Cigars right out the “wineador”

[Carlos Martinez]

Hey guys! Thanks for letting me in the community. I’m new here so I’m not sure if this topic or question has been asked before. Anyway, I live in a tropical country and it’s hot and humid on the daily, I recently just purchased an elective cigar cooler so I can keep my cigars at the right temperature. My question is, is it okay to pull a cigar out of the wineador and smoke it right away? Or would it ruin the experience, coming from temps like 18C with RH of 65-67 and smoking it right away in temps at 30C and high high humidity? Cheers guys! Enjoying an RyJ Churchill while writing this.

[The Squiggler]

The specific atmospheric conditions in your area can obviously affect your smoking experience.  I think it's something you have to experiment with until you hit the sweet spot.  I will say this though--a lot of people seem to find that keeping their cigars (especially Cubans) at lower RH produces more even burn and better draw.  This seems like it would be especially helpful if the humidity in your area is especially high.  If you are having burn issues, maybe try dialing the RH down to the lower 60s. 

[El Presidente]

Our members living in Asia will be able to chime in. 

I struggle to smoke a big cigar when outside in Asia/hot and humid + 30 C climates. 

If pulling out of a wine fridge, Robusto or smaller with Petit Corona being my preference. Belicoso my upper limit.   Unless you are smoking inside, those conditions will play havoc with burn and taste as that leaf soaks up the moisture. 

[Meklown]

I think the first thing is that you should do whatever you like best!

For me, it goes up to 30C+ and 90%+ humidity in the summer. Smoking outdoors in those conditions become very difficult. Tight cigars quickly become plugged. Cigars coming out from 65%+ storage also quickly become impossible to draw through.

To combat this, I try to keep my smoking stock at the lower 60rh. Smoke indoors when possible - smoke smaller (shorter and/or thinner) sticks when not possible. I find slightly windy conditions help (pull out a fan if at home). I also find that purging helps. 

[Carlos Martinez]

Yeah it is a struggle to smoke outdoors here, even if it would be ideal to enjoy a cigar by the pool. Starting to think some cigars are more durable than others as I’ve had some of the greatest sticks on a hot sticky day by the beach. Thanks for the advice guys, I’m going to order some 62% bovedas and see how that works out for me.

[mrmessy]

I once knew a guy that lived in Hawaii, and he kept his humidor at pretty high rh and temp. He said he never had any problems and it worked for his climate.

Point being, maybe some experimentation for what works for you is needed.

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[ChangBang]

I'm in the same boat and had been wondering.  Like do yall let the cigar come up to room or outside temp or smoke it right away with it still being cold from the wineador?    Would the shock from cold to lighting it up vs room temp to lighting it up have an effect on the cigar?

I've been pulling the cigar out of my wineador and then prepping my drink, wiping down my outside table, setting up my laptop before going back and lighting the cigar.  Cigar usually doesn't have that chilled feel after that. 

[Carlos Martinez]

@ChangBang yeah I was wondering if like dry boxing could apply here. Not necessarily dry boxing but similar concept in leaving it in a box that has similar  conditions to where you’ll be smoking. I used to have an acrylic humidor that held perfect Rh but holding temperature was a struggle. Never really had a bad smoke then but I know it still wasn’t perfect. Now after getting my wineador I had one stick that was horrible. Not sure if it was just a bad stick or if i shocked it. So far only had 2 smokes after changing humidors, will probably have to smoke more to really find out 

[guideright]

I'm in a hot and humid climate as well. My stock is kept in a coolidor running 72 degrees and 59% humidity - that works fine for me. Mostly robusto's and the burn needs to be touched up once in awhile and flavors are right on - again for me, Good advice to try a few different approached and see what you like. Good luck and enjoy!

[Fuzz]

I honestly wouldn't be pulling the cigar straight from the wineador to smoke when there is such a huge difference in storage temp/RH compared to the outside environment. I'd be bringing the cigar up to ambient temp and dry boxing.

I found it problematic to smoke with my friend in Malaysia. He has a wineador and would often bring the cigars straight from storage out to the balcony to smoke. Often the cigars would either split or burn poorly, and the taste would be off. After he changed to dry boxing a day before smoking, they performed much better.

[Carlos Martinez]

@Lrabold89 @guideright thanks for the advice to go even lower. I changed my order to 58% boveda’s, that will most likely land me at 58rh when the AC is on and at most 62/63rh when the AC is off. I have my wineador in my bedroom so the ac is on at night and off in the day.