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Humidity for Aging ISOM?

For ISOM's (and everything else I own) I go with 65% humidity level.
The draw is much better at these levels, as opposed to 70%.
 
I think most of my Habanos smoke better at about 62-63%, so I keep them there in a seperate humidor. Aging would be the same.
 
What are "ISOMs?" ???

For how long do you plan to age Cuban cigars? That is perhaps the most important consideration. By most accounts, Cuban cigars should be never be stored above 65%. For indefinite storage, humidity as low as 55% or lower is targeted by some "super agers."

So, the longer you wish to age, the lower should be both your temperatures and your humidity.

Wilkey
 
Everything I have gets treated the same;

65-68% for aging....60-63% for smoking.

Regards - B.B.S.
 
I love the terminology, "technically stands for..." :rolleyes:

It's an acronym.

Wilkey
 
I have been a long time proponent of 65% at 67 degrees. I use these numbers for ageing and for smoking.
 
A little off topic, but relevant in a way.

FWIW, I noticed last week in Cuba that the 3 shops I was in (same chain) all had the same hygrometer on the shelves (all walk-ins) and assuming all were somewhat calibrated, all read between 70-75 % and 75-79 deg F. May have been hotter at times in these places as daily temps were in the vicinity of 85.

Personally, the cigars I smoked down there had a tight draw. I won't say they were like sucking a wet rag, but it wasn't far from it. Now, IMHO they felt awesome to the touch. Nice & oily with a nice, soft & "quiet" feel.

How did I get around that, you may ask??

I took down a couple of empty Tupperdors. I would warm one up with the wife's hair dryer, put a few sticks in it, seal it and leave it under the bed over night. They came out feeling still a litle damper than I normally keep my Humis, but very smokeable. Next time down there, I'll bring a small analog Hygrometer and do the same thing, and check the RH as I open it.

Now, why is this relevant?? Aged ISOMs are valuable, right? If they're aged in Cuba in wharehouses, are they aged in perfectly controlled conditions as we here in North America define the term (mid 60's in both RH & temp) or are they aged in ambient, as I saw in the stores, above 70's for both measurements. I was wondering about this while there because from my understanding of the dreaded "beetle", over 140 when both RH & temp are added spells disaster. So how do they do it? Personally, I highly doubt their storage areas are "perfectly" controlled.

Please rest assured, I'm not saying anyone's wrong or right, just throwing in some thoughts and hoping some will respond with theirs.

Bigstick, not trying to jack your thread, just hoping for a little debate on the issue.



EDIT FOR AFTERTHOUGHT:



At the humidity levels down there, the RyJ Gold Label Churchills I bought were basically unsmokeable. It was like trying to suck a golfball through a cold garden hose.
 
Newfie,

What exactly are you tossing up for debate?

Is it the issue of aging? Aging at 140+ versus 130-? How to massage wet smokes into smokeability?

Just trying to get a little clarification so I can respond appropriately.

Wilkey
 
I really don't know what's best, but I know some who prefer to age long term at a little higher humidity (68-70%) and store short term at a lower humidity (60-65%) prior to smoking. I found Wilkey's advice interesting since it follows an opposite approach. As for me, I just keep all my smokes around 65%.
 
for aging I would say anywhere between 65 and 70 is fine, for smoking, anywhere between 60 and 65.
 
If I owned any ISOMsI think they would smoke the best at around 65% but long term storage for me is closer to 60%.

My Nic cigars are stored a little wetter (closer to 70% for smoking). They seem to do better for me.
 
Ginseng said:
Newfie,

What exactly are you tossing up for debate?

Is it the issue of aging? Aging at 140+ versus 130-? How to massage wet smokes into smokeability?

Just trying to get a little clarification so I can respond appropriately.

Wilkey
Click to expand...

Just the fact that we here in North America agree that cigars should be stored roughly between 60-70% with a temperature of mid to high 60s (and I'm not disputing this fact) while in Cuba as an example, the humidity rarely drops below 70%, and the temperature is usually over 80.

Nobody will dispute the belief that aged ISOMs are better than fresh, and to get a couple of boxes from late last decade or early in this decade out of Cuba wuld be a dream. As a matter of fact, I had several Brothers tell me I should look out for boxes from 2000-2003 as they are available in some shops. So any boxes stored "on that island" would be aged at a higher humidity and temperature than we would recommend.

So, who's right?? Like I said, I'm not disagreeing with the 60-70 ranges, I'm just wondering if maybe below 70% isn't too low for proper aging!!
 
"Cigars are far more durable than the 70/70 zealots contend and can easily endure some time at a lower humidity. In fact, many tobacconists overseas utilize 60-64% RH as their ideal RH for long term storage. Personally, I like 65%-67% myself for smoking, and have smoked tons of cigars kept at 60% RH with no problems whatsoever."

A quote from Cigar Nexis.
 
For long term again, I don't think it matters so much that it is kept at a certain arbitrary value. As long as it remains stable and constant at a humidity of 60-70%, I think you will end up with the same results. What I am trying to say is I believe that a smoke will turn out the same if it is kept at 61% stable for 5 years, when compared to a smoke kept at a stable 70% for 5 years, as long as the temperature is constant.

But really I have no idea what I am talking about. I just smoke 'em. :laugh:
 
Newfie said:
Ginseng said:
Newfie,

What exactly are you tossing up for debate?

Is it the issue of aging? Aging at 140+ versus 130-? How to massage wet smokes into smokeability?

Just trying to get a little clarification so I can respond appropriately.

Wilkey
Click to expand...

Just the fact that we here in North America agree that cigars should be stored roughly between 60-70% with a temperature of mid to high 60s (and I'm not disputing this fact) while in Cuba as an example, the humidity rarely drops below 70%, and the temperature is usually over 80.

Nobody will dispute the belief that aged ISOMs are better than fresh, and to get a couple of boxes from late last decade or early in this decade out of Cuba wuld be a dream. As a matter of fact, I had several Brothers tell me I should look out for boxes from 2000-2003 as they are available in some shops. So any boxes stored "on that island" would be aged at a higher humidity and temperature than we would recommend.

So, who's right?? Like I said, I'm not disagreeing with the 60-70 ranges, I'm just wondering if maybe below 70% isn't too low for proper aging!!
Click to expand...
I don't think it's presumptuous to say that aged Habanos are not necessarily better than young Habanos. As I wrote on the HB forum, perceptions of quality and aesthetics are reflections of sociocultural values. Case in point, Cubans and Spaniards prefer, in general, the profile of young Habanos. This should not be construed to suggest that smokers from these cultures are any less "refined" than say, Hong Kong or British Habanophiles. "Better" has no absolute referrent in the realm of the aesthetic. A corollary to this point is that not all smokers should be expected to track the same trajectory in terms of the development of their tastes.

Among the cognoscenti, the issue of "proper aging" conditions is not hotly contested for the simple reason that those who have accepted the definitions of "better" have also accepted the parameters through which this is defined. Primarily, unlimited aging timescales (at least until the expiration of the cigar) with the target characteristic being a harmonious, subtle character. By this standard, the environmental conditions are determined by the chemistry of aging and very little else. Is it coincidence that this type of aging condition is typically only associated with societies where a) the weather is cooler and/or drier than Cuba or b) there is a significant upper-middle to elite class with access to environmentally controlled storage?

I propose that the disparity between Cuban and European storage conditions is in fact a sociocultural artifact and not a consequence of differing conceptions of connoisseurship. Rather, the evolution of tastes insofar as cigar characteristics is a result of the economic and environmental constraints on cigar storage. Keep in mind that the storage horizons for the two schools of thought are also quite different. When was the last time that you found 25-year old cigars in Havana? Now what about the UK? Hong Kong? Switzerland? Just as the concept of "better" is relative, so is "aged."

If what one wants is a cigar with a more blended, rounded character, I have little doubt that with a short term smoking window, higher temperatures and humidities will do the trick. This is nothing more than chemical kinetics at work and the two main parameters which drive chemical kinetics are temperature and concentration. This would be akin to the Cuban aging conditions you found.

However, if the objective is to achieve this with more subtlety and not at 1 year but at 20+ years, then chemical physical considerations dictate that the conditions must be gentler (i.e. cooler, drier). This would be akin to the "cave" conditions found in European long term storage.

I still am not confident that I've addressed your points but I do appreciate your raising them so that we can revisit these ideas again.

Wilkey
 
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