Gains in placing Cigars in ziplock bags in coolidor

[gtejada]

Brothers,

I see a lot of picture online where sticks are placed in ziplocks to store in "Coolidor" or in "tupperdor". Is there some gain in doing this? Is this necessary for any reason. I have been thinking about a Coolidor since I am running out of room and have boxes coming in. Thoughts please...

[...]

All kinds of gains!!!!

Sorry, wrong forum

Based on all my reading, it mostly sounds like a personal preference, with people advocating both sides of the matter.

I store in Ziploc but don't know for sure whether it will bear better results in ten years... It just suits my preferences.

[DWC]

Congradulations on running out of room. This is the beginning of the slide down the slippery slope. :-)

On a similar note: I've found coolerdors are much easier to keep at a stable humdity if they are full or near full.

[DrunkenMonkey]

coolerdors are much easier to keep at a stable humdity if they are full or near full.

I keep trying to explain this to my wife.

[gtejada]

So no need to put them in ziplocks?

[Ginseng]

So no need to put them in ziplocks?

No harm.

Wilkey

[jazzboypro]

maybe some extra protection ?

[DWC]

I assume it would help in case of a beetle outbreak. Wouldn't it prevent beetles from getting from one box into another?

[topdiesel]

I don't recall the thread, but I am pretty sure it was on FOH. There was a great post about someone who had sensors in their humidor and they put some inside of the cigar boxes as well. The found that when they opened the humidor the humidity varied a little each time they opened it. They also found that the levels inside of the boxes did not change or changed minimally when the humidor was opened. My take from this was that the boxes themselves do a great job of regulating the humidity inside of the humidor during periodic opening and searching for smokes.

The other thing to consider about ziploc-ing each box is that it might provide additional protection against bugs.

[Smallclub]

I think some people believe it slows down the aging process.

That's the main justification of the "method".

I do it sometimes for a box of vintage cigars (10+ years), or for cigars I don't really want to age, when I'm pleased with the way they taste at the moment I buy them; for example the Upmann HC from 2011.

[Arazk9]

i leave my cigars in their boxes but if the boxes get half empty or more I put my empty boxes on a display shelf and put the remaining sticks in a ziploc,without mixing different cigars.i beleive this way the cigar will somewhat maintain its taste instead of aging with other cigars flavours

[Ginseng]

I do it sometimes for a box of vintage cigars (10+ years), or for cigars I don't really want to age, when I'm pleased with the way they taste at the moment I buy them; for example the Upmann HC from 2011.

So in effect you use ziploc bags to stop the aging process?

Wilkey

[Smallclub]

So in effect you use ziploc bags to stop the aging process?

Wilkey

More precisely, in the hope of slowing it… To be honest I don't have enough data to tell if it's efficient or only wishful thinking; I guess I will know when I open the box of Upmann HC and compare it with with a similar box (same code) not "ziplocked".

[dangolf18]

Why would someone want to slow down the aging process?

[kyee]

I vacuum seal some boxes that I plan on storing for a very long time. I'm talking 10-15-20 years and on.

Here's a good thread from another forum that discussed the topic:

Vacuum Sealing

[cigcars]

...the little plastic baglets we're given by the tobacconists to put our cigars in while shopping...I once got the bright idea to lay those plastic baglets across the cigars in the regular cedar humidors to see if moisture would be better distributed and held in there. Nah, didn't help. Became too moist and didn't retain its flavors.

[Smallclub]

Why would someone want to slow down the aging process?

Because slower is better, or at least different, and this is something that's easy to experiment.

For instance, take 2 or 3 cigars from a new box, and put them in your everyday desktop humidor, the one that you open the more often.

Place the box, properly closed, in your cabinet/tupperdor/cooler and leave it leave it undisturbed ; two years later, compare the cigars from the box and those that stayed in the desktop and got much more oxygen, renewed air, etc.

[Diamondog]

Not sure a ziplock bag has the ability to slow anything down long term

[Bandyt09]

I keep my loose singles in 5 finger bags. Mainly for protection from chips and cracks and they stack so they are easier to store. As far as slowing the aging process haven't really given it that much thought.

[Ginseng]

Not sure a ziplock bag has the ability to slow anything down long term

I am sure. The science is incontrovertible.

Against no bag at all, a polyetheylene film of standard bag thickness will reduce the rate of diffusion of oxygen and moisture vapor, the two prime actors in aerobic aging processes. The effect is cumulative over time. Just as a car traveling at 50 MPH will start out right farther ahead than a car traveling 25 MPH, after 6 hours of driving, the faster car will be that much farther along than the slower car.

Now, to be sure, the effect is more pronounced the more you open your cooler/cabinet. And if you never open your storage container, as you suggest, there will be no net effect.

In this issue, the devil is in the details. I'll reiterate. Using good quality poly bags is not likely to cause any negative effects. The effect is likely to be small. The effect is cumulative over time. The effect is greater the more fresh air exchanges.

Wilkey

[Diamondog]

meh...don't buy it...a cooler should have no air flow anyways if there is no fan and is not opened. Unless you are using a vacuum sealing pump and better materials than a ziplock imo there results would be negligible. This of course is based on no science so what do I know.

[shlomo]

meh...don't buy it...a cooler should have no air flow anyways if there is no fan and is not opened. Unless you are using a vacuum sealing pump and better materials than a ziplock imo there results would be negligible. This of course is based on no science so what do I know.

Stick your nose right next to the lip of your cooler. Smell that? Thats cedar and cigars. It is sealed up pretty tight, almost perfect, but...not. There is some air flow for sure.

[Diamondog]

Stick your nose right next to the lip of your cooler. Smell that? Thats cedar and cigars. It is sealed up pretty tight, almost perfect, but...not. There is some air flow for sure.

Yes I get that and agree...but unless one is using IMO commercial grade materials and vacuum sealing which I suspect most don't have...you will not get anything more than what the cooler itself can provide...

[Smallclub]

I remember, in the early 2000's, a very famous (at this time) swiss merchant who advised to store the cabinets of Partagas and RA 898 slightly ajar, for a better humidification and faster ageing…

[ewipper]

The only benefits I have ever seen from ziploc bags is that they prevent humidity from leaking out of your cigars if your humidor gets dry.

This is why British vendors see better results when they keep their cigars in ziploc bags "whilst" storing at 55 degrees farenheit. Obviously, at 55 degrees farenheit (5 degrees below the dew point that I like to store cigars at) you would have to have a rain storm in your humidor to keep proper humidity so the fact that the cigars are in ziploc bags slows down the destruction of good cigars that they probably should be storing at 65-75 degrees farenheit.