I just don't get it

[forgop]

If it is anything under 60 days.....you are wasting your time.

I've smoked plenty of cigars upon the day of arrival from Oz with no problems at all.

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[Riverstyx]

@PigFish I have the Wineador set at 68F but it seems to fluctuate between 66-69 degrees.  I imagine even in the winter time (I'm in north Florida) it won't get below 65 or so.  Think that will make it too wet?

[PigFish]

2 hours ago, Riverstyx said:

@PigFish I have the Wineador set at 68F but it seems to fluctuate between 66-69 degrees.  I imagine even in the winter time (I'm in north Florida) it won't get below 65 or so.  Think that will make it too wet?

Hmmm... my comment was really more about the actual total control that most folks have over their DiY wine cooler humidors, than actual numbers. I am sorry if that confused you. Having dealt with so many problems (folks that email me) with wine cooler humidors over the years I have become somewhat programmed in response...

It is not that I am holding up one number set as 'too wet,' rather I am making a comment about the probability that 'too wet' exists based on your overall control.

3F in and of itself is not a problem. Yet as you move toward the cooling coil itself, it may be 6F or 12F... or 20F... These are design flaws that I often find in these projects.

Perhaps you get a run of cool days and the cooler does not run often. The free water that is kept in check by the regular cycle of the cooler gets set free and you my have 60F and 80rH in spots in your cooler... This is where the problems start!

Since I have no real advice about your particular situation, I have addressed it generally from what problems I have heard about. What I know to be true based on old experiments... I therefore suggest vigilance and constant monitoring.

Frankly, I tell my customers not to store below 70F. The dynamics of humidor variables get real wonky in the 'real world' as you begin to refrigerate a cigar microclimate and attempt to move away from stable to cold.

I hope that helps! -Piggy

[Frozen North]

As said by others. They are likely over humidified and still in their infancy. Regulate their humidity, and let them sleep for several months. My first ever box of Cubans were Montecristo Edmundo's(FEB 15) I tried one shortly after I received them, and hated it. Let them sit for 3-4 months and tried again, still hated them. They are now over 2 years old. And I must say, I love them now. So, be patient. You will be rewarded......and welcome to the club.

[lamar.mcclain]

I love the RASS and can't buy them fast enough. I do want to encourage you to not give up on a great cigar. Cubans typically need three years box time as a minimum and they like all cigars go through sick periods. Let that box rest another two years.

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[ElPuro]

On 6/27/2017 at 11:59 PM, NSXCIGAR said:

Bought two boxes of RASCC around then: one ULA DIC 13 and one EML NOV 13 and both were quite possibly the worst boxes of RASCC I've ever had on the whole. Your description of bitter, sour and harsh was exactly my experience also.

 Always been a fan of RASCC and there was a long period from about 05-10 that RASCC were just about bulletproof. Quality was still there as whole from 11-12 but then 13 took a serious nosedive. As 14 and 15 stock had been fairly hard to come by and I've also been moving away from Minutos and Perlas and even Marevas in the last couple years I actually haven't sampled any post-2013, and I've been waiting for some positive reviews of 15 or 16 before taking the plunge again. Haven't really seen any.

RASS and RASCC could not be more different IMO. Had many, many great RASCC over a long period of time and pretty much never had a great RASS. 

I actually don't have any personal experience with pre-2000 RASS. Prior to 2000 I was pretty much relegated to what I could find at the local B & Ms and RA as a marca was actually poorly represented at that time aside for the cello Belvederes. RASS, PC and Coronas (which I don't think were really available anywhere much past the early-to-mid-90s) were never in stock. I believe I did see some 898 kicking around very early and they were gone before I had the chance to try any. 

I have heard good things about 90s RASS from a few close friends but I really believe they weren't as prevalent until around 2000 and on. I think these were very low production along with the Coronas and PCs. I'm not even sure when the pre-2000 RASS my friends smoked were from. Could have been early 90s. Another cigar that was virtually nonexistent at that time was Mag 46. Good luck finding any from the 90s. I think possibly some appeared in 1999 but before that, they are a very rare bird indeed.

As for the RASS, I purchased a few boxes during the golden period of 07-09 and they were not great. Same as always for me--somewhat bland and no character. And this was at a high water point for CC quality and a time when RASCC were just killer. Not the case with RASS, at least for me. It's probably the number one "just don't get it" cigar for me in the entire HSA catalog. 

I have a box of '13 RASCC, and it was terrible until the last few months. Still not my favorite smoke,  but the last few examples were reasonably good. May just be luck of the draw, so I guess I'll find out here soon enough! 

[Projectal]

I thought I would post an update tonight on my box of RASS. After several months of avoiding these, I plucked up the courage to give them another go. Now, I'm not sure if these will ever become a favorite of mine, but all I can say is wow, what a difference. This was the first cigar out of the box that I actually enjoyed, and I can see this becoming a change of pace cigar for me when I crave something a little different. Why did I like this cigar now?

I took the advice of many of you on this post, as well as other posts, and modified my storage conditions in order to lower the moisture content in my cigars. I still use the  winador for my frequent smokes, and have now, due to an increased volume of cigars to store, have purchased a large cooler for the cigars I don't smoke very often, or am trying to age. For humidity maintenance, I'm using 62% Boveda packs.

Additionally, and I think most importantly, I unplugged the winador and am storing my cigars at room temperature (72F). For this, I want to call out @PigFish and thank him for his repeated teaching on percent moisture content. It is now clear to me that temperature is absolutely important when managing percent moisture content in cigars. In addition to the RASS, I'm finding that all of my cigars taste and burn better than when I was storing them around 65F. Thank you again, sir, for showing me how to better enjoy the wonderful world of Cuban cigars.

The irony here is that most of Pigfish's comments on this post have been about poor construction, not storage conditions or percent moisture content, and I acknowledge this may still be the case. Alas, I still have no idea for certain, why I enjoyed this particular cigar while the first six showed me just how much I could hate a cigar. None the less, I did learn valuable lessons from everyone's responses, which leads me to comment on what a great place FOH is to learn and live this hobby of ours. The collective wisdom of this community amazes me, and I thank you all for sharing your experiences.

Cheers, all.