View Full Version : Is there any hope for these?
Pugsley
03-22-2015, 06:56 PM
Without going into detail as to how, in 2009 I came into possession of a sealed box of Partagas Serie D No. 4 from an island south of Florida. Being the careless person that I am, I opened the box, inspected them, then put them on a shelf in a seldom used closet and forgot them. They remained there, untouched until today, when I came across them while cleaning out the closet. To my surprise, they weren't bone dry or full of beetle holes, but they are definitely under humidified. Have I ruined these? I seldom smoke cigars, being mainly a pipe smoker, but even after being in that closet all these years they smell good enough to eat. What can I expect if I try to re-humidify these?
bluenoser
03-22-2015, 07:02 PM
I'm no help but interested to see what others say. I'd give it a try if it was me.
HabanoMan
03-22-2015, 07:06 PM
You can re-humidify them but do it slowly (a few % points at a time and over several months) so that they don't swell and make the wrappers burst. They might still taste fairly decent but sadly enough most, if not all, of the essential oils will be dried up and evaporated.
Cool Breeze
03-22-2015, 07:09 PM
I would think you would be able to get them at the proper humidity again.
Whether or not the flavors will still be there after 6 years, I dunno.
The real question is whats the RH of that closet?
Pugsley
03-22-2015, 09:25 PM
The real question is whats the RH of that closet?
Where I live it doesn't rain from April to October and the humidity is close to zero, so I'd guess the RH is pretty low.
spyder
03-22-2015, 11:38 PM
Where I live it doesn't rain from April to October and the humidity is close to zero, so I'd guess the RH is pretty low.
While it might seem close to zero, even Death Valley in the heat of summer has RH levels around 10-15%. Most of Calif has average daily RH of 50-75%.
Give re-humidification a shot and see what happens. If nothing else you could always make some cavendish.
(http://www.cigarbum.com/forum/showthread.php?1337-The-Step-by-Step-Thread-for-Turning-Cigars-into-Cavendish)
Pugsley
03-22-2015, 11:50 PM
I'm going to give it a shot and try to bring them along slowly. If it takes a year it's no big deal. I don't think I've smoked 3 cigars in the last 5 years, so I'll just puff on my pipe and check them every few weeks.
Nature
03-23-2015, 01:06 AM
There is only one way to find out for sure; Smoke 'em! :stogie:
Put a fork in them......they are done.....move on....
Herf N Turf
03-23-2015, 06:21 AM
Al's probably right, but it's worth a shot. It costs nothing, but time. Put them in a zipper bag, along with an accurate hygrometer and purge as much air as you can. Leave them in there for 24 hrs to get a solid reading as to where they are. Try not to increase RH too quickly for reasons Donnie pointed out. Your goal is 1-2% a week.
Pugsley
03-23-2015, 11:04 AM
Even after bringing the RH up to acceptable levels they may deliver all the flavor and enjoyment of smoking a rolled up page from the New York Times, but I have to try it. If they're ruined it's my own fault.
Rocket Scientologist
03-23-2015, 12:12 PM
I don't think I've smoked 3 cigars in the last 5 years, so I'll just puff on my pipe and check them every few weeks.
Since you forgot about these for years and hardly ever smoke cigars, why not give them to someone who
1. Does smoke cigars
2. Is willing to give them the TLC they need
3. Has the patience to bring them back to life and
4. Is willing to risk all that work with the possibility they're not any good?
And this is not me asking for them, numbers 3 and 4 do not apply to me.
Pugsley
03-23-2015, 12:35 PM
Since you forgot about these for years and hardly ever smoke cigars, why not give them to someone who
1. Does smoke cigars
2. Is willing to give them the TLC they need
3. Has the patience to bring them back to life and
4. Is willing to risk all that work with the possibility they're not any good?
And this is not me asking for them, numbers 3 and 4 do not apply to me.
How would I find a person with the saintly attributes you list?
Emperor Zurg
03-23-2015, 01:07 PM
Well either that or you could give them to someone who enjoys smoking dog rockets.
There was someone on here a while back offering to buy any and all Gurkhas for $1 each. He'd prolly take 'em. :)
Pugsley
03-23-2015, 01:13 PM
Well either that or you could give them to someone who enjoys smoking dog rockets.
There was someone on here a while back offering to buy any and all Gurkhas for $1 each. He'd prolly take 'em. :)
I'd prefer to pass them on to someone who will at least try to revive them, even if there's little hope for them.
Emperor Zurg
03-23-2015, 01:19 PM
I'd prefer to pass them on to someone who will at least try to revive them, even if there's little hope for them.
Rather sentimental. I see cremation in their future regardless the route they take.
:D :D
Pugsley
03-23-2015, 02:20 PM
Since I would probably forget about these again and just end up throwing them away, I'm passing them on to Rocket Scientologist, (Brad), to try reviving them. Good luck with them.
Indyhp
03-23-2015, 04:01 PM
If he admittedly doesn't have the patience for it, I'LL take them!! :)
Other than chucking the box in my cabinet humidor at 65%, how does one go about raising RH 1-2% per week, anyway?
Rocket Scientologist
03-23-2015, 04:17 PM
I will do my best.
bluenoser
03-23-2015, 04:27 PM
Let us know how you "revive" them and how they turn out
Herf N Turf
03-24-2015, 01:27 PM
If he admittedly doesn't have the patience for it, I'LL take them!! :)
Other than chucking the box in my cabinet humidor at 65%, how does one go about raising RH 1-2% per week, anyway?
Place them in a tupperware with the lowest value Boveda, or other two-way media you can get. Check it every 48 hrs. After a week, place the cigars back in the zipper bag with the hygrometer to check your progress. Repeat weekly.
bobajob
03-25-2015, 12:01 AM
Or you could sell them to some hapless fool and use the proceeds to buy so fresh ones...
But that wouldn't be too sporting...
Alligator Gar
03-26-2015, 08:52 AM
I can try to restore one or two for science. There is a time consuming but effective process. Won't know if they have lost their pop until after they are restored.
Pugsley
03-26-2015, 04:02 PM
Finally made it to the post office and these are now on the way. Tracking # 9505 5105 1511 5085 0184 07
Billb1960
03-26-2015, 04:08 PM
Or you could sell them to some hapless fool and use the proceeds to buy so fresh ones...
But that wouldn't be too sporting...
http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag360/hey_blue99/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/0F8071D7-00CA-4D12-9C39-D0CE0E893C29_zpsc9iepnef.jpg (http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/hey_blue99/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/0F8071D7-00CA-4D12-9C39-D0CE0E893C29_zpsc9iepnef.jpg.html)
Rocket Scientologist
03-27-2015, 08:56 AM
I'll keep everyone updated on the progress.
Rocket Scientologist
03-28-2015, 09:51 PM
Pugsley I got the cigars today and they actually look pretty good considering. They're in a tupperdor at the moment getting a humidity baseline.15501551
Rocket Scientologist
03-30-2015, 09:30 AM
So when the RH was reading ~50% I decided that was low enough and put 2 of the small 8g 62%RH Boveda packs in there. Not brand new, they were already open - that's why I put both in there. It's currently reading ~56%RH. I fully expect those Boveda packs to be used up relatively quick.
yourchoice
03-30-2015, 10:40 AM
I have successfully revived cigars that I neglected when I took a long break from the hobby (sat in a closet for about 6-8 years). I figured the worst case scenario was I would rehydrate cigars that turned out to have no flavor, but I was happily rewarded with some good smokes. It was a mixed bag of about 15 cigars, three or four of which were CC. I brought the humidity up slowly, and once I got it around 58% stuck them in the back of my end table humidor (kept between 62-65%) and successfully forgot about them for a year or more.
At a herf with havanajohn and others, I had a RyJ Churchill that I purchased on my honeymoon ('98). Man, that cigar was actually really good...surprisingly so considering the years of neglect it went through. I remember others being okay to good, but my time and effort (which it didn't take a lot of either) was worth it, even if it was just for that one cigar (which it wasn't).
Good luck, and patience is a virtue! And in this case, so is a bad memory...forgetting them was the hardest part. :lol:
NeverBend
03-30-2015, 10:53 AM
You can re-humidify them but do it slowly (a few % points at a time and over several months) so that they don't swell and make the wrappers burst. They might still taste fairly decent but sadly enough most, if not all, of the essential oils will be dried up and evaporated.
HabanoMan gives great advice. I'm a little more optimistic than he is. Don't over humidify them to compensate and be patient, 6 months give or take. You'll know if they need more time by how they burn, feel when you smoke them. Most Cuban leaf can handle lower humidification than Nicaraguan or Honduran leaf so give ita go and good luck.