gtejada Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 My Brethren, Can a stick ever fully regain its flavor potential after being frozen because of beetles. I need some expert opinions. Thanks in advance.
Carts Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 I freeze every cigar that comes through my door, singles, boxes, anything. No loss of flavour IMO
Brah Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Freeze away does not harm the cigars at all. Personally, I take the 1 day fridge, 7 day deep freeze, 1 day fridge approach.
MostlyHarmless Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 As far as i know, almost every cigar you smoke was frozen sometime in their lifes. I don't think it really affects the flavour.
PapaDisco Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 I've got some home frozens and some not. Only time I had a beetle was in a Partagas D4. Like Carts sez, I can't detect any difference between my home frozens and the ones from the factory but not frozen by me.
Lasabar Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 It is known that HSA freezes most of the cigars before shipment so your cigar will be fine. The big factor of affecting flavor is whether your cigars being frozen are in an air-tight container so they don't get exposed to the dry air and harsh environment of the freezer.
Mckucci Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 I freeze every box I ever receive for a minimum of 4 days. I've always frozen my cigars upon receiving them (cheap insurance) However, I've found that a standard ziplock / freezer bag still lets that "freezer smell" into the cigars... (Mind you, this does go away, but every time I would open my humidor for about a week or two later, its all I'd smell) Now I use a food saver, and vacuum seal the boxes prior to freezing them. when I open them up after the "decontamination period" they smell like beautiful cold tobacco, no foreign scents. (plus if there were beetles in there, they would suffocate before freezing, so no chance of survival )
Carts Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Now I use a food saver, and vacuum seal the boxes prior to freezing them. when I open them up after the "decontamination period" they smell like beautiful cold tobacco, no foreign scents. (plus if there were beetles in there, they would suffocate before freezing, so no chance of survival ) Do you store any boxes in the vacuum sealing? Or remove it all
gtejada Posted October 29, 2014 Author Posted October 29, 2014 Thanks guys. you guys are awesome! I love this site! 1
PartagasIV Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Do you store any boxes in the vacuum sealing? Or remove it all Personally, ones I have set aside from long-term aging, I do. It's a separate discussion, to be sure, but there's many forum posts likely here and definitely elsewhere attesting to the fact that if you're not going to touch the box for years, it's a solid way to age. A box aged 5 years vacsealed and one not, from what I've gathered, will be palatably different upon breaking them down the line. 1
shlomo Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 I have smoked some terrible cigars that were frozen. I have smoked some terrible cigars that were not. I don't freeze.
Geo17pip Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 I never freeze and never have a problem. The only recent scare I had were a few wood mites so I froze that box for a day and they're fine now. 1
Mckucci Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Do you store any boxes in the vacuum sealing? Or remove it all I remove them from the Vacuum sealing as they enter the humidor. I've thought about leaving a couple boxes in, but I'm not sure how It would affect the cigars long term!
OZCUBAN Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Never ever frozen a cigar,never ever seen a beetle in 20 years and the climate here in west Oz is hot ,plus they are frozen prior to leaving Cuba Cheers
Colt45 Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 To freeze or not to freeze - that is the question. Alas poor frosty, I knew him well tobaccio... As members have mentioned, Cuban cigars are supposedly frozen prior to shipping to distributors, so the point may just well be moot....
gtejada Posted October 29, 2014 Author Posted October 29, 2014 Never ever frozen a cigar,never ever seen a beetle in 20 years and the climate here in west Oz is hot ,plus they are frozen prior to leaving Cuba Cheers tell me more about your environment please. Humidor, temp hygrometer. I am in Colorado. Its very dry and mostly chilly here. I don't get how I got them ( Beetle)
PartagasIV Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 The Cubans freeze everything like all their cigars are constructed perfectly. It's cheap insurance IMO. 2
PapaDisco Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 The Cubans freeze everything like all their cigars are constructed perfectly. It's cheap insurance IMO. Correct. I got a beetle and a larva out of a sealed-from-the-factory PSD4, and you have to figure if anyone is paying attention to freezing it would be for their Partagas stock. So the lesser known marcas might be getting short shrift . . . or not. The point being is that, while it's a very, very rare event, one does sneak through occasionally. 1
CUBANO Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Don't trust Cuba. I had beetles on 2012 RA Superiores
Fuzz Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Just because HSA freezes cigars doesn't mean that a beetle won't hop on board during transit. As long as you inspect then store your cigars at the correct temp & humidity, the only thing left is vigilance.
Brah Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 Just because HSA freezes cigars doesn't mean that a beetle won't hop on board during transit. As long as you inspect then store your cigars at the correct temp & humidity, the only thing left is vigilance. Let me share a personal experience. 8 years ago, I noticed a beetle strolling on a Hoyo that a friend had brought me back from Cuba. A single stick I believe caused damage to 27 of my precious. My cigar room temperature never gets above 67 degrees and I believe the beetles were transported to my humi alive and all within that one stick. It definitely wasn't larvae that had hatched due to high temps. Therefore, freezing is imperative in order to ever have the same issue I did. I froze everything back then and continue to do so today. Have had an issue since. Foot note....I always freeze my sticks next to my frozen vegetables. Seems to work best that way.
Smallclub Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 Therefore, freezing is imperative in order to ever have the same issue I did. Freezing is everything but "imperative". Vigilance and monitoring are. I've never frozen anything; out of hundreds of boxes, I have had a total of 2 cases of holes in wrapper, black dust, and a dead adult… Cigars coming directly from Cuba should never be mixed with those from the export channel, that's a basic rule. 1
Brah Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 Cigars coming directly from Cuba should never be mixed with those from the export channel, that's a basic rule. This bit of information must have been missing in my manual. At that time all of my cigars were directly from the motherland. I was merely sharing an experience and my method. Settle.
cdnstogie Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 Never have froze - dont plan on it at this point... Until I get burned...may start after my collection builds. Don't want to have a few thousand dollars go down the drain
maxcjs0101 Posted October 30, 2014 Posted October 30, 2014 So far my experience with beetles was on a Monte 4 and some JLP Cazadores.
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