What are some FOHers' cigar-specific RH preferences?

[NYGuido]

Last night on the FOH Discord Chat, I asked @El Presidente about his RH preferences for certain cigars. We talked about how I have come around to his view that Fabrica005 smokes fantastic at 65%, that he thinks I should try Bond Roberts there, too, and the conventional wisdom of Cubans being best at 62% (and, for Rob and me, Cohiba slightly below that).

We got on the topic of whether we all pick 62% for Cubans because that's the best flavor or because it's the best to mitigate tight draw issues. That is, absent quality concerns, is 62% still best for all Cubans. Rob mentioned a few cigars he likes closer to 65% (RASS, Bolivar Royal Corona), and it led me to this question:

Are there any FOHers who prefer certain Cuban cigars at an RH other than 62%? If so, which ones?

For me, Cohiba (particularly the CoRo) has the most cream and deliciousness around 60-61%, but I otherwise work at 62-is in my Raching. BUT you all are way more experienced than I, so I would love to hear the collective wisdom! And, @LizardGizmo, wondering whether you and the Guys have any that fit into the non-62 paradigm as well.

Looking forward to the discussion!

[Lucas Buck]

60% max for me. I like mine dry. All of them. 

[NYGuido]

1 minute ago, Lucas Buck said:

60% max for me. I like mine dry. All of them. 

Do you find any of them lose oils over long periods of time at this RH? Or do they all just smoke perfectly in perpetuity for you?

[Lucas Buck]

11 minutes ago, NYGuido said:

Do you find any of them lose oils over long periods of time at this RH? Or do they all just smoke perfectly in perpetuity for you?

 I should have clarified I age at 65% and smoke at 58-60%. However, some of the cigars in my on deck humidors at the lower RH often go years before being selected for termination. I have never had an issue with dried out underperforming sticks. So no, I don’t think they lose significant oils at the lower RH. 

[Chibearsv]

63% for everything that I'm smoking and 65ish for everything I'm storing. CC or NC all perform well for me at those numbers and that's all I'm looking for.  

[NYGuido]

6 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

63% for everything that I'm smoking and 65ish for everything I'm storing. CC or NC all perform well for me at those numbers and that's all I'm looking for.  

Yeah, I’d love to find a single RH. It would simplify my cigar life quite a bit. I run 62%, 65%, and 67% for different things and then have a 58% dry box I use as needed to get things down quickly. 

[El Presidente]

Ideally. 

Most CC, 62%. Exceptions are cocoa laden cigars, then 65% in the home humidor. Exceptions of the exceptions are Montecristo Especial and Especiales 2. 60-62% 

NC   65% - 68%  generally.

 

[mikejh]

All my humidors are somewhere between 62-65 most of the time and that works well for me.

[tbelle7]

Similar to other replies above -

Cubans - 62% in my desktop humor to smoke from. 65% in the tower. 

NC - 68% in the other tower.

[zacca]

I like to be at 65F/65% to store/age, and dip the RH% for those that I’ll smoke soon, but here’s the rub…

Unless I’ve had a cigar aging for a long time, it can either be above or below the 65% I store at. If I got them particularly dry (or wet), it could take several weeks for them to find equilibrium. 

I have a moisture meter and while some are quizzical about their effectiveness, I find it to be invaluable because it gives me consistency each time I use it. So the absolute number doesn’t matter so much…it’s useful for finding what the sweet spot range is.

And for me, I’d say it’s 50/50 for RH in terms of it affecting flavor and draw. I absolutely see a difference in both - flavor starts to fade for me the drier they get, and for most CCs, a good draw is dependent on not being too wet. 

[El Presidente]

I mentioned this to the lads on the FOH Video Room Chat yesterday. 

In a recent discussion with my Czar deck lads before Christmas, they started to dry box or lower humidity in their humidors for CC some 10-15 years ago. 

When I mentioned that I get a better flavour delivery on "drier" CC storage, they looked at me nonplussed. They almost to a man, do it solely for a better more consistent draw. 

I thought it interesting. None are members of the forum. Just cigar lovers. 

 

[NYGuido]

30 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

I mentioned this to the lads on the FOH Video Room Chat yesterday. 

In a recent discussion with my Czar deck lads before Christmas, they started to dry box or lower humidity in their humidors for CC some 10-15 years ago. 

When I mentioned that I get a better flavour delivery on "drier" CC storage, they looked at me nonplussed. They almost to a man, do it solely for a better more consistent draw. 

I thought it interesting. None are members of the forum. Just cigar lovers. 

This is fascinating to me because I think, as Cuban smokers, we have been sold the idea that a lower humidity means a clear and better flavor profile. I am going to have to do a controlled experiment with some cigars that I know super well.

Maybe a good topic for a FOHrensics experiment series!

[El Presidente]

1 hour ago, NYGuido said:

This is fascinating to me because I think, as Cuban smokers, we have been sold the idea that a lower humidity means a clear and better flavor profile. I am going to have to do a controlled experiment with some cigars that I know super well.

Maybe a good topic for a FOHrensics experiment series!

We (and I am guily of this) sometimes believe that cigar lovers are all engaged fully in this hobby. 

Referring to my deck session when I am extrapolating gloriously on the increased flavour benefits of a lower RH. Dave....whom I love, looked at me and said, "C***, I just dry the pricks so they draw 8 times out of f****** 10. 

Fair enough 

[NYGuido]

1 hour ago, El Presidente said:

We (and I am guily of this) sometimes believe that cigar lovers are all engaged fully in this hobby. 

Referring to my deck session when I am extrapolating gloriously on the increased flavour benefits of a lower RH. Dave....whom I love, looked at me and said, "C***, I just dry the pricks so they draw 8 times out of f****** 10.  

Fair enough 

This is amazing for so many reasons, not the least of which is how much I love the degree to which Australians love the C word.

[El Presidente]

1 hour ago, NYGuido said:

This is amazing for so many reasons, not the least of which is how much I love the degree to which Australians love the C word

The "C" word here, as in the UK (from my experience) is used amongst close acquaintances as a "flexible" term. Both "endearment"  and "hostility".

It is hard to explain 

[NYGuido]

1 hour ago, El Presidente said:

The "C" word here, as in the UK (from my experience) is used amongst close acquaintances as a "flexible" term. Both "endearment"  and "hostility".

It is hard to explain 

One of my best mates is from Melbourne. He’s schooled me in the art of its use, for which I’m eternally grateful. 

[painfreefishing]

I age at 65%. I dry box everything before I smoke it. 12 hours for 46g ish and below and 24 hours for anything bigger. I live in a very humid environment so even my dry boxing is usually at 60%. I'm still very new at this so there may be some rookie mistakes in this process. Any advice is appreciated.

[NYGuido]

1 hour ago, painfreefishing said:

I age at 65%. I dry box everything before I smoke it. 12 hours for 46g ish and below and 24 hours for anything bigger. I live in a very humid environment so even my dry boxing is usually at 60%. I'm still very new at this so there may be some rookie mistakes in this process. Any advice is appreciated.

I think you’ll find there are a lot of opinions on this topic, some of which I’m trying to suss out with this thread. But, in general, I live by the mantra that you should smoke things how you enjoy them. If you’re loving the flavors you’re getting and aren’t having any draw issues, then you’re absolutely fine. 

But, on the other hand, some of us (myself included) are a bit…over analytical about things and like to fiddle and figure and optimize. In that case, there’s a nice, deep rabbit hole you can go down. 😉 

[griller]

3 hours ago, mikejh said:

All my humidors are somewhere between 62-65 most of the time and that works well for me.

Same with me for both CC and NC. I do try to drybox a few days before smoking to get the humidity down another few points, especially with Cubans. 62% humidity is a sweet spot it seems for CCs and going even down to 60% has been good for me in the past, too. I definitely believe in the correlation between Cubans drawing well and lowering the humidity. Less so with NCs.

[zacca]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

When I mentioned that I get a better flavour delivery on "drier" CC storage, they looked at me nonplussed. They almost to a man, do it solely for a better more consistent draw.

1 hour ago, NYGuido said:

This is fascinating to me because I think, as Cuban smokers, we have been sold the idea that a lower humidity means a clear and better flavor profile.

 

Now I’m really intrigued because I said the opposite for flavor - the drier they’ve been, the less flavor I’ve noticed. But now that both of you have mentioned it, and I’m sure plenty of others in this came, I’m now curious…it’s entirely possibly that the dry flavorless cigars I’ve had were just duds all around. Maybe I’ll experiment with my next several to see if my observations hold or not. 

[yuppie]

I've been organizing my humidor by age, thinking that I need to smoke through the oldest stuff at the top, while the youngest stuff that needs more time gets stuffed into the bottom shelves. The humidor sits at a solid 65% on the bottom and an even 62% at the top, but I pull smokes from all over. Maybe what I should do is throw all the stuff I'm most likely to smoke up into the top two shelves.

[Glass Half Full]

Let's not forget Temperature folks  If there's one thing we've all learned from @PigFish it's that RH by itself ain't meaningful. Thanks to his extensive writing (and thanks to many others' on these pages) -- and by golly there's a lot if you search the history -- I firmly believe in 60-62% for CCs and 68-70% for nearly all NCs -- but only when those are measured/kept at 61-65 degrees F.  

All those Ranges?  IMO yes.  Let's not sweat the small stuff.  

Exceptions?  IMO just these:  

(a) long & skinnies (to me) taste best btw 58-60 (talking 898s and Dalias and the skinnier like); and
(b) like others, Nudies and BR are the only NC cigars I keep like CCs.  

To me those storage conditions help make possible the best experiences, both for full flavor and draw.  I also agree with Ray that most -- (not all but most -- bad draw experiences are likely caused by storage.  And I think it's easy to agree that, if you can't smoke it, the taste experience is lost.  

Hope that's helpful, but I'm only repeating wisdom learned from others here. 
 

[B44]

^^^Nail on the head! 65/65 KISS

[NYGuido]

1 hour ago, Glass Half Full said:

Let's not forget Temperature folks  If there's one thing we've all learned from @PigFish it's that RH by itself ain't meaningful. Thanks to his extensive writing (and thanks to many others' on these pages) -- and by golly there's a lot if you search the history -- I firmly believe in 60-62% for CCs and 68-70% for nearly all NCs -- but only when those are measured/kept at 61-65 degrees F.  

All those Ranges?  IMO yes.  Let's not sweat the small stuff.  

Exceptions?  IMO just these:  

(a) long & skinnies (to me) taste best btw 58-60 (talking 898s and Dalias and the skinnier like); and
(b) like others, Nudies and BR are the only NC cigars I keep like CCs.  

To me those storage conditions help make possible the best experiences, both for full flavor and draw.  I also agree with Ray that most -- (not all but most -- bad draw experiences are likely caused by storage.  And I think it's easy to agree that, if you can't smoke it, the taste experience is lost.  

Hope that's helpful, but I'm only repeating wisdom learned from others here. 

I’ve read through those threads, and I’m still somewhat confused by the science, but I THINK I remember it being that higher temp needs higher RH to be at the same cigar moisture content. That is, 62% at 70F has less cigar moisture than 62% at 65F. 

But I can’t quite figure out how to reconcile that with my storage at 62% and 70F. It seems to me like, for Cubans, 64% smokes wet at 70F as well. 

[Capn_Jackson]

Texas humidity gives me a hard time, but I try to keep everything, CC and NC, at 65%. I drybox CC, though, preferring to smoke them at 60-62% except, oddly, Montecristo. I dig them at 65. Juan Lopez and some Upmann I prefer around 65 too.

Padróns I keep at 68-69, and find that I like them best there.

I’m the classic over-thinker, but it gets my smokes right where I like ‘em.