email of the week

[ayepatz]

Defrost before use.

[cigcars]

2 hours ago, boopdeep said:

Prez, sounds like you obviously owe this guy replacement boxes....

   *Yeah; make them Gurkhas...

 

[zeedubbya]

And now for some actual advice.  As has been discussed here many times (but not lately as much it seems) some cigars suffer “travel sickness” worse than others.  A while back @PapaDisco and myself agreed Sir Winston’s are some of the worst offenders.  I would also say, in my experience Epicure Especial, Upmann PC, RYJ Short Churchills and the smaller size Bolivars do as well.  My guess is he’s is experiencing this rather than the negative effects of freezing.  

In a reply email I would reassure the person that many many members have frozen cigars with absolutely no effect on taste—pre freeze or post freeze.  Also make sure to mention that all Cuban cigars for export are frozen by HSA thus people all around the world buy cigars which still taste great.  Recommmend that the person allow them to rest for a few months and try them again.  Even better, introduce him to dry-boxing.  Everyone who’s been at this for even a small amount of time knows freezing in the proper way makes no difference in taste, and also that travel sickness is pretty common in some cigars.    

[nKostyan]

It was necessary to dip in water at first as it was specified in other post. After the fridge get the cigar ice cream - many wonderful dishes in the world happened by mistake

 

[Toast & Taste]

I would advise him that he should unfreeze them via rectal acclimatization.

He will surely be able to keep a direct eye on the process.

 

Big Al 

[data]

Dear RUINED,  

Thanks for your email. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am too. I'm sorry we let you down. We take our advice seriously and want to help you through this tough time. Couple of questions first so WE CAN HELP YOU.

1. Did you smoke one of the cigars prior to freezing? how did it taste?
2. If it tasted great to you, send the remaining box to this address for further testing and flavor recalibration. 
3. Wait for us to get back to you with the results. 

We appreciate your business, 

The Internet

[PigFish]

.... get a good credit card number will you? His check bounced and he still owes me $375 for the advice!

I have got to start charging more... and attract a better class of people!

-the Pig

[houdini]

FOH Cliff Notes....Freezing, good. Aging, good. Age Cuban Cigars in Freezer. MUST be even better! 

[dominattorney]

17 hours ago, Elvis said:

I wonder if he waited for them to thaw before lighting them....

I wondered the same.  Cmon, a cigar is not a banana sir.

[Drguano]

I am sure I said “Give them to the geezer!” Or maybe it was “Stick them in your keister...” whatever...

[SCgarman]

18 hours ago, zeedubbya said:

And now for some actual advice.  As has been discussed here many times (but not lately as much it seems) some cigars suffer “travel sickness” worse than others.  A while back @PapaDisco and myself agreed Sir Winston’s are some of the worst offenders.  I would also say, in my experience Epicure Especial, Upmann PC, RYJ Short Churchills and the smaller size Bolivars do as well.  My guess is he’s is experiencing this rather than the negative effects of freezing.  

In a reply email I would reassure the person that many many members have frozen cigars with absolutely no effect on taste—pre freeze or post freeze.  Also make sure to mention that all Cuban cigars for export are frozen by HSA thus people all around the world buy cigars which still taste great.  Recommmend that the person allow them to rest for a few months and try them again.  Even better, introduce him to dry-boxing.  Everyone who’s been at this for even a small amount of time knows freezing in the proper way makes no difference in taste, and also that travel sickness is pretty common in some cigars.    

First of all the OP never mentioned WHERE in Cuba he bought the cigars. He also never mentioned WHAT he bought. How do we know the cigars he bought are....GENUINE? Came from an official LCdH? If he is smoking banana leaves, well sorry but freezing won't hurt nor help!

[JamesKPolkEsq]

In all seriousness, if the cigars started out marvelous (you tried them before freezing them, right? That's how you know freezing hurt them?), they'll need a good nap to recover. 

Freezers dry things out quite efficiently (freezer burn, after all is just damage due to evaporation), so if your cigars weren't sealed perfectly (most recommend the double ziplock bagging), they'll have dried out relative to their original condition. 

They aren't necessarily a lost cause, the general consensus is to slowly re-hydrate overly dried cigars - resuscitate them over the period of several months. Personally, I'd take them out of their packaging and into a separate humidor / tupperdor with some 62% Boveda packs.

There is no guarantee that they will ever make it 100% back (since the drying process will remove some of the oils from the cigars), but it's worth a shot since you already got em. Good luck!

 

[DeskSmkr]

Good afternoon,

I can tell this is infuriating, and very disappointing to make the effort to get these cigars and then find them unpalatable.

There are a number of variables that affect quality.

Freezing can safely be done, and in fact is done before export for all cigars by the Cuban manufacturers.

Many members have followed freezing procedures they chose, based on other peoples opinion, without the loss of quality that you note.

Your cigars may require a resting period or go through a period where they are unpalatable, some people call this a “sick period.”

You may find the answers you’re looking for by searching online, and learning as much as you can.

Cuban cigars are not liked by everyone and you may find they are not what you prefer, and that’s ok! We all have different preferences.

[Akela3rd]

"Why do you and your forum people offer such stupid advice. What can you do about my cigars?"

1 - Just to annoy people like you (and please use a question mark at the end of an enquiry sentence)

2 - Bugger all. See replies above.

 

Sent from my ActionMan walkie-talkie

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CaptainQuintero]

5 hours ago, DeskSmkr said:

Good afternoon,

I can tell this is infuriating, and very disappointing to make the effort to get these cigars and then find them unpalatable.

There are a number of variables that affect quality.

Freezing can safely be done, and in fact is done before export for all cigars by the Cuban manufacturers.

Many members have followed freezing procedures they chose, based on other peoples opinion, without the loss of quality that you note.

Your cigars may require a resting period or go through a period where they are unpalatable, some people call this a “sick period.”

You may find the answers you’re looking for by searching online, and learning as much as you can.

Cuban cigars are not liked by everyone and you may find they are not what you prefer, and that’s ok! We all have different preferences.

Oop we've found the true gentleman, there's one in every group apparently

Good stuff 

[LGC]

It only works if you freeze them in Cuba, and thaw them after leaving the island...

[multi-useless]

Among other factors already mentioned, I'd like to know what qualifies as a good cigar to this guy - has he ever smoked CC's before?  How do we know he's not smoking Acids on a daily basis and for some reason expected Cubans to taste the same?  This could have a lot to do with why he was so disappointed...

[Fugu]

Troll - don't waste your time.

[Colt45]

On 1/10/2019 at 7:54 PM, El Presidente said:

Why do you and your forum people offer such stupid advice.

Testify!