Newcomer (Newbie) Q&A

[BoliDan]

8 minutes ago, Shatner's Bassoon said:

Evening/afternoon/morning all. 

Is there any way to 'rescue' a majorly cracked foot on a cigar? I have a box which appears to have been packed so tight that the outer cigars have been badly damaged at the feet. It's OK if not: very pleased to get the box and look forward to smoking at least 21 of them, but it would be nice if anybody had any repair tips.

Thanks.

Depends on the damage. If it is just the wrappers I wouldn't worry about it. You could use cigar glue, but I usually just ignore it and smoke it as is. If the binder is damaged, just take a double blade cutter and cut the damaged part off before lighting up. make sure it is a sharp cutter, because a dull blade unravel the rest of the wrapper.

[Fuzz]

Cracked feet rarely pose a problem for me when smoking. Even a large crack will eventually sort itself out after you burn past the crack. However, it you are really concerned about it unravelling, either use cigar glue or use rolling paper in a pinch. Just wrap the foot with rolling paper and smoke away.

[RD_26]

How long is acceptable for cigars to be in the mail before having to worrying about the condition of those cigars?

[Fuzz]

2 hours ago, RD_26 said:

How long is acceptable for cigars to be in the mail before having to worrying about the condition of those cigars?

How long is a piece of string? 

Seriously, though, there are too many variables to give you a proper answer.

[Jaesian]

Quick question on long-term storing/aging cigars ... I know the typical consensus is 62-65% Rh for Cubans, but I noticed that most boxes on FoH auctions lists a storage humidity of 68%. If you are aging a box for many years, is it better to have a higher humidity ? Thanks. 

[Derboesekoenig]

3 hours ago, Jaesian said:

Quick question on long-term storing/aging cigars ... I know the typical consensus is 62-65% Rh for Cubans, but I noticed that most boxes on FoH auctions lists a storage humidity of 68%. If you are aging a box for many years, is it better to have a higher humidity ? Thanks. 

The general consensus on this forum sways to the following, and I tend to concur:

long term storage: ~66%-68%

short term storage a.k.a. smoking stock: 62%-64%

[Jal154]

11 hours ago, Jaesian said:

Quick question on long-term storing/aging cigars ... I know the typical consensus is 62-65% Rh for Cubans, but I noticed that most boxes on FoH auctions lists a storage humidity of 68%. If you are aging a box for many years, is it better to have a higher humidity ? Thanks. 

Nothing was mentioned in your post about temp. This is what I know temp/rh relationship matters. If you get your humidity up to 68% you need to lower that temp to 60-64 degrees F.  I don’t know what your temp is. All the aged boxes on FOH Auctions are kept at 60F, 68RH. I believe those aged boxes range somewhere about 3-7+ years. I live is South Florida (with the ac running 90% of the year) and while I may not be a connoisseur the way I store my cigars in a tupperdor (Ziploc Weathershield Storage box) with 62% Boveda packs. The number of packs I use depends on the size of the tupperdor. The more packs in there the less they are depleted and the longer they last. But back to temps and RH......my RH stays at a solid 62% and my temp stays at 71-73 degrees F. I have some boxes that are from 2016 and some from 2018. All smoke great. I guess if you live in an area where you have cold winters and hot summers you would want to buy an electric humidor to keep a steady temp and RH all year round. Colder temp/higher RH for aging I would guess since FOH Auctions keep them that way. But I must say, the way I keep my cigars, temp & RH, there is a big difference in body and taste as time passes. They seem to age well.  They mellow out and flavors are great. I TRY to keep it simple.

 

15 hours ago, RD_26 said:

How long is acceptable for cigars to be in the mail before having to worrying about the condition of those cigars?

Whether you get them in 7 days or 30 days put them in your humidor to rest for 60-90 days. Let them acclimate to a steady temp and RH. Smoke one as soon as you get them, then smoke another after 60-90 days. You will see a difference in the burn and flavor in most cases. 

[Jaesian]

2 hours ago, Jal154 said:

Nothing was mentioned in your post about temp. This is what I know temp/rh relationship matters. If you get your humidity up to 68% you need to lower that temp to 60-64 degrees F.  I don’t know what your temp is. All the aged boxes on FOH Auctions are kept at 60F, 68RH. I believe those aged boxes range somewhere about 3-7+ years. I live is South Florida (with the ac running 90% of the year) and while I may not be a connoisseur the way I store my cigars in a tupperdor (Ziploc Weathershield Storage box) with 62% Boveda packs. The number of packs I use depends on the size of the tupperdor. The more packs in there the less they are depleted and the longer they last. But back to temps and RH......my RH stays at a solid 62% and my temp stays at 71-73 degrees F. I have some boxes that are from 2016 and some from 2018. All smoke great. I guess if you live in an area where you have cold winters and hot summers you would want to buy an electric humidor to keep a steady temp and RH all year round. Colder temp/higher RH for aging I would guess since FOH Auctions keep them that way. But I must say, the way I keep my cigars, temp & RH, there is a big difference in body and taste as time passes. They seem to age well.  They mellow out and flavors are great. I TRY to keep it simple.

Fair point. The average temp I’m reading is 65 F. So I will consider that with that, I can keep the Rh closer to 65-66% range and as spring and summer come I can swap out lower boveda packs to accommodate the higher temperatures. Thanks for the feedback. 

[The Squiggler]

4 hours ago, Jaesian said:

Fair point. The average temp I’m reading is 65 F. So I will consider that with that, I can keep the Rh closer to 65-66% range and as spring and summer come I can swap out lower boveda packs to accommodate the higher temperatures. Thanks for the feedback. 

Obviously numerous points of contention on the topic of 'ideal conditions', but it's also worth noting that most people drop the RH when they're encountering burn issues, and if you're aging your cigars the burn isn't an immediate concern.  I tend to believe that tobacco is likely slightly better preserved when stored at the higher end of the 'safe' humidity spectrum (68-70) and at moderate temperatures (60-65F).  Regardless, I doubt you'll notice a drastic difference in the way your cigars age as long as you're in the 60-70/60-70 range, so unless you're super serious about doing some super serious aging and insist on maintaining 100% control over the aging environment, it's probably not a huge deal (and if you do decide to go down that road, you might also want to experiment with vacuum sealing)... just try to avoid dramatic shifts in RH or temp, because these can lead to a variety of issues (I've had cigars spontaneously mold when the temperature drops in the winter, and I think this has to do with the moisture being forced out of the air and into the tobacco).  Additionally, you can always store your aging sticks/boxes at a higher RH than you store your smoking sticks if you want.  Just allow your cigars to acclimate to your preferred smoking conditions for a few weeks before you light up. 

[dcbuss]

Basic general question, but couldn’t find the answer.  Difference between boxes on 24:24 and international store?

[THEMISCHMAN]

@dcbuss Basically this.

 

 

The store is pot luck. You will never get below PE, and can get HQ and PSP quality, but there are no guarantees. 24:24 is for those looking for specific quality.

 

[dcbuss]

@THEMISCHMAN thank you for explaining!

[Derboesekoenig]

No difference. You're getting quality no matter what...

[Rabbi]

On 1/18/2020 at 9:51 AM, Jal154 said:

Smoke one as soon as you get them, 

Thank goodness. I thought I would be taxed beyond my ability. I can put a box down for as long as needed, but asking me not to smoke at least one Siglo IV or Monte#2 ROTT, calls for more willpower than I will ever possess.  ???

[Burningman]

On 1/23/2020 at 5:25 AM, Rabbi said:

Thank goodness. I thought I would be taxed beyond my ability. I can put a box down for as long as needed, but asking me not to smoke at least one Siglo IV or Monte#2 ROTT, calls for more willpower than I will ever possess.  ???

Buy a box and a 5er or quarter box at the same time so you can scratch the itch and leave your box intact. IMO more is always better.

[Rabbi]

On 1/24/2020 at 8:42 AM, Burningman said:

Buy a box and a 5er or quarter box at the same time so you can scratch the itch and leave your box intact. IMO more is always better.

Good advice, sir. I must say that today’s 24:24 certainly made it easy. I did have to grab a full box of 10 of the P2s.

[Rabbi]

Is there a “technical difficulty/support” thread posted/pinned anywhere? Using the search engine, I got a hit for technical support for the auctions. It looked as if that thread was when the auctions first went live. My issue with checking out was cleared up quickly, but I ran afoul of the rules by asking about it in the 24:24 thread.

One other 24:24 question; where can I find my orders through Diana archived? Everything I have purchased through the stores, including 24:24 offerings show in “my orders,” but nothing I bought through email.

A huge shout out and thanks to all who have helped,

Rabbi

[bayala]

2 hours ago, Rabbi said:

Is there a “technical difficulty/support” thread posted/pinned anywhere? Using the search engine, I got a hit for technical support for the auctions. It looked as if that thread was when the auctions first went live. My issue with checking out was cleared up quickly, but I ran afoul of the rules by asking about it in the 24:24 thread.

One other 24:24 question; where can I find my orders through Diana archived? Everything I have purchased through the stores, including 24:24 offerings show in “my orders,” but nothing I bought through email.

A huge shout out and thanks to all who have helped,

Rabbi

Hey Rabbi, 

The forum technical issues thread is here https://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/forum/17-forum-technical-issues/

Anything related to the shopping cart just shoot me a PM. 

Orders made by email are not reconciled in the store. You will need to keep track of that yourself. 

Regards, 

Ben

[Rabbi]

14 minutes ago, bayala said:

Hey Rabbi, 

The forum technical issues thread is here https://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/forum/17-forum-technical-issues/

Anything related to the shopping cart just shoot me a PM. 

Orders made by email are not reconciled in the store. You will need to keep track of that yourself. 

Regards, 

Ben

Thank you, Ben.

[Jal154]

On 1/23/2020 at 8:25 AM, Rabbi said:

Thank goodness. I thought I would be taxed beyond my ability. I can put a box down for as long as needed, but asking me not to smoke at least one Siglo IV or Monte#2 ROTT, calls for more willpower than I will ever possess.  ???

I’ve been swamped sorry for the last response, ? You will see the difference as time passes! ??

[Rabbi]

20 hours ago, Jal154 said:

I’ve been swamped sorry for the last response, ? You will see the difference as time passes! ??

No worries, mate.

[captaincaveman]

Can I use a visa or amex gift card to purchase in the carts/on 24:24?

[CanuckSARTech]

On 2/2/2020 at 2:21 AM, captaincaveman said:

Can I use a visa or amex gift card to purchase in the carts/on 24:24?

Yup.

 

 

On 1/10/2020 at 1:17 PM, richardw said:

Ijust checked my bottom row and fearful they might be lost. Read that not all green spots are mold. This is a young JUL 19 Part E2. Hope the pics come out okay. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks 

 

On 1/10/2020 at 2:20 PM, Jaesian said:

I personally haven't seen green mold, but that could just be my experience (I've generally only worried about white = mold). Some veteran may chime in, but I've come to understand that the green spots you are showing are most likely water spots or areas of underfermentation and therefore have remained green. 
Either way, I'm sure that these are good to smoke and enjoy

Yup - water spots / fermentation “birthmarks”. Water spots are covered a bit in some threads on here, as well as various Habanos coffee table books. Harmless, doesn’t affect anything but looks.

 

 

 

On 1/10/2020 at 2:49 PM, Jaesian said:

If those were mine, I wouldn't think twice about throwing them in with their friends. To be safe, you could always gently wipe it to see if it goes away. If it does go away, it was mold lol. But my guess is that nothing will happen, you'll forget about these and never worry about those spots in the future.

 

Not mold. You’ll know blue-green mold when you see it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rabbi]

I am just idly wondering through some of the areas I have missed throughout this wonderful site and hit a mental snag. Everything I have seen so far leads me to believe the Cuaba brand is held in low esteem by most, if not all, FOH members. However, there is currently a box of 10 Cuaba Piramides up for auction with a current bid that is higher than I would have guessed. Are there particular years or codes/dates of Cuabas that were of exceptional value, or is the box in question more highly prized solely because it is 12 years old?

[Fuzz]

6 hours ago, Rabbi said:

I am just idly wondering through some of the areas I have missed throughout this wonderful site and hit a mental snag. Everything I have seen so far leads me to believe the Cuaba brand is held in low esteem by most, if not all, FOH members. However, there is currently a box of 10 Cuaba Piramides up for auction with a current bid that is higher than I would have guessed. Are there particular years or codes/dates of Cuabas that were of exceptional value, or is the box in question more highly prized solely because it is 12 years old?

The Cuaba Piramides LE '08 is the only Cuaba worth smoking in my opinion. Never got much enjoyment out of the others in the Cuaba line, but the LE stood far above, in terms of quality and flavour. I only have one lone cigar left, and I wish I had another box.