Just got my humidor full of cigars and a bunch of questions!

[IronHammer]

Today I received my Montecristo humidor full of cigars. Problem is, the humidor was not maintained by the seller (belonged to her grandfather) for at least five years. There is a Credo Precision 70 humidity box inside. I opened it up to see what I could do about re-humidifying it to use in the humidor. The green stuff inside reminds of the same stuff used in arranging imitation flowers (yuck!). Can this even be re-used?! My nearest cigar shop is an hour away so replacing it will be a little time consuming.

Anyway, I think I have identified all of these cigars as being non-cuban, except for the Cohiba. From what I have read on the internet, this one looks like the genuine article (the glass case it comes in is convincing enough, as it is!). In all honesty I am rather new to cigar appreciation and I really have no experience with any of these brands (YET!) but I hope to restore them to good smoking condition over the coming weeks/months. I may need the help of my fellow B&B'ers to figure out the best way to restore them. The full gallery is here

 

[IronHammer]

I got to looking closely at the green foam inside the passive humidifier and it looks very clean. I think I will add some PG/distilled water to it and get it to seasoning the humidor back up to 70%. I will also need to head to the tobacconist for a hygrometer and possibly some xikar beads.

 

[ricardo9505]

http://www.neptunecigar.com/co/faq-tips_for_cigar_humidor_maintenance.aspx

i use these guys for online cigars:
http://www.famous-smoke.com/
enjoy.

 

[IronHammer]

Thanks for the tip, Ricardo. I have been digging around for articles on humidor seasoning. I think I have found what I'm after.

You wouldn't happen to know if it's practical to try and re-condition or re-season dried out cigars? These don't seem to be in bad shape at all, I am thinking they just need to sit and "soak" up some humidity for a few weeks or months.

 

[garyg]

I believe that they reach a point of no return, though I still recall that someone once said (on an internet forum likely) that as long as the changes in humidity were very gradual they would work. Can't hurt right?

 

[Landri]

Wow... that's a pretty humidor.
Congrats

 

[Commander Quan]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm 99% sure that the Cohiba is a fake. It's tough to be 1000% sure from that picture, but from what I can see it doesn't look right. There are no current production Cubans sold in glass tubes, and even if it had been put into the tube later it still looks fishy. I just don't want to to have high hopes for that cigar, and then have it disappoint you. The market is flooded with fake Cubans, and it's likely that someone brought the gentlmen back this as gift from a Caribbean vacation without knowing what they were buying.

As long as the foam looks clean it should be fine. Season the humidor first, and then put the cigars back in and you'll want to bring the humidity up slowly. If you bring them up too quick you can crack the wrappers.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see the full gallery before I posted. With the other pictures I'm calling it a fake. Sorry.

 

[IronHammer]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm 99% sure that the Cohiba is a fake. It's tough to be 1000% sure from that picture, but from what I can see it doesn't look right. There are no current production Cubans sold in glass tubes, and even if it had been put into the tube later it still looks fishy. I just don't want to to have high hopes for that cigar, and then have it disappoint you. The market is flooded with fake Cubans, and it's likely that someone brought the gentlmen back this as gift from a Caribbean vacation without knowing what they were buying.

As long as the foam looks clean it should be fine. Season the humidor first, and then put the cigars back in and you'll want to bring the humidity up slowly. If you bring them up too quick you can crack the wrappers.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see the full gallery before I posted. With the other pictures I'm calling it a fake. Sorry.

I got to looking at the script and although it's extremely close, I am thinking it's a fake, too. It's smells real nice though

 

[Commander Quan]

It may still be a good cigar, you'll never know until you you try it. The problem is it is just as likely to have rolled up newspaper in it.

 

[73mountaineer]

Stunning humidor, but unfortunately I have to echo the Commander's opinion about the Cohiba. The glass tube is actually a huge red flag, as I don't know of any authentic Cubans being sold in glass tubes. Looking closely at the label, the white block surrounding "COHIBA" should not be in alignment with the white squares on the ends and the black border should be equal on each outer edge of the band.

The cigars may come back in time or they may not, but it won't hurt to try.

 

[Champion of Capua]

That's a great looking hummidor, looks like it can hold around 75 cigars comfortably. I agree the cigars look in good shape now, but that might change when they plump up with some humidity, some might split. I would dump the green hummidification for a Xikar 250, it mounts to your lid, thus giving you more room for cigars : ) You also stated you were getting a hygrometer, good call, they are essential, especially when setting up your hummido.
Congrats on the buy, looks like you've got some good smokes in there !

 

[IronHammer]

Thanks, Champion

Yes, it is a 75 count humidor. It used to belong to former NFL player. I thought the whole thing was a good buy at $100

I left the hygrometer in the humidor overnight to see what the ambient humidity is before attempting to change the RH. This morning it read 46%. So I added a Boveda-72 pack to the box along with all the old cigars. I am hoping to gradually raise the RH to about 55% with the Boveda pack. My thinking is that since there are so many cigars and the humidor is essentially unseasoned, the Boveda pack shouldn't raise the RH too fast and hurt the cigars. We'll see how it goes when I get home this evening and see what the RH is after sitting all day.

I am hoping to be able to enjoy these cigars some day!

 

[jesperw]

I use humidity beads from Heartfelt Indusries in my humidors. Nowadays I sleep well with stable humidity.

You might want to give it a try.

 

[Commander Quan]

As far as I'm concerned beads are the only way to go. I've been using the same pound of beads divided between my humidors and cooler for the past 6 years.

 

[Champion of Capua]

Thanks, Champion

I am hoping to be able to enjoy these cigars some day!

You will, but until then buy a few that you can enjoy over the next couple of months while the others work their way back to the starting rotation.

 

[Champion of Capua]

As far as I'm concerned beads are the only way to go. I've been using the same pound of beads divided between my humidors and cooler for the past 6 years.

Tell me about it, I have a $100 cigar oasis sitting around collecting dust.

 

[IronHammer]

You will, but until then buy a few that you can enjoy over the next couple of months while the others work their way back to the starting rotation.

I am going on a business trip to California on Monday and I am well stocked with fresh cigars in my humidor. I look forward to enjoying them every evening in the local cigar lounge. I have to find one first though! LOL!

 

[Argonaut]

Today I received my Montecristo humidor full of cigars. Problem is, the humidor was not maintained by the seller (belonged to her grandfather) for at least five years. There is a Credo Precision 70 humidity box inside. I opened it up to see what I could do about re-humidifying it to use in the humidor. The green stuff inside reminds of the same stuff used in arranging imitation flowers (yuck!). Can this even be re-used?! My nearest cigar shop is an hour away so replacing it will be a little time consuming.

Personally, I would use a tupperdor to try to refresh those sticks and get busy seasoning that lovely humidor for some fresh sticks that you can smoke. Odds are, the sticks you have are fodder, I wouldn't waste that much time or the humidor on what is most likely a lost cause.

 

[IronHammer]

Jason, I appreciate your viewpoint but I like a challenge ;-)

The humidor is reading 51% now after 24 hours with the one Boveda-72 pack. I am leaving tomorrow morning for Cali, so I when I get back, I plan to raise the RH up to around 60%. However, I am not quite sure how to achieve that yet. By the way, I left the wrappers and tubes (with loose caps) on them so they don't soak up the humidity too fast.

I have an idea how to get to 60%. I know that normally they recommend 50/50 mixture of water/PG to maintain 70% but what if I pull the Boveda pack out and add a 60/40 mixture of water/PG to the credo? Would that work?