Resting time

[Chadderkdawg]

Haven't seen this thread yet here... How long do you all rest your sticks before enjoying them? How long SHOULD someone rest their sticks. I myself am a ROTT guy when I'm at the B&M. I have been resting a few at home since about the first of the year, but they are getting burned up one by one.

[Tobias Lutz]

I don't know if you can get a definitive answer for SHOULD, unless you want to say "until they have reached the smoker's preferred Rh". I like my sticks between 58 and 60, so I will typically let something purchased online sit for a few months. This isn't to say I won't smoke one ROTT, or right out the B&M walk-in, but typically I carry my own when I go to a lounge. Everyone's tastes will vary.

[Bernardini]

I don't know if you can get a definitive answer for SHOULD, unless you want to say "until they have reached the smoker's preferred Rh". I like my sticks between 58 and 60, so I will typically let something purchased online sit for a few months. This isn't to say I won't smoke one ROTT, or right out the B&M walk-in, but typically I carry my own when I go to a lounge. Everyone's tastes will vary.

I think Tobias nailed it. It all comes down to personal preference.

I slowly have been moving down the RH scale myself, and with the ambient humidity being so low this winter, my humidor has settled around 59% vs the usual 63%. The last couple I have had at this lower level have been eye opening, and I am going to try to target this RH moving forward. Therefore, for me, my resting time is going to be months. Play with it and find what you like.

[theHammer56]

I think Tobias nailed it. It all comes down to personal preference.

I slowly have been moving down the RH scale myself, and with the ambient humidity being so low this winter, my humidor has settled around 59% vs the usual 63%. The last couple I have had at this lower level have been eye opening, and I am going to try to target this RH moving forward. Therefore, for me, my resting time is going to be months. Play with it and find what you like.

Maybe I'm slow on the uptake here - but why would it take months to get to a lower rh? To me, letting a cigar rest to mature the taste (months) is much different than resting to lower the rh (days). Just curious as to your philosophy.

[wabashcr]

Anything that comes in the mail gets at least a month's down time to acclimate. B&M purchases that I don't smoke at the B&M also go down for at least a month. That's usually enough time to get the RH down to where I like it. Additional rest really depends on what it is. A lot of NCs are blended, fermented and aged to be smoked now, without additional rest. Some of the cheaper cbid stuff is better after 6-12 months to round off some of the harsh edges. And of course many CCs are best after several years down.

[Tobias Lutz]

Maybe I'm slow on the uptake here - but why would it take months to get to a lower rh? To me, letting a cigar rest to mature the taste (months) is much different than resting to lower the rh (days). Just curious as to your philosophy.

3 months of rest at the same Rh will do nothing for the flavor, unless you happened to pick it up during the second fermentation cycle, in which case the ammonia might fade away in that time. It takes more than a few days to acclimate a 52 or 54 rg cigar that comes from a vendor at ~72 Rh down 14 points. This is why the idea of dryboxing is something I find suspect and do no practice. Sure, the wrapper will dry in a day or two, but the filler is still overly moist and waiting to expanded and crack said wrapper when you smoke the cigar. If your humidor is holding steady at 60, you may only see a 2-3 point change in the center of that cigar in a weeks time.

[piperdown]

Maybe I'm slow on the uptake here - but why would it take months to get to a lower rh? To me, letting a cigar rest to mature the taste (months) is much different than resting to lower the rh (days). Just curious as to your philosophy.

Rule of thumb (and it's close because I've verified in the past) is 1 week for each % rH you want to drop at least for a true robusto.
I've gotten cigars in that were up around 72% and it took approximately 3 months to get down around 62%.
A lot depends on the size too as a rg/length greater than 50/5.5 can take longer.
A petite corona seems to take about 3-4 days per %, at least that's what I've tracked.

[theHammer56]

Great information, guys. Very eye-opening.

[anthony d]

Rule of thumb (and it's close because I've verified in the past) is 1 week for each % rH you want to drop at least for a true robusto.
I've gotten cigars in that were up around 72% and it took approximately 3 months to get down around 62%.
A lot depends on the size too as a rg/length greater than 50/5.5 can take longer.
A petite corona seems to take about 3-4 days per %, at least that's what I've tracked.

Eric nailed it here. It takes about 1 week to drop 1%rh. Most online vendors ship upwards of 72%-75%rh to compensate for transit time. A good way to tell is when you get a new delivery of sticks, put them in a ziploc bag with your calibrated hygro for about 4 hours. That will tell you what rh the sticks are at. Then, figure a week per 1%, and go from there

I like my sticks around 62%rh, so I let mine rest for about 3 months to be on the safe side before smoking.

[Bernardini]

Maybe I'm slow on the uptake here - but why would it take months to get to a lower rh? To me, letting a cigar rest to mature the taste (months) is much different than resting to lower the rh (days). Just curious as to your philosophy.

I was writing a response, but I see Eric beat me to it. So, exactly what he said :stogie:

[herman]

Eric nailed it here. It takes about 1 week to drop 1%rh. Most online vendors ship upwards of 72%-75%rh to compensate for transit time. A good way to tell is when you get a new delivery of sticks, put them in a ziploc bag with your calibrated hygro for about 4 hours. That will tell you what rh the sticks are at. Then, figure a week per 1%, and go from there

I like my sticks around 62%rh, so I let mine rest for about 3 months to be on the safe side before smoking.

This is a good idea.
I guess I'm less of a control freak, but from experience I give them 2 weeks. ROTT has been a gamble. A majority smoke all right, but I've had some that were over humidified.

That's pretty wild some take the RH down so low. I ventured into the low 60s but went back up around 68. I guess I have acquired it as the RH to lock in the true, original flavor and potency. Maybe I'm just paranoid of doing damage. Idk.

[Chadderkdawg]

My desktop humi is in the 63-65 range, and I honestly don't see much difference from the Smoke shop that has their walk in at 70 or higher.

[frodo]

I tend to try to give mine a couple of yrs unless they have aged tobacco such as Padron Annis or Carlito God of Fire...

[Chadderkdawg]

I tend to try to give mine a couple of yrs unless they have aged tobacco such as Padron Annis or Carlito God of Fire...

Idk how you could have that kind of patience, I just want to light all my shit on fire hahaha

[Cardinal]

And again, what Eric said. I go 3 months ALMOST without fail and often more, unless I'm really excited to try one. Helps to have more cigars than I know what to do with, there's not much temptation to burn 'em early anymore.

[herman]

Idk how you could have that kind of patience, I just want to light all my shit on fire hahaha

It's not that hard when you have been in the hobby for a while and have boxes in rotation.

[Jaybird]

Idk how you could have that kind of patience, I just want to light all my shit on fire hahaha

Kendall
Buy 10x more than you can smoke in a month. Month 2 buy 5 times more than you can smoke. Month 3 buy 2x more than you can smoke. By month 4 you will have PLENTY to toss in a "rest rotation" Every month after that just buy what you smoke to replace and they can rest for 5-6 months at whatever your HAPPY RH is. I have only had a few cigars ROTT that I was like, huh not bad. But I am generally more pleased after a few months at home.

Ohhh and just for the record... Quit lighting your shit on fire! It is not going to help your cigar situation...LOL

Cheers
Jay