How long is too long for cigars to not properly maintained?

[BobbyRitz]

For about a year prior to signing up here at CP I maintained (very loosely) a small humi with a couple of VSGs and several RyJ Churchills.

Upon becoming more active in early last month, I bought a 150 count humi that, as some of you know, uses a CO and a small amount of beads for humidification.

That said, I have one RyJ left from a trip to the Dominican in November 2005.

My fear is that I didn't maintain it well during those early months. I used a gel tube for humidification. It never got too low before adding distilled water.

The question is, how long can cigars be maintained in an inadequate environment before they are lost? And what indicators does one see when a smoke is no longer recoverable?

I searched but didn't find anything.

Any thoughts?

Rob

 

[Brickhouse]

Well it depends on the environment at which they were kept and just how inadequate it was.

But all things being equal, I think you can restore cigars that have been neglected for nearly a couple years.

As long as the oils are still in there and have not evaporated, you'll be able to bring them back over time.

It sounds to me like the sticks you speak of will be just fine.

 

[BobbyRitz]

Thanks Wyatt!

I didn't have a hygro in the humi, but if I had to guess, RH was in the low 50's.

Temperature probably didn't exceed 72 degrees.

I realize that there are a number of variables in play, but I assume that my initial humi maintained this environment for close to a year.

 

[Ludwig]

Thanks Wyatt!

I didn't have a hygro in the humi, but if I had to guess, RH was in the low 50's.

Temperature probably didn't exceed 72 degrees.

I realize that there are a number of variables in play, but I assume that my initial humi maintained this environment for close to a year.

Your fine. Some people keep their cigars stored in the mid 50's....its better than having them stored in a super super humid environment.

 

[Ginseng]

That's a tough question, Bobby. Considering that some experts store their ultra-long aging cigars in conditions approaching 55F/50%, the cigars may be in poor to reasonable condition. The important consideration is how tightly sealed or protected from loss of the "good stuff" in these cigars including, but not limited to, oils. A cab of cigars in a ziploc in a humidor under these conditions is likely to be in far better condition than a few singles rattling around inside a nearly empty desktop humi.

After you've slowly brought it back to smokeable temperature and humidity, give it a good sniff. If it does not smell like a cigar of this type otherwise should, then it may not smoke well. The final test, of course, is in the smoking.

Wilkey

 

[Michal]

I can only say, that smoking a cigar which was lieing in a shelf for 10 years is a bad bad idea