72% vs 62% RH - My results of the RyJ E4

[Shikar]

Good Evening

I usually take about 3-5 cigars out of a box in my cabinet or winedor, which is usually at 72% RH for long term storage. Then put them in my desktop humidor at 62% if I plan to smoke them in the near future.

After a month in the desktop at desktop at 62% RH I dry box for a couple of days before smoking the cigar.

Past week I smoked, and totally enjoyed, a RyJ Exb #4 after my usual desktop then dry box routine, and wondered what another one of these from the same box would be like straight from the winedor at 72%.

2 days later I took a RyJ Exb#4 straight from the same box in the winedor and smoked it...the draw was horrible and tight, no flavors in the cigar, it was just absolutely horrid. I did smoke it and it became partially enjoyable in the last third.

I used to smoke by the 70/70 rule previously and now I feel sad for all the cigars I wasted years ago that I could have enjoyed so much more.

At 62% then dry box the cigar was a 91

At 72% the cigar was a 75

I cannot believe cigars from the same box can smoke so totally different just with RH change.

Hope u enjoyed my experience, it just reinforced what we knew.

Regards.

[Habana Mike]

Quite the interesting experiment though I doubt the results surprising to most.

That said I think I'll give the same test a go as I'd like to judge from my experiences.

Cheers for your insights!

[Fuzz]

Great effort there, mate. Would be interesting to here your thoughts on how a dry boxed cigar tastes compared to one out of your 62% desktop.

[spicycorona]

I'm still skeptical. I'm just starting into my recent purchases of the last few months (plus an aged RA Superiores and Robuso T) and my humidor is still on winter mode, which is 72%. The last 6 cigars I have had were all amazing, except for the last half of an SLR Regios ('14), which was believe it or not the only one that was left out of the humidor for 24 hours before smoking.

-all but the SLR were taken right out of the humidor and smoked.

-all the cigars but the SLR were very, very good cigars. The SLR was a 92, before it tanked in the second half, The wrapper didn't feel like burning and tasted like a wet sock if you didn't catch the wrapper up

I don't usually store at 72%. But in more long term experience, the 67% that I usually smoke at is variable. I believe that ambient RH while smoking, tobacco quality, and age have a much larger effect on smoking experience. And I have a hunch this is due to uniformity. Uniformity meaning the difference of moisture between the inside of the cigar and the wrapper, and also the quality of the tobacco used for binder and wrapper. Doesn't it make sense that a cigar would taste and perform better if the entire cross section of the cigar smokes evenly across it?

Honestly I don't remember a time when I have had 5 cigars perform so well in a row. All different marcas and ages, but the same RH. 72%

[Fireant]

I always shoot for 65% and 65 degrees. I let my RH get as low as 62 and as high as 68 before I become concerned. I would never store at 72, short term or long, but that's just preference.

[Sophistic]

70% hbs beads + 20mins in the freezer before smoking

[JackFNQ]

Shikar what would the rh of the drybox be? Thanks.

'After a month in the desktop at desktop at 62% RH I dry box for a couple of days before smoking the cigar.'

[JohnS]

I think what counts more is maintaining an environment whereby your cigars have 9 to 12% moisture content. This means that temperature and relative humidity requirements would be a lot different if you reside in Canada in comparison to Malaysia.

[nick2021]

Thanks for the experiment! I do the same thing except I drop the RH slightly lower in my dry box and I don't keep the cigars at that high of an RH.....but same overall concept! Thanks for sharing!

[Hunter1974]

Campanas what would the rh of the drybox be? Thanks.

'After a month in the desktop at desktop at 62% RH I dry box for a couple of days before smoking the cigar.'

Good point

[shlomo]

Temperature? It's just sort of, kind of, somewhat important....

[Shikar]

My location is Houston, and desktop/dry box is inside an air conditioned environment with my home being at 74'F. The winedor is at 67F/72rh

Regards.

[garbandz]

It is accepted that beetles are more likely to hatch above 70 degrees and 70% humidity.......

"My location is Houston, and desktop/dry box is inside an air conditioned environment with my home being at 74'F. The winedor is at 67F/72rh
Effectively this equates to 70/70..............

[shlomo]

It is accepted that beetles are more likely to hatch above 70 degrees and 70% humidity.......

"My location is Houston, and desktop/dry box is inside an air conditioned environment with my home being at 74'F. The winedor is at 67F/72rh

Effectively this equates to 70/70..............

Accepted by who? Certainly not me.

Humidity has nothing to do with the hatching of beetle larvae.

[Walt69]

I need to start dryboxing. I keep my cabinet 65-67.

[Smallclub]

All these generalizations make no sense and border on the ridiculous, IMHO.

If you drybox an underfilled robusto in a dry air conditioned environment it will burn hot, too fast, without flavors.

If you try to smoke a slightly overfilled cigar stored at 72RH in your garden on a wet day it will go out every 2 minutes…

The first thing to learn is to "assess" each cigar for the conditions in which it is going to be smoked

[Shikar]

This was just my experience. YMMV.

Regards.

[teamrandr]

I keep mine at 62%. Thanks for the info.

[atlharp]

I run mine at 65. The only time I dryboxed was years ago when getting cigars from the now defunct Esplendido. They would come in so wet they would spike the humidity in the drybox at 81 with no other humidification.

[oliverdst]

This was just my experience. YMMV.

Regards.

Thanks for the input, brother.

Don't feel shy sharing your thoughts.

[Guybrush]

This means that temperature and relative humidity requirements would be a lot different if you reside in Canada in comparison to Malaysia.

The first thing to learn is to "assess" each cigar for the conditions in which it is going to be smoked

I used to smoke my cigars at 70% in dry European rooms without any problems.

I recently moved to the Caribbean, the humidity at my porch is 80% or higher and the cigars taste like crap. Should I use 62% or 65% Bovedas?

[santela]

Thanks for sharing, your experiences seem pretty similar to mine.

However I'm not very scientific with my storage conditions. To be honest, I'm not sure how are you guys able to keep the humidity and temperature at a such accurate and constant level. I mean my winedor humidity usually varies anywhere from 62% to 67%, and they smoke fine without the need for dry boxing. Now I can put in more effort in maintaining a more constant environment inside the winedor, but the marginal benefit seems small enough that I just don't bother.

Oh and also the temperature difference during summer and winter is huge even inside the winedor, so my cigars taste pretty meh during winters. I have given up trying and just smoke cheap ones during the cold days.

I'm probably just too lazy.

[Orion21]

All these generalizations make no sense and border on the ridiculous, IMHO.

If you drybox an underfilled robusto in a dry air conditioned environment it will burn hot, too fast, without flavors.

If you try to smoke a slightly overfilled cigar stored at 72RH in your garden on a wet day it will go out every 2 minutes…

The first thing to learn is to "assess" each cigar for the conditions in which it is going to be smoked

True wisdom right there folks.

Once you have smoked enough Habanos you will know what cigars smoke well ROTT, right out of your humidor or need to be dry boxed.

I personally enjoy keeping my aging humidors as cold as 60F and around the same rh% because I'm looking for long term equilibrium in the environment to ensure proper storage conditions. I have found I really enjoy most habanos close to 60% or less when I go to smoke them. I have noticed some cigars that I pull from my wineadors smoke really really well after sitting in my cigar-caddy for 3-5 days with no boveda packs etc. However, some don't. The sticks with the largest rg seem to do well in dry box conditions and those with smaller rg's smoke best right out of the box.

My best advice is to experiment, and like Frank stated, you will get to know your cigars and the conditions THEY like to be enjoyed.

[Smallclub]

I recently moved to the Caribbean, the humidity at my porch is 80% or higher and the cigars taste like crap. Should I use 62% or 65% Bovedas?

Bovedas, or 60% beads, or even Kitty litter: you must set a "drydor". Anyway, if you smoke outside, you will probably still have problems with long panatelas, DCs, churchills, etc.

[Smallclub]

This was just my experience. YMMV.

Yes, and it's valuable since it's "documented".

I only have a problem with the fact that the ambient RH of the place where the drybox stays and where the cigar will be smoked, plus the evaluation of the cigar itself (long, short, a bit too light or too heavy in hand, etc) is never taken into account…