Anyone like cigars?

[longbeachbum]

I don't.

However, I thought building a small humidor would make an interesting project, so here are the pics of my maiden attempt. It was actually very interesting and satisfying, and I've already bought the lumber for the next one, which is going to be walnut and zebrawood, with some decorative inlays and banding.

So now I guess I'm not only going to be a guy who doesn't hunt yet owns a bunch of hunting knives -- I'm also going to be a guy who doesn't smoke cigars but has a bunch of humidors.

[smiling-knife]

That's a great looking humidor Longbeach. Nice work I don't like cigars but I recently acquired this cool little Victorian era cigar cutter. It is only about 1.5 inches tall. Obviously not designed for big stoggies. There is a little pincer on a spring. By turning the top of the champagne bottle one way the pincer is locked shut. Turning the top the other way causes it to spring open. Place the tip of the cigar into the end of the bottle and push the pincer through with your thumb. s-k

[El Lobo]

Hello all.

Very cool S/K...

Jim, that is excellent work...very well done.
I do like cigars, and have several humidors, none of them any nicer than that one.

Bill

[longbeachbum]

Thanks guys!

S-K, that's a really cool little trinket you've got there. Between us two non-cigar smokers, we're pretty well equipped I'd say.

Bill, so you are a cigar aficionado, huh? Well if you're ever down this way, you've got an open invitation to drop in for a stogie and a glass of your favorite potable, potent or otherwise. That goes for the rest of you knife knuts as well.

After I'm done curing the cedar interior, which is the only thing left to do, it's going on our sideboard next to the decanter of brandy. I'm going to stock it with twenty cigars in the $5 range to test it out. Anyone have suggestions for a good $5 cigar?

[El Lobo]

The California taxes are quite excessive, so you may have some trouble finding a decent cigar under $5. However,{ 2 } I'd always suggest in that price range here in AZ, are:

Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente. A mild/medium, nutty, creamy, 4 1/2" Robusto...ask for the Natural wrapper, as there are 2 other wrappers.

Padron 3000 Maduro. A bit bolder smoke, but not strong. Cedar and coffee flavors in a 5 1/2" Robusto.

Neither cigar is big, but they are very flavorful and consistent...two of my go to cigars.

Same offer goes on this end.



Bill


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P. S.
Make sure you use distilled water, not tap water, as it might cause mold growth. Also, I don't suggest rubbing the inside of the humidor down with water...as it will raise the grain. Just put a glass of distilled water inside for about 5 days and let the wood pick up the moisture gradually. JMO.

[longbeachbum]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm glad you mentioned that about evaporation vs. direct moistening. I was flirting with the idea of sponging, now I won't. I'd read that distilled water was preferred, but I didn't know why. Now I do -- thanks!

[BrokenCamillus]

I have a good stick once and a while. I think you'll want to place a larger humidifier unit in that humidor. The reason for distilled water is because the particles in tap water clog the humidifier material. You really must maintain 70% humidity and the optimum temperature of 70 degrees. If the humidity goes too high you will get a blue mold, and the perfect conditions for mold are high temperatures and high humidity.

You have a nice box there, and I hope after it's seasoned it will be a fine humidor. Just remember that a $.75 cigar can be just as good as a $5.00 cigar if you know what to look for, and how to take care of them.

See http://www.jrcigar.com or http://www.finckcigarcompany.com or http://www.coronacigar.com for good deals with no state sales tax.

There are lots of good Dominican cigars that are inexpensive and have some great flavors. Mexicans are also low priced, high quality alternatives to the major brand names like Fuentes, Romeo Y Julieta, and AVO.

While you're at it learn how to brew your own beer to go with your cigars. Life can be good.

[El Lobo]

Cigars, like knives, are always an interesting topic for discussion.

I currently have 5 humidors in use, with around 40 different brands, and maybe 350 or so cigars divided amongst them. In a dryer climate like an Arizona summer, it is a real learning experience to care for cigars.

The 70/70 rule is a good one...although some of us prefer our cigars a bit drier (say 65%-66%). It is really important to keep the temperature as close to 70 degrees as possible, like Broken Camillus mentioned. Dry and cold is hard on the tobacco. Too warm and too moist does promote mold, makes for a poor drawing cigar, but even worse, may allow the hatching of the tobacco beetle, who has a voracious appetite for cigars.
Most manufacturers freeze their cigars to help prevent this...and most sharp guys like Lew Rothman at JR Cigars, handle their product very well...but not everyone always does.

I do think cigars are a lot like the cutlery industy. Contract brands abound , lots of junk out there , many great values , and some mind boggling options available.

Something for everyone.

JMO.

Bill

[Mossdancer]

Hey you guys:
Gave them up about five years ago. Its still a fight every day not to slip in a Partagas.
For what its worth Thompson and co. out of Florida use to offer a Torpedo that was about a 50 ring but with a tapered tip. It was really reasonably priced for its quality and taste. It was rather robust with a really cool draw.
Use to be less than a buck each by the box. Probably gone up like everything. Should anyone need a small. Maybe 50 stick humidor I have one left. Pay the shipping and its yours. First come first served.
wb

[Don Luis]

Hello guys, sorry I have not been around lately, too many things happening around here have kept me away...

I've smoked cigars daily since 1973, usually one, sometimes two a day, in the old days before I got married and before the cigar boom that drove prices up it often was Macanudos and Royal Jamaica, later Mexican Ornelas and occasionally something from Honduras, Dominicana or Cuba (Cubans are legal here), now that I live off my pension it is usually Mexican Te Amo 6 inch-42 ring size at about $2.50 US.

I have never owned a humidor, I keep my cigars in regular cedar cigar boxes with perforated cigar sized aluminum tubes filled with hard pressed wet cotton.

As a a kid I lived for a while with my grandparents in Veracruz, where you can get good cigars and good coffee cheap, grandpa never worried about maintaining his cigars, local humidity was about 75%.

Luis

[Mossdancer]

Don Luis;
Nice to hear from the southland again. Hope all is well and the Stag sand bar does I imagine permit the on site enjoyment of a handrolled delight.
Have a shooter and a church hill for me.
W.B.

[longbeachbum]

As a a kid I lived for a while with my grandparents in Veracruz, where you can get good cigars and good coffee cheap, grandpa never worried about maintaining his cigars, local humidity was about 75%.

Luis

For all I know we don't need them in So Cal either. I've had the hygrometer out sitting next to the humidor while I've been curing it for the last several days, and the reading never varies far from 70%. If I make several of these and decide to sell them there may not be much of a local market.

Darn this temperate climate! Darn this sun-kissed pardise I live in!