Storing Boxes Vertically - Interested in your thoughts and experiences.

[Rushman]

Due to space limitations, all dress boxes, SBN boxes and BN boxes are stored vertically on the long axis in my storage humidor. Haven't noticed any differences but I don't have long term experience (5 years +) or empirical data to support it.

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=20.630165,-87.069800

[PigFish]

... " Don't worry about long term aging, life is short, smoke 'em if you got em."

Ray, please chime in at will!

Thanks!

I hate being a foregone conclusion!!! -LOL -the PIg

[CanuckSARTech]

I hate being a foregone conclusion!!! -LOL -the PIg

Suuuuuuure you do.

Prove us wrong....go vote for...um....nevermind.

[isa]

David, i am also now thinking of storing boxes vertically, will probably be able to pack in more - thanks for the idea

[canadianbeaver]

I send my cigars to Frank and make him stand in the corner and hold them (vertical, horizontal, 69, it's up to him) til I am good and ready to smoke them. It can take weeks. This is what a true BOTL is for.

100% truth. Ask him.

And if he is sick, Art does it, and so on down the line.

[stargazer14]

Storage in deep space. No gravity. None. Zip.

THAT's what might answer this question.

And with the space program turning private I would not be surprised if we find out.

After all, if you have money to get into orbit, you have money for a good cigar. (Richard....)

[PigFish]

I'm interested in hearing your opinions, research and/or experiences in the negative effect on the cigars, if any, of long term storing cigar boxes vertically.

Feel free to post reports, or links that do discuss the science behind this if you know of any. I have been told both that it has a negative effect and I've been told it doesn't, 50/50. I am very interested in this, i've pondered this topic for a ling time.

Disclaimer: There are going to be those of you that inevitably will remark, " Don't worry about long term aging, life is short, smoke 'em if you got em."

That's not really what I'm looking for, nor is it my shared philosophy. I've invested a lot in specific boxes of cigars with specific box dates to commemorate milestones in my life. I hope to long term age these, 18 year plus), so I can enjoy with my son when he graduates, get's married, and has kids of his own.

I have yet to really hear anything definitive. Those that say it has a negative effect claim that the oils will eventually travel to the lower end of the cigar. Not sure if I buy into that without any evidence.

Your input is appreciated

This may get lost among all of the recent reviews, but feel free to bump it up when necessarily.

Ray, please chime in at will!

Thanks!

I thought I might come back to this amigo for two reasons. One, with a little logic, two with an anecdote (that you likely don't want to hear, but I want to post!!!) -LOL

Lets start with tobacco as a material. As a solid, or semi-solid, can it be compressed? How about this; can it be compressed without damage? What envelope of stress can it take and under what conditions can it take that stress? Do you know any of these answers? I can't say that I do, but I do know a little about tobacco.

But you have specified something important in your above post and that is what I am going to focus on. I see it a bit paradoxically, and if we were not friends, and I did not feel like writing, I would probably pass on it because it might offend. You know that I have no intention to offend, so I will go on writing.

That's not really what I'm looking for, nor is it my shared philosophy. I've invested a lot in specific boxes of cigars with specific box dates to commemorate milestones in my life.

While I understand this, you have already prefaced your statement to be at odds with my position. YOU BOUGHT THESE BOXES TO MATCH A DATE. I don't do this. Now, I might do this, if I found a very impressive box that has a random date and I am hoping to duplicate that experience. BUT, I have never bought a box of cigar to correspond to a specific date, where the cigars themselves were secondary. I think that this statement defines a philosophy that I comprehend, but won't pander to in my own circumstances. Each cigar is an enjoyment to me. I don't really care when it was rolled. I would share a cigar with a son, or to commemorate a date with any good cigar, not a specific dated cigar. I am not criticizing what you do, I am just saying that the thought process is foreign to me.

In my mind you have chosen a box of cigars for all the wrong reasons. I am not criticizing, just exemplifying. I only choose cigars because I like them. Where we both come together on this is that we both "hope" that the cigars we bought will be good ones. A date then can be a clue to good cigars, but is otherwise meaningless to me. I have no cigars, specifically package dated to commemorate milestones.

While the date of the cigar is important to you, I assume that the box date was paired with a cigar that you presumably enjoy. So enjoyment is a factor to you. If not, why would you be concerned over preserving them, or attempting to enhance them (if you believe in such things) over time? If I have assumed correctly, that you wish for assurity of quality over time, then why would you gamble with unknowns? This is the focus of my answer.

While I don't think that storing your cigars on end will make a damn bit of difference, by analizing your printed thoughts my insight to your situation can only conclude one thing. If the dated box is of such importance to buy with a specific date in the first place, and hold for a specified period of time... and you wish to actually smoke them at specific times and expect to enjoy them when you do, WHY WOULD YOU GAMBLE THEM TO SAVE SOME ROOM?

I have another point to argue. If you have a box... say 2" tall, by 12" wide, by 12" deep, how many cubic inches is the box?

.

..

...

....

Enough time... answer is 288 cubic inches.

Dose the displacement of the box change with its perspective of its axis? No! If there is some niche that you wish to stuff a box into, why don't you fill it with a box that is less valuable to you?

My point is this, and it is not really to clarify the difference in philosophy between us. Rather, it is to focus on the similarities that we have. We both agree in that we wish to preserve our cigars, regardless of date code. While most can guess as to the result of what storing a cigar on its head might have there will be no actual proof of it. Cigars and boxes of cigars are designed to store cigars on their sides because the sides of cigars can take compression without damage within a certain envelope. I mean a box press is compression, is it not? Try compressing a cigar along its long axis verses perpendicular to it. What do you get? A mashed cigar!!!

The exercise then was for me to point out the folly in the question. Given the importance of the specific boxes and their specific codes and contrasting that importance against the filling of niche of space; knowing damn well that the cigar box takes up the same space regardless its orientation of its axis I ask; is it worth the risk? Given the importance of the cigars in question, I would find a special place for them in a stable environment where they can be stored as designed and not handled excessively.

Forget what we don't know! What we do know is that cigars are susceptible to damage from shocking movements. Put them in a safe place and leave them alone!

Cheers. -Ray

[brazoseagle]

I thought I might come back to this amigo for two reasons. One, with a little logic, two with an anecdote (that you likely don't want to hear, but I want to post!!!) -LOL

Lets start with tobacco as a material. As a solid, or semi-solid, can it be compressed? How about this; can it be compressed without damage? What envelope of stress can it take and under what conditions can it take that stress? Do you know any of these answers? I can't say that I do, but I do know a little about tobacco.

But you have specified something important in your above post and that is what I am going to focus on. I see it a bit paradoxically, and if we were not friends, and I did not feel like writing, I would probably pass on it because it might offend. You know that I have no intention to offend, so I will go on writing.

While I understand this, you have already prefaced your statement to be at odds with my position. YOU BOUGHT THESE BOXES TO MATCH A DATE. I don't do this. Now, I might do this, if I found a very impressive box that has a random date and I am hoping to duplicate that experience. BUT, I have never bought a box of cigar to correspond to a specific date, where the cigars themselves were secondary. I think that this statement defines a philosophy that I comprehend, but won't pander to in my own circumstances. Each cigar is an enjoyment to me. I don't really care when it was rolled. I would share a cigar with a son, or to commemorate a date with any good cigar, not a specific dated cigar. I am not criticizing what you do, I am just saying that the thought process is foreign to me.

In my mind you have chosen a box of cigars for all the wrong reasons. I am not criticizing, just exemplifying. I only choose cigars because I like them. Where we both come together on this is that we both "hope" that the cigars we bought will be good ones. A date then can be a clue to good cigars, but is otherwise meaningless to me. I have no cigars, specifically package dated to commemorate milestones.

While the date of the cigar is important to you, I assume that the box date was paired with a cigar that you presumably enjoy. So enjoyment is a factor to you. If not, why would you be concerned over preserving them, or attempting to enhance them (if you believe in such things) over time? If I have assumed correctly, that you wish for assurity of quality over time, then why would you gamble with unknowns? This is the focus of my answer.

While I don't think that storing your cigars on end will make a damn bit of difference, by analizing your printed thoughts my insight to your situation can only conclude one thing. If the dated box is of such importance to buy with a specific date in the first place, and hold for a specified period of time... and you wish to actually smoke them at specific times and expect to enjoy them when you do, WHY WOULD YOU GAMBLE THEM TO SAVE SOME ROOM?

I have another point to argue. If you have a box... say 2" tall, by 12" wide, by 12" deep, how many cubic inches is the box?

.

..

...

....

Enough time... answer is 288 cubic inches.

Dose the displacement of the box change with its perspective of its axis? No! If there is some niche that you wish to stuff a box into, why don't you fill it with a box that is less valuable to you?

My point is this, and it is not really to clarify the difference in philosophy between us. Rather, it is to focus on the similarities that we have. We both agree in that we wish to preserve our cigars, regardless of date code. While most can guess as to the result of what storing a cigar on its head might have there will be no actual proof of it. Cigars and boxes of cigars are designed to store cigars on their sides because the sides of cigars can take compression without damage within a certain envelope. I mean a box press is compression, is it not? Try compressing a cigar along its long axis verses perpendicular to it. What do you get? A mashed cigar!!!

The exercise then was for me to point out the folly in the question. Given the importance of the specific boxes and their specific codes and contrasting that importance against the filling of niche of space; knowing damn well that the cigar box takes up the same space regardless its orientation of its axis I ask; is it worth the risk? Given the importance of the cigars in question, I would find a special place for them in a stable environment where they can be stored as designed and not handled excessively.

Forget what we don't know! What we do know is that cigars are susceptible to damage from shocking movements. Put them in a safe place and leave them alone!

Cheers. -Ray

Thanks for the input Ray, it's always welcome whether we have the same opinion or not. Choosing a box of cigars to age to commemorate certain months and years may be foreign to you and many others, that's okay, I understand your viewpoint, that it demotes the cigar to "second fiddle" if you will. But to be honest, I can't wait until the day I can sit down with my son ( who is now 2 and a half) pull out a box of cigars from the month and year he was born, and we each light one up when he graduates school, and gets married, and has children of his own - and teach him about cigars, and the "how to's" of cigars with a very special box. I guess I'm a very sentimental father when it comes to my son, but that will be a very meaningful experience to me and I think it will be to him too. I wish my father would have done anything like that with me. So with that being said,I of course hope the cigars have survived and are awesome, but to be honest it won't matter. The experience is what's important, the taste of the cigar will merely be an added bonus to accompany such a meaningful memory that both of us will share. Again, everybody can do what they want with their own cigars, nobody is right or wrong, but this Is something that is important to me, and I want to at least try to make it as perfect as I can. I have been keeping the special boxes in the prime conditions so far.

[PigFish]

Thanks for the input Ray, it's always welcome whether we have the same opinion or not. Choosing a box of cigars to age to commemorate certain months and years may be foreign to you and many others, that's okay, I understand your viewpoint, that it demotes the cigar to "second fiddle" if you will. But to be honest, I can't wait until the day I can sit down with my son ( who is now 2 and a half) pull out a box of cigars from the month and year he was born, and we each light one up when he graduates school, and gets married, and has children of his own - and teach him about cigars, and the "how to's" of cigars with a very special box. I guess I'm a very sentimental father when it comes to my son, but that will be a very meaningful experience to me and I think it will be to him too. I wish my father would have done anything like that with me. So with that being said,I of course hope the cigars have survived and are awesome, but to be honest it won't matter. The experience is what's important, the taste of the cigar will merely be an added bonus to accompany such a meaningful memory that both of us will share. Again, everybody can do what they want with their own cigars, nobody is right or wrong, but this Is something that is important to me, and I want to at least try to make it as perfect as I can. I have been keeping the special boxes in the prime conditions so far.

I understand fully my friend. You don't have to explain. I like to have a little fun when I write and being pompous is a part of it!!! -LOL I would love to be there and smoke with you and your son sometime and any cigar with friends is a celebratory cigar to me. I think it is cool that you do this. It is like a savings bond... One that will be worth something in 20 years!!! -LOL

Best, Ray

[Rushman]

any cigar with friends is a celebratory cigar to me

TRUTH!

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=20.631753,-87.070681

[ajgagnon]

Given the timeframe, I would be more concerned with making sure all those boxes are well humidified, and if possible, I'd keep them horizontal in case gravity caused 'sagging' or wrinkling of the wrappers, which sometimes happens anyway (if they get too humid, for example). I would keep them somewhere that maintains even humidity and temperature, and where there is no risk of one corner getting over-humidified for long periods of time. Some say that air space is important in a humidor, without being too full or too empty (I'd guess 75% full is a good ballpark). My large humidor is pretty full and stays pretty even but the little one holds steady until one day it falls to 50% or less humidity because it's so damn dry here. By the time it shows on the hygrometer, the cigars are probably dry. And if I go too far trying to fix it, I inevitably over-humidify and wreck something.

Slow and steady...

[Colt45]

The experience is what's important

I would never deem to speak for Ray, or anybody else, but I think this is the crux - what's most important, the stamp on a box

or the experience? Personally, I'm for making the most of the experience.....

[brazoseagle]

I would never deem to speak for Ray, or anybody else, but I think this is the crux - what's most important, the stamp on a box

or the experience? Personally, I'm for making the most of the experience.....

In this case the stamp on the box makes the experience such a meaningful one.

[Wil]

I would never deem to speak for Ray, or anybody else, but I think this is the crux - what's most important, the stamp on a box

or the experience? Personally, I'm for making the most of the experience.....

Why 'or'? Can't it be both?

[Colt45]

Why 'or'? Can't it be both?

Of course!

[Tyemv]

Why do I hear the music from Tetris running through my head when I read this post...

Haha right. You're not alone.

[CanuckSARTech]

Why do I hear the music from Tetris running through my head when I read this post...

Right at 1:00 on in this one is the good stuff....

[CanuckSARTech]

[PigFish]

... thanks Nut! Just what I needed running through my head all day today! -Piggy

[CanuckSARTech]

LOL. I put up the football one for Brazos and the like. You guys like your college football stuff.

[Homebrew]

You mean like this? On the right side of the pic.

I have seen no problem in how the cigars from those boxes smoked.

Dave (A.K.A. Homebrew)

[Habana Mike]

You mean like this? On the right side of the pic.

Cigar_Box_Tetris (Large).jpg

I have seen no problem in how the cigars from those boxes smoked.

Dave (A.K.A. Homebrew)

I'll take those Punch off your hands so you have room for a few more 'sideways' boxes if you'd like

[LGC]

I do this with a lot of boxes in my coolers. I'm happy to report that my cigars now have more flavor off the bat since the congeners have migrated to the feet.

[Martin3203]

I store my boxes upside down. Boom

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

[polarbear]

All my humidors are a lesson in cigar box tetris, at the moment

If its a choice between storing my new boxes vertically in my humidor, or not storing them in my humidor, I'll take my chances with gravity