The effects of Freezing Cigars.

[El Presidente]

I have had some correspondence from some intelligent clients (yes...a possible oxymoron ;-) ) who are of the opinion that Freezing new and fresh cigars for a month, develops the same flavour profile as aging them approx 4 years.

While this is almost impossible to determine...what has been your experience with freezing cigars? Does it alter the flavour?

[dragon]

I have never frozen any of my own stock, nor would I ever be inclined to.

It's my understanding that all cigars coming into Switzerland to the distributors are frozen per Swiss health laws regarding the importation of tobacco products. Three different Swiss vendors have confirmed to me the cigars they receive from their official distributor have been previously frozen for a minimum of 72 hrs. before being distributed to the various dealers. One vendor also said he actually re-freezes all his incoming stock for 48 hrs. just as an additional precaution.

So.......getting back to the question, I have smoked cigars from vendors in Switzerland, Germany, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, etc, and I have never noticed any huge difference in the cigars from Switzerland.

I've also been told by some knowledgeable people that 99% of the people (even veteran smokers) cannot tell the difference in blind taste tests between a cigar that's been previously frozen, and one that has not.

[El Presidente]

Dragon.

I find frozen cigars to be tougher on the draw and colder on the lips

The majority of clients north of Brisbane freeze their cigars for reason of beetles. I have found that freezing removes the amonia characteristic of cigars in a sick period. I have done this with personal boxes of RASS and Monte Especiales. A client of mine in Malaysia put me onto the technique. It worked particularly well on the Monte's.

Outside of minimising/eliminating this sick period...I have found no discernable difference.

[Dave Kuck]

When my cigars arrive they take a week detour to the freezer. That includes the box as well. One of my friends had the pesty bugs invade part of his humidor and I am determined for it not to happen to me.

Sure I could try to keep the temperature under 70 degrees by buying an air conditioner for the few days it gets warm where I live. Or-I can go worry free by freezing the ass of the little buggers. I can tell no difference between the ones in my newer humidor [which first go into the freezer] and the few cigars I have left that I did not freeze in my little, older humidor. The cigars that have been in my new humidor for two years have that wonderful oily surface that simply begs to be smoked. Thus, from my point of view, I cannot see any difference.

dave :-)

[rd123456789]

I freeze for a few days because of the beetle problem. Had it once and don't ever want to experience it again.

As far as freezing changing anything about the cigar (better or worse), nothing. Although, I've never went as long as a month and don't see the need. I appreciate patience the waiting game teaches and enjoy smokes that have been cared for over time.

[Dave Kuck]

Agree with you totally. :-)

[Dave Kuck]

I find frozen cigars to be tougher on the draw and colder on the lips

Don't forget to take your head out of the freezer. :-D

dave

[Smokin_Safari]

Unfortunately, freezing the stogies are mandatory after a long transport period between factory, storage & freight under varying conditions. Maybe I'm just used to it now, but no taste variation comes close to enjoying it in the end & 2 weeks in the freezer is worth it!

[josie67]

» Unfortunately, freezing the stogies are mandatory after a long transport

» period between factory, storage & freight under varying conditions. Maybe

» I'm just used to it now, but no taste variation comes close to enjoying it

» in the end & 2 weeks in the freezer is worth it!

I agree completely. I freeze everything I get for 5 days, then 1 day in the fridge, one day at room temperature, and then back in the humidor. The cigars smoke perfectly with no problems.

[ilikecigars]

as for quick ageing climates do effect the speed at which a cigar does age, ive heard of many push techniques but what one wants is a slow ageing effect..actually higher temp.s not low would age a cigar faster...i would think freezing would and does dry out the cigars to some degree, while if one has beetles the choice is obvious but i wouldnt freeze unless absolutely needed.

i place new stock in another area untill all is clear of bugs...a few months.

ive never had a problem and hope i never do...ive also heard that the average freezer doesnt go low enough to kill the larva anyway..so i personally feel as with aquarium fish..lol keep them quaretined for a time then allow them into the main humidor. jmo

i would never freeze to advance age...i want mine to age slow and delicately, pushing the process isnt the way too go. imo

would it work ? i think if you raise the temp. for an extended period it would more likely have that effect.

[dragon]

Yes, that's correct. For any benefit, the cigars need to be frozen in a sub zero freezer for a minimum of 48 hours. Most home freezers don't get that cold and offer no benefit as far as crystalizing and cracking any beetle eggs that may be present.

Bottom line....if you're not freezing at sub zero temps, it's a waste of time.

[genevapics]

"Bottom line....if you're not freezing at sub zero temps, it's a waste of time."

So my GE Refrigerator isn't going to do the trick? What's a bloke to do? Maybe I will drop my cigars off at my local butcher and let them age with the hanging slabs of beef. :-D Seriously though, what can a guy do without access to such frigid conditions ? [Feel free to swing away at that sentence!]

[Fatshotbud]

» "Bottom line....if you're not freezing at sub zero temps, it's a waste of

» time."

»

» So my GE Refrigerator isn't going to do the trick? What's a bloke to do?

» Maybe I will drop my cigars off at my local butcher and let them age with

» the hanging slabs of beef. :-D Seriously though, what can a guy do

» without access to such frigid conditions ? [Feel free to

» swing away at that sentence!]

I would think a household freezer would work well enough but you should leave them for longer periods.

I use a chest style freezer and the thermometer reads zero without being set to maximum cooling.

If you use a refrig/freezer style - just be sure limit the traffic.

I always wrap mine in a fashion that lessens air/moisture contact.

Then let them chill for a good week or so (extra duration is sometimes due to feeble ststus).

[Ginseng]

» » "Bottom line....if you're not freezing at sub zero temps, it's a waste

» of

» » time."

» »

» » So my GE Refrigerator isn't going to do the trick? What's a bloke to

» do?

» » Maybe I will drop my cigars off at my local butcher and let them age

» with

» » the hanging slabs of beef. :-D Seriously though, what can a guy do

» » without access to such frigid conditions ? [Feel free to

» » swing away at that sentence!]

»

» I would think a household freezer would work well enough but you should

» leave them for longer periods.

» I use a chest style freezer and the thermometer reads zero without being

» set to maximum cooling.

» If you use a refrig/freezer style - just be sure limit the traffic.

»

» I always wrap mine in a fashion that lessens air/moisture contact.

» Then let them chill for a good week or so (extra duration is sometimes

» due to feeble ststus).

As is the case with many biological processes and dosing/exposure relationships, lethality curves can be generated. The practical implication of this is that the colder your freezer, the shorter the stay required to achieve a given kill ratio. Of course, above a given temperature, the kill off is essentially nil.

That said, I subject my incoming stock to one day in the veggie crisper, four days in the freezer and one day in the veggie crisper again. Then 6 hours in the room and then into the humi. I have noticed no ill effects, or really any effects whatsoever on freezing. As long as you wrap the cigars in foil, you will be fine.

[link=http://forums.cigarweekly.com/viewtopic.php?t=102587&start=0]Some empirical work on cigar freezing[/link]

[link=http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/stored/cigarette_beetle.htm]About the little bugger[/link]

Wilkey

[Andyman]

I have not heard of any changes in taste with freezing. There is a vender that says freezing will remove the moisture frm the cigar but I have not found that to be the case..

there was an experiment a while back - someone took some domestic bundle cigars and put them in an incubater for 8 weeks.. the temperature was quite a bit higher than normal and the humidity was raised. blind tastings were done and it turns out most people preffered the artificially aged cigars.. I beleive the final verdict was that more testing was needed.. Sorry I don't have exact temp and RH..

[dragon]

» "Bottom line....if you're not freezing at sub zero temps, it's a waste of

» time."

»

» So my GE Refrigerator isn't going to do the trick? What's a bloke to do?

» Maybe I will drop my cigars off at my local butcher and let them age with

» the hanging slabs of beef. :-D Seriously though, what can a guy do

» without access to such frigid conditions ? [Feel free to

» swing away at that sentence!]

Well let me clarify.....if you do not have access to a subzero freezer, they should be frozen for a minimum of 21-30 days in a standard freezer to ensure a 100% kill rate of any unhatched eggs if present. 48-72 hrs. will do the trick in a subzero unit.

The info floating around the internet of "5-7 days in the freezer" is incorrect.

[DocRKS]

» I agree completely. I freeze everything I get for 5 days, then 1 day in

» the fridge, one day at room temperature, and then back in the humidor.

» The cigars smoke perfectly with no problems.

Ok - this seems too easy - but I'm really hoping it is indeed a foolproof method of eliminating the nasty crawly chewies as well as getting rid of that amonia wafting odour when these sticks go sick...

What seems paradoxical here is that one of the properties of the freezer (where the cigars are to stay for FIVE days) is that the freezer is almost totally free of moisture and humidity. So after 5 days(according to the quoted posting) in an almost moisture free environment - I am very surprised to hear that putting them into a low moisture setting (fridge) for only a day and then right back into the humi makes these smokable right away. Do you wrap up the cigar box in aluminum as someone else stated above???

And how long after the freezer experience and return to the Humi do you feel these are OK to light up?

BTW - thanks to all who inputed on this thread - a very interesting procedure...

[Ginseng]

» » I agree completely. I freeze everything I get for 5 days, then 1 day

» in

» » the fridge, one day at room temperature, and then back in the humidor.

» » The cigars smoke perfectly with no problems.

»

» Ok - this seems too easy - but I'm really hoping it is indeed a foolproof

» method of eliminating the nasty crawly chewies as well as getting rid of

» that amonia wafting odour when these sticks go sick...

»

» What seems paradoxical here is that one of the properties of the freezer

» (where the cigars are to stay for FIVE days) is that the freezer is almost

» totally free of moisture and humidity. So after 5 days(according to the

» quoted posting) in an almost moisture free environment - I am very

» surprised to hear that putting them into a low moisture setting (fridge)

» for only a day and then right back into the humi makes these smokable

» right away. Do you wrap up the cigar box in aluminum as someone else

» stated above???

»

» And how long after the freezer experience and return to the Humi do you

» feel these are OK to light up?

»

» BTW - thanks to all who inputed on this thread - a very interesting

» procedure...

Are you asking me, Doc?

I wrap the entire box in two-three layers of foil and two layers of plastic wrap and then the whole box goes into a heavy duty ziploc freezer bag. This has the effect of sealing the moisture in the cigars and box in a little capsule. Think of it as almost but not quite as good as sealing it in an aluminum soda can. The slow sequence of bringing them back to room temperature is an effort to prevent condensation.

Can they be smoked right after the 6-8 hour equilibration back to room temperature? Sure. Are they at their best? Probably not. What I can say is a a few weeks in the humi renders them indistinguishable from non-frozen cigars in all sensory and combustion characteristics that I can distinguish.

As for 100% kill. You're not looking for a 100% kill rate. IMO, you're looking to tip the odds sufficiently in your favor such that the combination of freeze-kill and normal egg attrition will substantially reduce the risk of a catastrophic outbreak.

I'm certainly open to the possibility that this advice is off base, specifically in the lethality curves for beetle eggs and larvae. All it would take is some good data to change my mind about a process that may or may not have had any hand in rendering me bug-free since 1996 and that has certainly not adversely affected the cigars I've smoked.

Wilkey

[dragon]

There is probably more BS and total misinformation floating around the various cigars websites regarding freezing cigars than any other subject. It's like anything else, some guy somewhere says that 70/70 is the ideal storage condition for cigars and it becomes a perpetuating myth.

For anyone truly interested in FACTS regarding this subject, there is some good info on the web if you search around, as well as speaking with professors and researchers at universities on the subject. The old running buzzword of 3-5 days in your home freezer and everything will be fine is FALSE and has proven to be false by several people who tried this method and had subsequent hatchings.

[The Privateer]

I'll second all the comments regarding the requisite 2-3 week rest after freezing. Cigars I've frozen and smoked 3-4 days after tasted horrid...muted with off flavours coming through. A month later: back to normal!

And double-wrapped with Ziplocs does the trick...they don't get dried out in the least, but do lose a bit of their shine (which comes back after a while).

[dragon]

Here's another thread on the subject posted here awhile back...

[link]http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/board_entry.php?id=4997#p4997[/link]

[Ginseng]

» Here's another thread on the subject posted here awhile back...

»

»

» [link]http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/board_entry.php?id=4997#p4997[/link]

Thanks, I'd consider that helpful.

[Guest The_Stogemiester]

Good thread fella's, lots of good knowledge and info.;-)

[ROBT.]

I have a friend that is a wholesale importer of cigar from the Dominican Republic...

He imports for himself and other Brands as he assists in the shipping and taxes...

His large shipping containers are the refrigerated types that are kept at 20 degrees Fahrenheit..  All cigars are shipped using this method arriving from this island... years ago fumigation was the method for killing cigar beatles but now freezing performs this function

Therefore according to proposition that freezing will age cigars.  All cigars are aged...lol.........

 

[Fatshotbud]

I once froze every cigar purchased (years back) and had a Sub-Zero chest just for that occasion. Would bundle them up nice and insulated then put them down to chill for a month o two (beetle phobic)
Never had a beetle in my inventory save a single event - one received in a box pass. Luckily that one was in a plastic zip so nothing serious resulted.
But freeze to age/ enhance flavor profile - I would call double BS on that one!
Damn@Cohibacigarman -- you dug up and oldie!

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