Advice please-cigars too dry.

[bluedoughboy]

Hey everyone.
I’ve been a casual/occasional cigar smoker for going on four years, and have a bit of frustration with my local store regarding their cigars not being kept at the right humidity.

I mean - I think that’s the case, but I’m a novice, it could be that I just don’t know what I’m talking about.

Other than buying a bunch of sticks for a wedding in Wakefield (at a great little shop), I’ve bought everything from a little shop in Chichester. I tried my first one, liked it, and went from there. I’ve tried a range of different brands but there was a bit of anomaly where a few times on the bounce I enjoyed some Luis Martinez cigars more than anything else. All of those discussions about flavour profiles finally made sense to me. They were glorious. And then the next one I had-not the same, and nothing from that shop has been as good again.

My guess is that I got lucky with a few cigars on the bounce that had been stored at the right humidity. Even the texture of the smoke seemed different.

Am I talking nonsense? Should I expect cigars to arrive correct or should I buy them and store them and if they aren’t quite right can I fix them. I’ve got a humidor on the way in the hope that I can recreate those glorious smokes.

All advice appreciated.

[moteyi]

Morning. One way of telling if a cigar is too dry is to gently squeeze it or roll it between your fingers. It should be a bit pliable - if it feels hard with no give then it's probably too dry.

Might be worth naming the shop in Chichester as other members might know of it and whether it is a reputable place.

Finally whether you have a humidor or a 'tuperware' box, buy some boveda pouches - my preference are the 65° ones for storing your own at home.

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[Simon Bolivar]

Morning. One way of telling if a cigar is too dry is to gently squeeze it or roll it between your fingers. It should be a bit pliable - if it feels hard with no give then it's probably too dry.

Might be worth naming the shop in Chichester as other members might know of it and whether it is a reputable place.

Finally whether you have a humidor or a 'tuperware' box, buy some boveda pouches - my preference are the 65° ones for storing your own at home.

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Good advice there, except don't roll between your fingers, as it can crack the wrapper, just a gentle squeeze, should result in a slight give. If too soft, it's over humidified, like a rock too dry. Many shops were guilty of this until walk in humi's became a thing. Two options: buy there & put in a tupperware box of 50 count humidor & use 65% Boveda to correct the humidity, wait a couple of weeks should be sufficient.

Only real problem is buying cigars that have been too dry, too long. THis is kill the flav & although you can re-humidify, the more complex flav won't return. You can always buy from the UK internet shops, which have a high turnover & you'll likely receive fresh cigars & he posting time will be too short to dry them out.

Please pop over to the Newbie forum & introduce yourself.

[moteyi]

Not sure where you are in relation to Chichester, but if Guildford isn't too far then go see James at Surrey Cigars - he has a good selection and a sampling lounge and he can give you some good advice to boot.

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[bluedoughboy]

Thanks everyone.

The shop in Chichester isn’t a dedicated cigar shop, it’s a newsagents that has a humidor(ish). It’s called ‘good news’.

I have an acrylic humidor and boveda packs coming (and a few sticks obviously!) from an online store. I’m hoping that storing them correctly I’ll enjoy smoking like I have in the past.

I’m going to a music shop in Guildford next month. I’ve just looked Surrey Cigars up and it’s right around the corner. I will check him out.

thanks again.

[ha_banos]

Good news is supplied by hunters and frankau. It's on their site as a retailer. They are at least kosher.

This should also mean they know how to store cigars..... But of course that's no guarantee.

Let us know how you get on!