Rotating Cigars

[Bill Clinton]

I own a wooden footlocker Humidor that's about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 feet tall and 1 foot wide.
I currently have about 100 robustos loosely stored inside this particular humidor that take up about 1/3 to 1/2 the height of the interior space of the humidor. I rotated these particular cigars only once over 10 months ago. All the robusto cigars inside this particular humidor are 1 years old.
I would like to know if it I can leave my cigars alone in the same exact location as they are right now without rotating them. The humidity level inside the humidor is always between 70% to 74%.

I don't want to rotate these cigars if I don't have to. I would like to know whether my cigars will be okay if I never rotate them in my humidor? Will my cigars taste good and still keep fresh and smoke okay if I never rotate them?

 

[bmd34202]

I never rotate my cigars, although me pawing through them frequently probably rotates them a little bit.

BTW, welcome to CP!

 

[Wurm]

Hey Bill... do all your cigars taste like fish? J/K

Welcome to Cigar Pass... make sure to say hello in the "Introduce Yourself Here" forum.

And to fill out your Profile Info.

 

[theorangeman]

I never rotate my cigars, although me pawing through them frequently probably rotates them a little bit.

BTW, welcome to CP!

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ditto - plus, I occasionally need to reorganize my cigars in order to fit new ones in my humi (so the rotation gets done from time to time indirectly)

 

[Bill Clinton]

I just want to be 100% sure that my 100+ loosely stored robusto cigars will still be fresh and that they will still taste good and that they will not be dried up if I "never" rotate any of these cigars inside my humidor.
Also, please understand that I NEVER usually smoke any of these particular cigars which are in this particular humidor. The cigars just stay stored inside the humidor.
I don't want to rotate them if I don't have to as long as all my cigars are all going to be safe and age correctly and still taste good when I am ready to smoke them.
Are you absolutely sure that I do NOT have to rotate my cigars and that rotating my cigars is "unecessary"?

 

[theorangeman]

President Clinton,

A couple of things...

First, rotating your cigars won't affect at all whether your sticks get dried up - unless you're talking about a huge humidor. Second, rotating your cigars also doesn't have a lick of impact on the taste either.

Some guys around here probably do rotate their cigars, others don't. If your concrened, I'd go ahead and rotate them every other month (or even once every 3 months) especially since your referring to a relatively small number of cigars.

Hope that helps somewhat. By the way, the following link is to a guide that I found VERY helpful when first starting out - check it out, there's even a section on rotating cigars I believe.

Cigar & Storage Guide

 

[Lumberg]

I wouldn't worry about it. I think that handling them often opens up the chance of them getting damaged from all the handling. Some people store their boxes unopened or bundles unopened for months with no ill effects. I wouldn't worry about it. I try to handle my cigars as little as possible until I actually smoke them.

 

[hornetguy]

I just want to be 100% sure that my 100+ loosely stored robusto cigars will still be fresh and that they will still taste good and that they will not be dried up if I "never" rotate any of these cigars inside my humidor.
Also, please understand that I NEVER usually smoke any of these particular cigars which are in this particular humidor. The cigars just stay stored inside the humidor.
I don't want to rotate them if I don't have to as long as all my cigars are all going to be safe and age correctly and still taste good when I am ready to smoke them.
Are you absolutely sure that I do NOT have to rotate my cigars and that rotating my cigars is "unecessary"?

[snapback]246647[/snapback]​

You realize, of course, that we are probably ALL biting our tongues over the many, many, MANY double entendre-type responses your questions inspire.
I'm trying to be nice. :whistling:

 

[Bill Clinton]

I am sorry for making this hard on the people in here who are trying to help me out. I didn't mean to.
And I am sorry for asking the same question over again, but I did this because I was unclear about whether the cigars that are located on the top few layers underneath the 2 trays inside my footlocker humidor got the same amount of humidification like the ones that are located on the bottom layers that are close to and on the bottom base of the humidor. I should have been a lot clearer about this in my first post in the beginning and I should have given you more information about what I was trying to ask you. I am sorry about this.
I would like to give you some information that is important which I didn't give to you in my previous posts.

I currently have about 150 to 180 robusto cigars sitting inside my humidor. I made a mistake in my previous posts by stating that my humidor only had 100 cigars inside it. I made a mistake and I want to appologize for the inaccuracy.

Also, I forgot to tell you that my humidor is a 400 to 500 count footlocker type humidor and it is about 1 1/2' feet high x 1 1/4' feet wide x 1 1/3' feet lengthwise. The humidor contains 2 rectangular humistat devices which are attached to the inside of the humidor lid by a magnet. Also, there are 2 removable trays on the top inside part of the humidor and a lot of space underneath the 2 trays to either store cigar boxes or to store only loose cigars. When I initially started placing cigars inside the humidor, I decided to store ALL of my cigars loosely in this particular humidor and there are currently about 5 or 6 flat layers of Robusto cigars stacked on top of each other inside the humidor from the inside bottom base and going upwards. So, right now, my humidor is currently filled up about the half way mark heightwise with only loose cigars which are laying flat on top of each other that almost reach at the halfway point of the height of the humidor. All these particular robusto cigars have been sitting inside my humidor like this now for almost 1 year (at least for 10 months). I have rotated all of the cigars only once about 10 months ago back in January of 2005 when I had to re-season my humidor.

There are also 2 removeable thin cedar partisions that separate the cigars into 3 separate sections inside the humidor. I would also like to make you aware that there is currently and empty open space on the top 1/2 of the inside of my humidor right above the 1st top layer of cigars and under the bottom 2nd tray. That's because my humidor is only filled up halfway. There is still more room to put more cigars in the other half of the open space that's still available inside the humidor. I have decided not to use anymore space inside the humidor and I have decided to keep the space above the 5 or 6 layers of cigars open.

I wasn't 100% sure, but when I created this thread, I always thought that rotating cigars in a humidor like the size of the one which I own was unnecessary. I just wanted to make sure that I was going about it the right way.

From all the responses that I received in this thread, and if I am correct, I think that you are all telling me that it's not necessary to rotate any of my cigars and that it's okay to leave them exactly the way they are. If this is the case, I will leave the cigars alone and not rotate them. I will like to know if the cigars which are located on the bottom layers near the humidor's base inside my humidor get "equal" humidification as the ones in the top layers.

In other words, do the cigars on the bottom layers inside my humidor near the bottom base of the humidor get the same amount of humidification like the ones that are located on the top layers? If not, will I still need to rotate the cigars? The humidification level is always constant between 72% and 75%, but it sometimes goes up to 78% anywhere from a few days to a whole week whenever I have to recharge the humistats.
Do you think that my cigars will still be safe and not spoil or get dry if they "never" get rotated and if they remain unrotated just like they have been sitting inside my humidor for the last 10 months?

And again, I want to appologize for not being clear in my first post that I made about everything.

 

[Wurm]

I would suggest you get a few of Viper's bead tubes and place them on all levels of your humidor. Once you have the beads... you no longer have any stress or worries. They come in 65% and 70% variants.

My humidor has been ROCK SOLID @ 65% since the beads leveled out (Its a new humidor that was just seasoned)

Viper's beads

 

[Ekans]

I would suggest you get a few of Viper's bead tubes and place them on all levels of your humidor. Once you have the beads... you no longer have any stress or worries. They come in 65% and 70% variants.

My humidor has been ROCK SOLID @ 65% since the beads leveled out (Its a new humidor that was just seasoned)

Viper's beads

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That's the way to go :thumbs: :thumbs:

 

[smokelaw1]

FIrst of all, I never rotate my sticks. There are cigars in the humi that have sat on the btotom of the box for years, excpet for when I moved them into my new humidor a few months ago. They are all great. In a proper environment, the cigars should be just fine.

And, of course, I second the beads. In a box like the one you are referring to (one of the "footlockers?") I would go for a few tubes of beads, one on each level. I have a small tube in my tiny desktop, as well some loose beads in my Barrister (in the bags), and my humidity is rock solid.

 

[JimK]

Bill,

Did you used to post on the Cigar Aficionado forums?

JK

 

[Lumberg]

I always thought that rotating cigars in a humidor like the size of the one which I own was unnecessary. I just wanted to make sure that I was going about it the right way.

From all the responses that I received in this thread, and if I am correct, I think that you are all telling me that it's not necessary to rotate any of my cigars and that it's okay to leave them exactly the way they are.

You are correct.

 

[theorangeman]

I am sorry for making this hard on the people in here who are trying to help me out. I didn't mean to.
And I am sorry for asking the same question over again, but I did this because I was unclear about whether the cigars that are located on the top few layers underneath the 2 trays inside my footlocker humidor got the same amount of humidification like the ones that are located on the bottom layers that are close to and on the bottom base of the humidor. I should have been a lot clearer about this in my first post in the beginning and I should have given you more information about what I was trying to ask you. I am sorry about this.
I would like to give you some information that is important which I didn't give to you in my previous posts.

I currently have about 150 to 180 robusto cigars sitting inside my humidor. I made a mistake in my previous posts by stating that my humidor only had 100 cigars inside it. I made a mistake and I want to appologize for the inaccuracy.

Also, I forgot to tell you that my humidor is a 400 to 500 count footlocker type humidor and it is about 1 1/2' feet high x 1 1/4' feet wide x 1 1/3' feet lengthwise. The humidor contains 2 rectangular humistat devices which are attached to the inside of the humidor lid by a magnet. Also, there are 2 removable trays on the top inside part of the humidor and a lot of space underneath the 2 trays to either store cigar boxes or to store only loose cigars. When I initially started placing cigars inside the humidor, I decided to store ALL of my cigars loosely in this particular humidor and there are currently about 5 or 6 flat layers of Robusto cigars stacked on top of each other inside the humidor from the inside bottom base and going upwards. So, right now, my humidor is currently filled up about the half way mark heightwise with only loose cigars which are laying flat on top of each other that almost reach at the halfway point of the height of the humidor. All these particular robusto cigars have been sitting inside my humidor like this now for almost 1 year (at least for 10 months). I have rotated all of the cigars only once about 10 months ago back in January of 2005 when I had to re-season my humidor.

There are also 2 removeable thin cedar partisions that separate the cigars into 3 separate sections inside the humidor. I would also like to make you aware that there is currently and empty open space on the top 1/2 of the inside of my humidor right above the 1st top layer of cigars and under the bottom 2nd tray. That's because my humidor is only filled up halfway. There is still more room to put more cigars in the other half of the open space that's still available inside the humidor. I have decided not to use anymore space inside the humidor and I have decided to keep the space above the 5 or 6 layers of cigars open. 

I wasn't 100% sure, but when I created this thread, I always thought that rotating cigars in a humidor like the size of the one which I own was unnecessary. I just wanted to make sure that I was going about it the right way.

From all the responses that I received in this thread, and if I am correct, I think that you are all telling me that it's not necessary to rotate any of my cigars and that it's okay to leave them exactly the way they are. If this is the case, I will leave the cigars alone and not rotate them. I will like to know if the cigars which are located on the bottom layers near the humidor's base inside my humidor get "equal" humidification as the ones in the top layers.

In other words, do the cigars on the bottom layers inside my humidor near the bottom base of the humidor get the same amount of humidification like the ones that are located on the top layers? If not, will I still need to rotate the cigars? The humidification level is always constant between 72% and 75%, but it sometimes goes up to 78% anywhere from a few days to a whole week whenever I have to recharge the humistats.
Do you think that my cigars will still be safe and not spoil or get dry if they "never" get rotated and if they remain unrotated just like they have been sitting inside my humidor for the last 10 months?

And again, I want to appologize for not being clear in my first post that I made about everything.

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Bill - the answer to your question is most likely no. Cigars on your top shelf are probably not at the exact same humidity as the ones on your bottom shelf (that also depends on where you put your humidifiers as well as other factors). However, does this mean that you need to rotate your cigars? No, not necessarily, but it certainly wouldn't hurt anything either. Have you looked at the link to the guide that I posted above? Your questions could be answered by taking a few minutes and perusing the guide. This very question is addressed in the guide. Take the time to read - especially when guys here provide you with good resources! Also, don't forget to search the forum before posting because some of your questions may very well have already been answered.

 

[Bill Clinton]

Thank you all for your replies.
I've decided that I will not rotate my cigars from the replies that I received from all in here.
I come to conclude that rotation is not important as long as the humidor stays at the desired humidity levels.

 

[Marty]

Check out this website, it has plenty of useful information in it. Your question was asked and answered in there.

Q: Should I rotate the cigars in my humidor?

A: No. This is another bit of silly advice that is often recommended by the anal retentive. The difference between the relative humidity from the bottom to the top of your humidor is insignificant and is certainly nothing to worry about. Some "experts" have even suggested that by not rotating your cigars that "all the oils will settle to the bottom side." This is an incredibly lame statement. The essential oils in a cigar will always seep in the direction of a drier surface. In a stable environment this is almost always towards the top which is the side exposed to air. You will see these oils crystallize becoming plume (bloom) over the years. It is possible for the cedar floor of your humidor to wick some oil to the bottom, but it happens so seldom and without any negative impact it is not even worthy of consideration. Eventually all excess oils will dissipate without a trace except for possibly bloom.

The only legit reason to rotate stock within your humidor is because you want your cigars to be more convenient for you to smoke. Less often smoked ones on the bottom, and the ones you are grabbing all the time on the top.

http://www.cigarnexus.com/index.html

 

[Blue Dragon]

You realize, of course, that we are probably ALL biting our tongues over the many, many, MANY double entendre-type responses your questions inspire.
I'm trying to be nice. :whistling:

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I am sorry for making this hard on the people in here who are trying to help me out. I didn't mean to.

Youre not making this "hard" on anyone. Hornetguy's response is in reference to the visual some have drummed up in the mind's eye with regards to your online nick and the rotating of some 100+ cigars. I hope she is up to the task. :whistling:


It's all good!
- C

 

[Bill Clinton]

You realize, of course, that we are probably ALL biting our tongues over the many, many, MANY double entendre-type responses your questions inspire.
I'm trying to be nice.  :whistling:

[snapback]246836[/snapback]​

I am sorry for making this hard on the people in here who are trying to help me out. I didn't mean to.

Youre not making this "hard" on anyone. Hornetguy's response is in reference to the visual some have drummed up in the mind's eye with regards to your online nick and the rotating of some 100+ cigars. I hope she is up to the task. :whistling:


It's all good!
- C

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I understand.