Dry boxing?

[unclepauly25]

Hi everyone, I’ve noticed most people are storing their cigars at 65% humidity, I’ve been storing mine at 70%. I’ve heard the term dry boxing or dry aging, How long would you dry box for before smoking, and would you just leave it out with no humidity before smoking? I’m also thinking of switching to the 65% boveda, would this work for all cigars or just cubans?

[luckme10]

I'm far from a expert and everyone likes to keep their settings differently, but I've generally  found that people like to store Cubans with a lower RH around 62% because this tends to be good for long term aging and because it tends to reduce the chances of having a plugged cigar and helps with the burn. Conversely non cubans tend to be stored around 70% because the premium cigars don't tend to have the same plugged issues that cubans have. I find anything over 70% tends to create burn issues with my cigars such as consistency and the ability for the cigar to stay lit. I've heard people having mold issues as well. It is because of this that some people have different humidors for cubans and non cuban cigars.

I would think that the duration of dry boxing would be dependent on your climate conditions. I tend to leave my cigars out for a few days for them to acclimatize. But mainly because I will often pick one up and set it down without having the time to smoke it. They're just sort of out. 

 

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[unclepauly25]

Hi , thanks for the information, I live in Chicago, humid in the summer and dry in the winter, I’m think I will try lowering my humidity overall. I smoke outdoors and I always have trouble with uneven burn.

thanks again!

[luckme10]

No problem. I have family out in Chicago and St. Louis. While the pizza and popcorn are to die for, you're right, during the summer, the humidity can make you feel like you're dying. All I can say when the humidity levels can be as high as 80% during this time of the year, dry boxing may have the opposite effect. It may be good to just keep some silica/dry beads/cat litter/dry rice in the humidor to help lower the humidity levels.

[PapaDisco]

I don't use a fixed rule for dry boxing.  For me it depends on the cigar, it might be heavy with oils to begin with, or on the 'fresh' side, and could benefit from 5 days in an unhumidified box.  I do store at 65/65, so that likely eliminates some need for universal dry boxing.  I used to store at 70/70 and had more wonky burn issues than I do now.  A Chicago summer sounds pretty hot and humid.  When I'm in Saigon I really struggle with heat and humidity.  Indoor smoking works just fine (air conditioning of course), but outdoor is a struggle.  I used to try and get my cigars close to 65/65 right up until smoking, but ended up with even more wonky burns for my efforts.  When I'd let the cigars acclimatize to the local conditions (sort of 'wet boxing them') the burns were much better.  The cigars do tend to go out more easily, but they burn evenly and do not tunnel.  You can't leave a stick out in 80%rH for long or it will turn green with mold, but for 2-3 days it does seem to help if you're going to be smoking out of doors in the heat and humidity.

[Pag]

My NC's I try to shoot for 65 to 67 % Rh
CC's around 66 down to 63 ish rh . Some people even go lower .
With Boveda's in a humidor it usually will be 2 points below . 65 rh pack will be 62 to 63 rh. In a tupperdore it is usually spot on. I always add some Spanish cedar sheets in a tupperdore seems to soak up some moisture and bring boveda down a point .


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[Randy956]

Most of my cigars, including home rolls are in storage at 65%
I store some cigars at 62%

[fitzy]

I keep the cubans I'm storing at 65% and anything I'm going to smoke within the next month or two gets kept at 58%. Ever since I've done this I've never had burn issues and haven't had to use my perfectdraw. 

 

Best advice I ever got is to not smoke a cigar unless the band is loose. It's a good indicator that the cigar is dried out enough to burn well. 

[Derboesekoenig]

So my question is, if CCs smoke best around say 58-60%, why even bother with the 65/65? Why not just keep them all stored at 58-60%?

[joeypots]

4 minutes ago, Derboesekoenig said:

So my question is, if CCs smoke best around say 58-60%, why even bother with the 65/65? Why not just keep them all stored at 58-60%?

I keep my cigars at 60%RH a medium small cabinet humidor. I have a desk top that I've begun to regulate with two 58% Bovida bags. My issue is too humid, not dry, most of the year. This has worked great for me relieving me of harsh wet cigars while still keeping the cigar moist enough to be supple. I remember seeing that the guy who wrote the Encyclopedia, MRN, keeps his vast collection at a low humidity point. I'm not a huge fan of the book or him, but I gotta figure he knows more than me. 

[BuzzArd]

1 hour ago, Derboesekoenig said:

So my question is, if CCs smoke best around say 58-60%, why even bother with the 65/65? Why not just keep them all stored at 58-60%?

My humidors and large cabinets are all kept at 60%.  

[BinBin]

1 hour ago, Derboesekoenig said:

So my question is, if CCs smoke best around say 58-60%, why even bother with the 65/65? Why not just keep them all stored at 58-60%?

I store mine around 62-61

[Derboesekoenig]

I think I'm going to experiment at 58%-60% for awhile. I have to dry box for everything to smoke just that little bit better, but wonder if I just store at lower RH, if I can shorten dry box time, or eliminate altogether.

[Lucass111]

I store mine around 64% and they still seem wet so I will be dry boxing a few as well to see if it improves my burn.

[Randy956]

So my question is, if CCs smoke best around say 58-60%, why even bother with the 65/65? Why not just keep them all stored at 58-60%?

I can’t prove this, however, my sense of engineering suggests that molecular diffusion is what helps a cigar ripen to full flavor. Moisture is the vehicle for that.

I believe aging at a higher RH helps the process, yet smoking a cigar is best when it’s at a lower RH.

The only thing close to proof i have of smoking a cigar that has a lower RH would be that the smaller the hard cherry is when smoking the less harsh the cigar is. Of course that last statement in no way supports my theory of diffusion.

[SigmundChurchill]

The sweet spot for me is 62%.  That is where I keep my humidor.

[Jnavas1500]

I’ve been at 70, 65 and now 62%, so far 62% has been the perfect sweet spot for me :)!

[TBird55]

Have my cabinet set at 60.... when I first started down the CC road, Had it set at 68. I found that the cigars were much too moist, bitter, and had burn issues along with high number of plugged cigars.  With the lower humidity all the issues went away. I rarely have a plugged cigar now, and when I do the perfect draw usually takes care of that. 

[mbflash80]

62% for me...been this way for a very long time and very rarely do I run into issues with my cigars...aint broke so I aint fixin it..

[Ericbrobes]

I'm in the 58-62 range. Cigars tend to have better taste and also less burn problems which lead to a better overall experience.

[stogieluver]

17 hours ago, unclepauly25 said:

Hi everyone, I’ve noticed most people are storing their cigars at 65% humidity, I’ve been storing mine at 70%. I’ve heard the term dry boxing or dry aging, How long would you dry box for before smoking, and would you just leave it out with no humidity before smoking? I’m also thinking of switching to the 65% boveda, would this work for all cigars or just cubans?

I store, like most here, in the low 60's in my cabinet humidor and find that is ideal for me.  At that rH level, I rarely dry box as the vast majority of my sticks smoke great at that rH. 

Regarding your question about dry boxing, I think El Presidente recommends removing your next few sticks from your normal humidor rH and putting them in another humi at around 58% for a few days before smoking.  What caught my attention with your post is your comment about "just leave them out with no humidity".  The ambient rH in whatever room you're "just leaving them out" in is what?  If you aren't keeping a reliable hygrometer out in that room and monitoring the rH throughout the day every day, you may be defeating the whole purpose of dry boxing.  You probably should consider getting another desk top humi and putting some 58% Boveda packs in there and stabilizing that humi at that rH level before using it to dry box your sticks.

[Ceephus Banks]

I learned about dryboxing from here. I can definitely say, it makes a big difference in my smokes. RH in my humidor I keep between 60-65 and as to how long I dry box, depends on the cigar and the weather. In Arkansas, humidity is definitely a factor. I just stick a few smokes I'm going to enjoy in an empty cigar box, anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks. I do it with my Cubans and my Dominicans and it definitely will improve the taste on an aged cigar to me.

[PapaDisco]

2 hours ago, Randy956 said:

I can’t prove this, however, my sense of engineering suggests that molecular diffusion is what helps a cigar ripen to full flavor. Moisture is the vehicle for that.

I believe aging at a higher RH helps the process, yet smoking a cigar is best when it’s at a lower RH.

The only thing close to proof i have of smoking a cigar that has a lower RH would be that the smaller the hard cherry is when smoking the less harsh the cigar is. Of course that last statement in no way supports my theory of diffusion.
 

I concur, and the science of this is not well understood.  The theory is that the chemistry of aging may be different from the chemistry of smoking

[old surf dog]

I keep my desktop at around 62%, my coolerdor for long term storage at 68%. I don't have too many issues but if I do, its because its too wet, not too dry. Problems, to the extent they happen usually appear on a very humid day (I spoke outside always)

[unclepauly25]

Hi everyone, thanks to everyone who gave me advice on rh and dry boxing, I’m going to experiment with it to see what gives me the best results, it’s been very hot and humid here in Chicago, however my house is air conditioned, so temperatures are stable In my humidor. Gonna use a travel humidor to dry box with some maybe 58 or 60% boveda packs. 

Thanks again guys!