Newcomer (Newbie) Q&A

[Fuzz]

13 minutes ago, DevilDog72 said:

I was under the impression that all CC for export had gone thru the freezing process to control the Tobacco beetles.  Inside storage conditions at my home is around 70F to 72 F.  Do I need to go thru the freezing process for all boxes received ?  

Just because export stock is frozen in Cuba, doesn't mean that it will prevent a beetle from hopping on somewhere along the journey from Cuba, to the regional distributor, the retailer and then on to you.

Some people freeze any stock they buy, others only for custom cigars, and a bunch will just not bother at all. It depends on your own preference. Freezing (when done correctly) will not hurt the cigars at all.

[DevilDog72]

37 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

Just because export stock is frozen in Cuba, doesn't mean that it will prevent a beetle from hopping on somewhere along the journey from Cuba, to the regional distributor, the retailer and then on to you.

Some people freeze any stock they buy, others only for custom cigars, and a bunch will just not bother at all. It depends on your own preference. Freezing (when done correctly) will not hurt the cigars at all.

Looks like those frozen pizzas and corndogs will get tossed to make room, for the important stuff 

[El Presidente]

20 hours ago, FatPete said:

At the beginning of the year I kept anxiously checking this forum for a Cuban cigar deletions 2018 thread. Thankfully I didn't find it.

How often do Tabacuba delete cigars, is it biannually or when they feel like it ?

Thanks 

 

The list is announced at the June Distributor marketing meeting in Havana. 

[FatPete]

1 hour ago, El Presidente said:

The list is announced at the June Distributor marketing meeting in Havana. 

Damn, time to get worried again 

[NYMets01]

I’ve gotten used to seeing the box code and dates for most boxes of Cubans. However, with the recent aged stock that went up, there was something that I was unfamiliar with and couldn’t interpret.

For instance, one of the lot were listed as LSU VC 1 (I think it was the Partagas Lusitanias cab).

Does that translate somehow into a box code and date?

[nvrp813]

2 hours ago, NYMets01 said:

I’ve gotten used to seeing the box code and dates for most boxes of Cubans. However, with the recent aged stock that went up, there was something that I was unfamiliar with and couldn’t interpret.

For instance, one of the lot were listed as LSU VC 1 (I think it was the Partagas Lusitanias cab).

Does that translate somehow into a box code and date?

I believe LSU is the month and year L=5 (May) SU=98 (1998).  VC I think is the factory code (Villa Calra).  No idea if the "-1" means anything.  So, if I have this right, The box is from May, 1998 out of the Villa Calra factory.  Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[HoyoFan]

Just because export stock is frozen in Cuba, doesn't mean that it will prevent a beetle from hopping on somewhere along the journey from Cuba, to the regional distributor, the retailer and then on to you.
Some people freeze any stock they buy, others only for custom cigars, and a bunch will just not bother at all. It depends on your own preference. Freezing (when done correctly) will not hurt the cigars at all.

Curious, if I’m keeping a consistent 63f temp in my wineador, do you feel like freezing is necessary? I was under the impression that for beetles to hatch the temp would have to hit around mid 70s. I could of course be completely wrong.

[El Presidente]

7 hours ago, HoyoFan said:

Curious, if I’m keeping a consistent 63f temp in my wineador, do you feel like freezing is necessary? I was under the impression that for beetles to hatch the temp would have to hit around mid 70s. I could of course be completely wrong.

You are safe at 63f.  i have seen beetles active at 68 RF. They weren't spritely, but they were there crawling around. 

I haven't seen a live beetle in a Habanos mastercase/box for coming on 12 years and I see hundreds of thousands of cigars a year. 

[Fuzz]

6 minutes ago, Kierkegaard said:

How do you deal with adding a new box of cigars to the humidor. In my tupperdor(I ordered a cooler that will arrive shortly) I had 25 ERDM Demi Tasse. I let those acclimatise for 3 weeks and they became amazing, a mix of cotton candy and coffee, the aroma is especially mesmerising. In a week I smoked about 10 and they were stellar. Last Friday I added 10 RA Club Allones EL 2015. This Wednesday I tried a Demi Tasse and it tasted like the ones I tasted when I first smoked from the box before acclimatising, yesterday I tried another and it was the same, and the same today... Just muddy and disgusting. The Rh was a bit lower than usually(62), so I added another Boveda and now the RH is the same as before adding the RAs (65-66) but they are way off. Could it be that the RAs affected the cigar? I am especially worried since I bought another box of RA Club Allones (which are dryboxing) and I am afraid that it will affect the cigars even more once I add those to the humidor. What should I do?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk
 

Could just be dud cigars or you. Eat anything unusual or maybe getting a cold?

[Freddo]

Ok it might sounds noob...

What is considered to be a good smoke compare to bad smoke? 

 

[Fuzz]

4 minutes ago, Freddo said:

Ok it might sounds noob...

What is considered to be a good smoke compare to bad smoke? 

 

Good smoke - something you enjoy

Bad smoke - something that you don't

It comes down to your own personal taste. What I enjoy may not be what you like.

[Freddo]

12 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

Good smoke - something you enjoy

Bad smoke - something that you don't

It comes down to your own personal taste. What I enjoy may not be what you like.

 That means I haven't smoke enough

[Fuzz]

On 3/12/2018 at 12:04 AM, Freddo said:

 That means I haven't smoke enough

Yes it does! And even though I've been smoking cigars for 20+ years, I'm still learning about what I like. Your tastes will change over time and experience. Anybody can tell you that Monte 4s or Upmann Half Coronas are smoking great right now, but if they are not to your taste, you will think they are mad. I personally can't stand Bolivars, but others think they are great.

This hobby is not about instant gratification. Enjoy the journey.

[nvrp813]

I recently (2 weeks ago) moved all my cigars to a wineador and all my singles have tasted bitter and off. Wineador is unplugged and holding between 68-70dF. RH is pretty constant between 62-64. I’m afraid to smoke any from boxes for fear of the same smoking experience. Any idea why this would happen? Anyone else experience the same when moving to a different humidor?

[jay8354]

17 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Good smoke - something you enjoy

Bad smoke - something that you don't

It comes down to your own personal taste. What I enjoy may not be what you like.

This reminds me of the time when I read about the rants on PLPC, bought a box from FOH. 

Very young and fresh, I enjoyed only the 1st half, @Fuzz nubbed his. 

Five years down the track, same box. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole cigar, @Fuzz complained about the lack of mongrel. 

So to each their own. 

 

Bad smoke - Did not enjoy the experience (though this may not be 100% due to the cigar), plugged, hard to stay lit (constantly needing the torch), bad flavours... 

 

[Fuzz]

4 hours ago, jay8354 said:

This reminds me of the time when I read about the rants on PLPC, bought a box from FOH. 

Very young and fresh, I enjoyed only the 1st half, @Fuzz nubbed his. 

Five years down the track, same box. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole cigar, @Fuzz complained about the lack of mongrel. 

So to each their own. 

 

Bad smoke - Did not enjoy the experience (though this may not be 100% due to the cigar), plugged, hard to stay lit (constantly needing the torch), bad flavours... 

 

You looked like you were going to collapse, though you did better than our other mate, who only made it to the first third! If I recall correctly, I asked you if you had another right after nubbing the first.

But a perfect example @jay8354 of your own taste preference. Same cigar, same box, sampled on 2 different occasions.

[El Presidente]

20 hours ago, nvrp813 said:

I recently (2 weeks ago) moved all my cigars to a wineador and all my singles have tasted bitter and off. Wineador is unplugged and holding between 68-70dF. RH is pretty constant between 62-64. I’m afraid to smoke any from boxes for fear of the same smoking experience. Any idea why this would happen? Anyone else experience the same when moving to a different humidor?

It could be that you are slightly off even though you feel fine. 

If you are not using the same hygrometer, test the new one or better still put the old one in to double check. 

It could be the change the cigars are going through (differing environments). They may need a little more time. 

Make sure there is a fan inside + ensure some fresh air gets in from time to time. 

[Martin_F]

Talking about a mastercase. 

How many boxes of cigars does that entail? All of the same macra? Or just whatever they put in a container in Cuba based on current availability?

Is a mastercase the unit distributors deal in?

[El Presidente]

15 minutes ago, Martin_F said:

Talking about a mastercase. 

How many boxes of cigars does that entail? All of the same macra? Or just whatever they put in a container in Cuba based on current availability?

Is a mastercase the unit distributors deal in?

Depending on the type of cigar, depends the number of boxes in the mastercase. 

A Mastercase of Monte 4/Upmann4/Boli PC is 1300 sticks/52 boxes.   A Mastercase of Piramides (Monte 2/Upmann 2) is 600 sticks/24 boxes. 

Each mastercase holds the same marca/vitola. 

Distributors deal in sticks. Mastercase is simply the packaging mechanism. 

[Islandboy]

Regarding EL’s and based on what I’ve read here so far, they’re produced and released just once, correct? Once they’re gone, they’re gone. So if I just purchased a box of RyJ Capuletos, for example, this means that in addition to the tobacco having been aged for 2 years minimum, the box I’ll receive has now been sitting patiently somewhere for roughly a year now?

[Hotboxx]

I recently let the rh in one of my humidor creep past 70% for about 2 months just to see what would happen.  The Trinidad Vigias (robustos) smoked beautifully to midway then started tunneling. 5+ attempts to relight the outer edge failed to get the burn to even out. Of course this made it not so much hot as harsh(gassy). Is this a sure sign of overhumidified cigars? The others I had in this humidor were smaller ring gauges and it didn't happen to those at all.

[El Presidente]

2 hours ago, Hotboxx said:

I recently let the rh in one of my humidor creep past 70% for about 2 months just to see what would happen.  The Trinidad Vigias (robustos) smoked beautifully to midway then started tunneling. 5+ attempts to relight the outer edge failed to get the burn to even out. Of course this made it not so much hot as harsh(gassy). Is this a sure sign of overhumidified cigars? The others I had in this humidor were smaller ring gauges and it didn't happen to those at all.

In Havana the average RH humidity outdoors is 74%. It's actually fairly consistent year round. In the Divans it is around 80% (madness). 

When you are use to smoking cigars which are kept at 63% RH, you tend to struggle with the higher moisture content of Havana cigars.  There are other ways to compensate 

In Havana, my cigars run the whole gamut of issues.  Staying alight, bitter, coning, tunneling, beetles a jumpin, inconsistency......it is all due to young cigars being overly wet. 

You have replicated that environment. 

[SCgarman]

14 hours ago, El Presidente said:

In Havana the average RH humidity outdoors is 74%. It's actually fairly consistent year round. In the Divans it is around 80% (madness). 

When you are use to smoking cigars which are kept at 63% RH, you tend to struggle with the higher moisture content of Havana cigars.  There are other ways to compensate 

In Havana, my cigars run the whole gamut of issues.  Staying alight, bitter, coning, tunneling, beetles a jumpin, inconsistency......it is all due to young cigars being overly wet. 

You have replicated that environment. 

Please define "Divans". I see you use the word often, and here in the USA I cannot recall ever hearing this word spoken. Google states it is a couch. Cheers!

[El Presidente]

52 minutes ago, NYgarman said:

Please define "Divans". I see you use the word often, and here in the USA I cannot recall ever hearing this word spoken. Google states it is a couch. Cheers!

Outside of the US, a divan is a cigar lounge. A place that retails cigars, provides a place to smoke and relax, serves coffee and sometimes alcohol. 

[watsup261]

Can anyone link me to a post or explain box codes to me? I see some boxes on 24:24 such as PUS 17 or other codes. I know 17 is the year but what do the three letters represent?