As per the title i have a cigar that i have had for around 4 years that i got on holiday, has been in a plastic case, no cellophane wrap sealing it, will it be ok to smoke?
4 year old cigar - ok to smoke it?
- Thread starter shoulderpet
- Start date
If you had it in a humidor than I would say probably. If it's just been in a plastic case, I don't know. You can take it out of the case and see how dry it is. You should be able to tell.
Probably not.
Unless it has been in a properly maintained humidor, it is probably too dry to smoke. Lighting it will likely cause it to flower and disintegrate.
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Speaking of old cigars, is it possible to rehydrate old dry cigars?
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Not something I’ve needed to try.
YMMV
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Not something I’ve needed to try.
YMMV
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Yes, it is possible to rehydrate cigars, although it is a slow process. I've had good luck with putting them in my humidor at normal ~70% humidity and letting them set for at least six months. This assumes they are basically sound and worth the effort. My son had a handful of good cigars that he had at his wedding and two years after I took them on - they are smokable now, some 6 years later.
+1 to that. Keep in mind that most cigars are nearly at their peak when you buy them or within a year or so even when well stored in a humidor. That doesn't mean that your cigar is bad, but you might want to manage your expectations.
Yes, just very slowly so it doesn't expand to fast and split the wrapper.
Maybe while you re-hydrate it . . buy a new cigar and enjoy it.
You may be able to rehydrate a cigar, but once it's oils are gone they can't be replenished / replaced.
In other words, you might as well be smoking newspaper.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Some are worth the effort to rehydrate. Your run of the mill $5 stick really isn't, IMHO. A nice fat premium Habano sure, give it a go. Stick it in a cellophane from another cigar, fold the end down, place in humidor. The cello is just porous enough to allow the cigar to slowly slowly suck in moisture from the humidor environment.
If you live in a reasonably humid locale and you don't dry your house into a mini sahara with AC and heat, it might be perfectly smokeable as is.
I am sure you have seen guys dip their cigar in Port or Sherry and light up. Don't do that with a dry cigar. It will split open. The filler expands faster than the wrapper can stretch. Same thing can happen if you place a dry cigar unwrapped in a humidor.
I have smoked cigars that I know were at least 6 or 7 years old, enjoying them very much. The secret is maintaining them in a controlled environment. 4 years is nothing. However, 4 years in poor storage conditions will mean that at the very least, it will not be at its prime. At worst, it will be a less than pleasant experience. Very dry cigars will smoke hot and taste harsh with none of the delightful notes that the critics wax poetic about. They will burn unevenly, maybe split or crack.
Look at the end of the cigar. Gently squeeze it near the end to barely flatten it into a slightly oval cross section. If it springs back to round shape almost immediately then it has good moisture content and physically/mechanically has not suffered much. More likely it will rebound slowly over the course of minutes or even hours. Could be smoked as is, might not be so great, but is a good candidate for careful rehydration. If it doesn't spring back at all or if it cracks and crackles, don't smoke it like that. It might come back in the humidor, it might not, but it isn't fit to smoke as is. Just my dos centavos.
Cigars carelessly stored are often too dry, but they can also be too wet. I live in South Louisiana and poorly stored cigars often find themselves exposed to near 100% humidity and temps in the 90s or 100s or even higher. Tobacco weevils and mold will attack cigars in that condition. I was given an opened but full box of some Romeo Robustos once that had been kept in an attic by the buyer's granddaughter after her grandfather died. They were in horrible shape. Shadows of cigars held together by bands and cello wrapping. Utterly worthless. I wouldn't even bring the box home, for fear of weevil infestation. It was all I could do to retain my composure as I examined them in her presence, thanked her for her generosity, and declined the gift as graciously as I could.
If you live in a reasonably humid locale and you don't dry your house into a mini sahara with AC and heat, it might be perfectly smokeable as is.
I am sure you have seen guys dip their cigar in Port or Sherry and light up. Don't do that with a dry cigar. It will split open. The filler expands faster than the wrapper can stretch. Same thing can happen if you place a dry cigar unwrapped in a humidor.
I have smoked cigars that I know were at least 6 or 7 years old, enjoying them very much. The secret is maintaining them in a controlled environment. 4 years is nothing. However, 4 years in poor storage conditions will mean that at the very least, it will not be at its prime. At worst, it will be a less than pleasant experience. Very dry cigars will smoke hot and taste harsh with none of the delightful notes that the critics wax poetic about. They will burn unevenly, maybe split or crack.
Look at the end of the cigar. Gently squeeze it near the end to barely flatten it into a slightly oval cross section. If it springs back to round shape almost immediately then it has good moisture content and physically/mechanically has not suffered much. More likely it will rebound slowly over the course of minutes or even hours. Could be smoked as is, might not be so great, but is a good candidate for careful rehydration. If it doesn't spring back at all or if it cracks and crackles, don't smoke it like that. It might come back in the humidor, it might not, but it isn't fit to smoke as is. Just my dos centavos.
Cigars carelessly stored are often too dry, but they can also be too wet. I live in South Louisiana and poorly stored cigars often find themselves exposed to near 100% humidity and temps in the 90s or 100s or even higher. Tobacco weevils and mold will attack cigars in that condition. I was given an opened but full box of some Romeo Robustos once that had been kept in an attic by the buyer's granddaughter after her grandfather died. They were in horrible shape. Shadows of cigars held together by bands and cello wrapping. Utterly worthless. I wouldn't even bring the box home, for fear of weevil infestation. It was all I could do to retain my composure as I examined them in her presence, thanked her for her generosity, and declined the gift as graciously as I could.
A friend gave me a humidor with a bunch of Hemingway Short Stories and a bunch of cheapies. I brought them all back, eventually. The cheapies still tasted nasty, but the Short Stories ended up being decent. Not quite as good as a fresh one, but better than a cheapy.
I'm thinking ... what else could you do with it?
If it does not have any sentimental or souvenir value, then lighting it up after a careful rehydration won't have cost you anything.
If it does not have any sentimental or souvenir value, then lighting it up after a careful rehydration won't have cost you anything.
I have the AF 858's that I bought when my son was born. He's an accountant now. So they keep a long time but re-hydration takes a long time.
I have a handful of Cubans that were bought in Mexico. They have the aluminum tube with the cigar wrapped in paper. Could I add a little water to the paper and put the cigar and paper back in the tube? I'm thinking just wipe the paper with a moist cloth, not dripping wet. What do you guy's think?
MM879
MM879
That might promote mold IMO. Best to have it absorb moisture via humid air vs direct contact.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Tubed cigars often remain smokable for a very long time outside the humidor. Depends on the ambient humidity and temp extremes, and how tightly they are sealed. Don't wet the cigar or any wood or paper wrapped around the cigar inside the tube. You will be rehydrating too fast and very likely the wrapper will split when the filler swells. If you want to rehydrate, open the cap on the tube slightly and just leave it in the humidor for about 6 months. The cigar will rehydrate slowly and naturally.
