe down the walls of the humidor, you can also put a shot glass of distilled water in the humi to help it out... let it sit for 24hours, then repeat the wiping...

I'd recommend getting a digital hydrometer to measure the humidity in your humi... once it levels off add your sticks and don't forget to pick up a jar of Humi-Care Cyrstals.

www.cigarbid.com is a great site to get awesome deals, it's like cigar ebay.

Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 are my favorite!

here's part of my setup:

For a relatively cheap, daily smoke, try Hoyo de Monterrey Excaliburs. They're very consistent, flavorful, and easy to find.

Has anybody bought a Cigar Oasis or any of the other digital humidifiers? I've thought about spending some $$ so I minimize the chances of really ****ing **** up.

the_bird said:

Has anybody bought a Cigar Oasis or any of the other digital humidifiers? I've thought about spending some $$ so I minimize the chances of really ****ing **** up.

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those are geared for rooms and large contains/humidors... if you decide to make your own humidor from a cooler or small fridge, I'd highly recommend it!

I am as much of a cigar enthusiast as I am a beer brewer. cigarweekly.com/forums is by far my favorite BB. You can find everything you need to know about cigars there.

My humidor holds over 200 and I try to keep it full all the time, I buy mostly from : http://www.thompsoncigar.com/default.aspx

I've bought a lot of smokes from Thompson. Good selection, prices seem good, never had a complaint. I need to place an order this afternoon, actually.

I am in there cigar club and they send me my cigars every month

keiths said:

I am in there cigar club and they send me my cigars every month

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my mom did that for me one year, it was pretty exciting...

also, a friend of mine love freebies and he would scout out free cigar offers all the time, i've gotten a few Monte Cristo cigars for free that way...

Very cool, I need to get a new camera so I can post some picture of my setup. All my boxes are from Thompson, I've got a 200, 150 and a 50 from them. I also have a very old one that's a hand me down from my grandpa, not very good, but it's got a great season in it.

I need to drop some loots on digital hydrometers. I'm going out after work to pick up about another 100-150 smokes for my collection!!! This damn thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Please, anyone of you that ever come through DC, LET ME KNOW!!

I'm going to try these Thompson Wonder Gel things.



Couple of them, plus a bottle of the solution, plus the digital hygrometer for $28.

Unless these's a better option out there..

My boss has been using hydration pellets from home depot for years, and thats what he's recommened to me. They are the same thing as you buy in a cigar shop, only under a differnent label and a helluva lot cheaper. I don't remember what company makes the ones I've got but just go to HD and you can get a big bottle that will last you years for what you'd pay for a small one in a cigar shop

Hmmm... where would you buy those at Depot? What department?

the_bird said:

I'm going to try these Thompson Wonder Gel things.

Couple of them, plus a bottle of the solution, plus the digital hygrometer for $28.

Unless these's a better option out there..

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the propylene gel is good for keeping cigars that you are going to smoke within a few weeks time frame fresh, however if you are going to "season" your cigars and plan on keeping them in the humidor for a while, then just use distilled water...

the gel gives your cigars a "chemical" taste to them.. at least that was my observation.

the_bird said:

Hmmm... where would you buy those at Depot? What department?

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Gardening, you use them in soil to retain water. Say you were going out of town for a week or 2 and you don't want you plant's to die. Mix them into the soil and water once. I have mine in empty plastic cigar tubes, I poked a few holes thru the top and added a little water. It's been a month and they are still holding my boxes at 70-72% with no problem. Like I said, they are the same pellets you buy from a cigar shop, only super cheap

dirtymike1 said:

Gardening, you use them in soil to retain water. Say you were going out of town for a week or 2 and you don't want you plant's to die. Mix them into the soil and water once. I have mine in empty plastic cigar tubes, I poked a few holes thru the top and added a little water. It's been a month and they are still holding my boxes at 70-72% with no problem. Like I said, they are the same pellets you buy from a cigar shop, only super cheap

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how ingenious... i'll have to look them up as well.

Ohh and I will add, I do add only distilled water and anti fungal solution to them!

I'm still tempted by this...

The Cigar Oasis Ultra electronic cigar humidifier was designed to mount on the lid of the humidor (or on or under a tray) with minimum space requirements. It uses an upgraded microprocessor technology to measure and control the humidity accurately. It has two modes of control. When used with battery power it works until the desired humidity is reached. Then the unit goes to 'sleep' which means the power is turned off to extend battery life. It will sample the humidity every five minutes to make sure the humidity is correct. If not, it goes into control mode to adjust humidity. When operating on line power it samples the humidity continuously. In both cases the control point is set to 70% humidity. The unit comes with a sealed water cartridge mounted and ready to use.

• Small Size - 1" H x 2.5" W x 6.375" L • Exclusively for the cigar aficionado's personal humidor (up to 75 cigars or 1 cubic foot) • Fully automatic • Virtually maintenance-free • Battery or outlet powered • Distilled water only • Accurate humidity control • Integral humidity indicator • Low water and battery indication and alarm • Runs for weeks maintenance free • Sleek look for your humidor • Sealed water cartridge with mold retardant • Weeks of unattended reliable operation • Audible alarm for low battery and water • Easily replaceable or refillable water cartridge​

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$80 at Amazon....

I think I need that

Good find Bird

I can't find any reviews of it, is the thing. Looks like it came out pretty recently. I'll have to peruse some of the cigar forums and see if anyone likes it, see how it works.

Definately about 8000x sexier that the other Cigar Oasis models!

You'll probably be happier with a pound or two of 65% RH beads.

The gel things suck. IMO

I think what I need to do is take a road trip. There's a REALLY nice smoke shop over in NoHo, I could probably talk the wife into going to NoHo with me this weekend on our anniversary. They've got some really nice humidors over there, and I'm sure they can point me in the right direction of a good humidifier or good system of some kind. Wife loves a nice cigar herself, so she'll be happy to stock up a bit, too

well all of my stuff should be here tomorrow. and as soon as its here i will start to prep the humidor. also having never had this many cigars at one time whats the best way to keep them while prepping the humidor, this weekend is a great time to sit back with a homebrew and have a cigar.

Yuri_Rage said:

If it isn't seasoned, you'll want to sponge some distilled water on the inside surfaces until they're damp. Wait 24 hours, repeat. Then use a humidifier for maintenance.

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bingo, that's the best way for pre-humidifying the cedar. distilled or RO water..something pretty darn pure. that's what my tobacco shop told me.

zbeeblebrox said:

well all of my stuff should be here tomorrow. and as soon as its here i will start to prep the humidor. also having never had this many cigars at one time whats the best way to keep them while prepping the humidor, this weekend is a great time to sit back with a homebrew and have a cigar.

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you can freeze them. Some people don't agree with this method, but it will kill any tobacco beetles that maybe lurking about.

dirtymike1 said:

you can freeze them. Some people don't agree with this method, but it will kill any tobacco beetles that maybe lurking about.

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This is as debated as the batch vs. fly sparging.

There are studies that show in order to kill all bug eggs you must drop the temp much much lower then a standard fridge can go.

My personal opinion is to make sure your humi doesnt get above 72ish. I keep mine at 68 and I have never in 5 years had a bug outbreak.

But for storage for the 2-3 days it takes to get the humidor up and running, freezing them should just keep them for those few days

dirtymike1 said:

But for storage for the 2-3 days it takes to get the humidor up and running, freezing them should just keep them for those few days

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I have found freezing my cigars is a pain. If you stick them straight into the humi more then likely your wrappers will crack due to the change in temp being so rapid.

zbeeblebrox said:

well all of my stuff should be here tomorrow. and as soon as its here i will start to prep the humidor. also having never had this many cigars at one time whats the best way to keep them while prepping the humidor, this weekend is a great time to sit back with a homebrew and have a cigar.

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Well I'm at a lose for the few days you don't have your box up and running.

It's time to fall down for the night...

just to get this right i should freeze the cigars until i get the humidor up? or would something be better? And if i do freeze them what do i need to do to get them ready for the humidor?
thanks for all the great advice so far =)

Just put them in a big ziplock bag and put them in the freezer. Make sure you have baking soda in there to take out any off flavors that moight get into the cigars. I double checked this with my personal guru

So, I have some old analogue hygrometers that I need to use until I buy some digital ones. I've just ordered some smoked, so I want to get the humidifiers conditioned this weekend. So - sponge on some distilled water, try and find those moisture-beads at The Depot; but how do I make sure the hygrometers are reading properly so I know if I'm getting things conditioned right or not?

If you are replacing your hygrometers with digitals, the analogue ones are ok. All I have are analogue acutlly. I need to up grade as well. They should be fine, atleast pretty close. I would get it up to abpout 80% then put the cigars in, they will suck up that 10% and it will level out much quicker that way