What RH do you favour?

[Pandyboy]

Mine is at 66. Funny I heard that Cubans like to age around 65%.

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[Simon Bolivar]

I usually keep mine at about 70. I find that at 65 they feel very dry and 'hard'. I had read somewhere that long term storage and ageing was best done at a higher humidity, and if you prefered to smoke them at a lower humidity, then you would put them in a seperate humidor or dry-box for a short time. Has anybody heard about doing this or tried it?

I disagree, for long term aging 5-10yrs+ 63-65oC, if you like them softer, put them in a humi with 65- 68oC a few days before smoking. Some prefer 60-63 but that's a bit to dry for me.

[TonyN]

Most tobacconists keep them at a higher humidity, apparently at a higher humidity cigar don't loose their sheen and oils.

[mcdee]

I was watching a YouTube video featuring Lawrence from Sautter cigars in which he said he stores his personal cigars at 84% humidity. I thought that would be far too high. I wish the chap he was chatting with asked him why he did this.

[TonyN]

maybe he knows something we don't.

[ha_banos]

Indeed! What do we know?!

https://youtu.be/r1JCnBjsahY?t=55m30s

"Orson Wells & Churchill was a terrible smoker..."

https://youtu.be/r1JCnBjsahY?t=53m30s

[SHAMZ84]

I was watching a YouTube video featuring Lawrence from Sautter cigars in which he said he stores his personal cigars at 84% humidity. I thought that would be far too high. I wish the chap he was chatting with asked him why he did this.

It's probably makes the tabaco nice moist when he's chewing the god dam cigar

https://www.themysterywhisky.co.uk

[TJCoro]

Oh, what a lucky man, he was.

Indeed! What do we know?!
https://youtu.be/r1JCnBjsahY?t=55m30

I rather enjoyed that video, I did! So much so that after the first few minutes, I retired to the SoM “Man Cave” and sparked up a 9-year old H. Upmann Connoisseur No. 1 to enjoy along with the video. A perfect match!

Fun Fact: Don TJ has been friends with don Jesus Lara Perez, brother of don Avelino Perez, the former “Director of Cohiba” for over a decade. Don Jesus now spends most of his time in the Carribean where he still rolls custom puros. Whenever don TJ visits the islands, don Jesus rolls a batch for don TJ to take home. When I went to see don Jesus last year, he not only rolled a batch of custom puros for me but also gifted me a humidifier! (Pictured below, along with don Jesus and several of his puros. Also pictured is a NC produced by Graycliff in honor of don Avelino on what would have been his 80th birthday after his death a few years ago).

DEE67F7B-D672-4F2A-8B33-DA17C461E24B.jpg 5BF19D42-424A-4B8D-B5FD-1F0251D2979F.jpg D4A6D263-B3D9-44E5-9804-C74B485F7ECB.jpg

True Story.

Bag Boy

[ha_banos]

Ha ha! Hope you enjoyed the rest of that video s?r BagBoy! Even with that typical old British accent over it It's rather entertaining and romantic.

I'm glad it teased out a fun fact from across the seas! Don Jesus sure does enjoy a beast of a cigar in that photo. And that humidifier looks amazing! I'd love to grab a batch of old school custom rolls. I have one from a small promo from 2004 in the humidor. I'm waiting for the end of winter though and I think it's about time to enjoy it.

Now funny you should mention the Cohiba connection! I was just reading some stuff about Rivera, Lara, Davidoff, Cohiba and Trinidad. Some very interesting tales in the at the height of the pressures of the cold war! Stories that I bet Don Jesus and his brother would be very interesting contributors to! Are there any such tales from TJ et. al.? .....

Video of the custom rolls being made here, you'll have to download to play https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5n...w?usp=drivesdk

[TJCoro]

Puro Tales!

Ha ha! Hope you enjoyed the rest of that video s?r BagBoy! Even with that typical old British accent over it It's rather entertaining and romantic.

I'm glad it teased out a fun fact from across the seas! Don Jesus sure does enjoy a beast of a cigar in that photo. And that humidifier looks amazing! I'd love to grab a batch of old school custom rolls. I have one from a small promo from 2004 in the humidor. I'm waiting for the end of winter though and I think it's about time to enjoy it.

Now funny you should mention the Cohiba connection! I was just reading some stuff about Rivera, Lara, Davidoff, Cohiba and Trinidad. Some very interesting tales in the at the height of the pressures of the cold war! Stories that I bet Don Jesus and his brother would be very interesting contributors to! Are there any such tales from TJ et. al.? .....

Video of the custom rolls being made here, you'll have to download to play https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5n...w?usp=drivesdk

Funny you should ask. I did come across an old video that don TJ made duing an interview he and his amigos did with don Jesus Lara Perez back in 2009. Unfortunately, most of it is in spanish, so I need to add subtitles before I upload it.

Regarding don TJ, he has shared a few interesting stories on this here fine forum in the past. I?ll have to dig through his journals, however, to see if I can find any worth sharing.

Thanks again for posting the video, amigo. Thouroughly enjoyable! Great stories and information. A must-see for any puro aficionado. And yes, I did watch it all the way through with the help of a most excellent H. Upman Connie.

Bag Boy

[ha_banos]

Well you sure have the equipment now to add subtitles!! (Or create an SRT file e.g. https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/subtit...ditor-aegisub/)

Also there's this dude who made a 4 part mini-doc on this very subject too - quite entertaining (you'll def need to skip through a bit)


Here's a 4 part playlist:https://youtu.be/TcE9H-utw3c

[Simon Bolivar]

Indeed! What do we know?!

https://youtu.be/r1JCnBjsahY?t=55m30s

"Orson Wells & Churchill was a terrible smoker..."
https://youtu.be/r1JCnBjsahY?t=53m30s

Great video, thanks for sharing Ha_banos. I picked up several interesting points:
The customer was the 13th Lord Kinnaird, died 1997 aged 85yo. He had several interesting ancestors but if your interested in FA Football or pub team quizzes then you can read about him here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Kinnaird,_11th_Lord_Kinnaird

The film quotes Davidoff quitting Cuba in 1992 & that it was 5yrs since Castro quit smoking on his doctor's advice. However, according to the Shakin interview, Castro gave up in 1985'ish. The cello & Cohiba labels being put on, ceased in 1993 so my best guess is the film was made in '93 -95. There are clips from many eras & no date at the end of the film but would be interesting to know.

The Spanish actor mentions smoking at the bullring as being a great tradition but barbaric, I guess I am not allow assuming he meant the bull fighting but he explained it was barbaric because you can't really appreciate the cigar & it's flavours in the bull ring.

Only women used to work in the Cohiba factory, I am sure that's changed?
Tobacco was aged 'for yrs' before rolling, now the only tobacco aged are for EL's.
1990 370million cigars rolled, only 80million exported, my those Cubans some a lot of cigars!

[TJCoro]

Urban Legnd?

Tru-dat, se?or Simon.

Now, regading the factory women, I like the line that the closest the leaf ever gets to their thighs is when they lay the leaf on their lap (as shown in the video). No doubt this is response to the Urban Myth that certain Monticristos (No. 2?) are rolled on the naked thighs of lovely women.

Don’t know about you, but I like to believe it’s true.



Bag Boy

[Simon Bolivar]

Tru-dat, se?or Simon.

Now, regading the factory women, I like the line that the closest the leaf ever gets to their thighs is when they lay the leaf on their lap (as shown in the video). No doubt this is response to the Urban Myth that certain Monticristos (No. 2?) are rolled on the naked thighs of lovely women.

Don?t know about you, but I like to believe it?s true.



Bag Boy

Ladies thighs I can believe, it's the virgin's thighs that has always struck me as some what unlikely!

[PeeJay]

Its not an urban myth as such, it was the invention of an American advertising man who saw the ladies laying the leaves on their laps