My first haul!!

[MurphyDawg]

Today after stopping at two Columbus cigar shops, I came home with my first humidor and first crop of cigars to try

They are:

a three pack of Partagas (Spanish Rosado San Agustin, Black Label Clasico, Regular Naturales)

Padron 2000
CAO Gold Robusto
Punch Gran Puro Rancho
A. Fuente Hemingway Signature


A decent starter kit I would think.

Two questions:

What is the proper way to season a humidor??

What bourbon would you suggest with the Hemingway for tomorrow??

TomC

[Paradox]

What bourbon would you suggest with the Hemingway for tomorrow??

Since I am beginning to really love Weller 12 yo and Jeff suggested it here with a Hemmingway (well his was a 'short story'), maybe that would be a good combo. Enjoy whatever you pair it up with Tom.

[jeff]

Tom,

I recieved conflicting advice when I purchased my first humidor. One school of thought is to lightly dampen the spanish cedar lining of your humidor with distilled water, and only use distilled water, several times with a sponge and allow to dry in between. Some others feel that you should not do this as it can cause the cedar to expand and fray slightly, which could damage the wrappers on your cigars. Of course, if you leave your bottom layer of cigars in cellophane, this doesn't matter. I have done it both ways with equal success. The simplest way is to just fill up your humidifier and wait for it to take care of itself. Did you pick up a bottle of 50/50 solution? you should charge your humidifier with this first, and then refill it with distilled water as needed. Remember not to over-fill your humidifier because you need to leave a little room for moisture absorption. You should expect some humidity fluctuation for the first few weeks as your humidor adjusts. 70% humidity and 70 degrees is the textbook standard for keeping your cigars in perfect condition, though I prefer about 65-67% humidity for my smokes. hope this helps.

[jeff]

Absolutely! Weller 12 makes a fine pairing to a nice cigar, and a Hemmingway is a nice cigar

I also enjoy EC18 and Stagg as regular accompaniments to my cigars. Like I have said before, anything "old" seems to pair nicely with the smoke.

[MurphyDawg]

Here's a dummy question:

How do you charge the humidifier??

TomC

[jeff]

Basically you are soaking the humidifier with the 50/50 solution. What brand of humidifier came with your humidor? If it was a Credo, or one sealed with plastic, it was pre-charged, so you just need to place it in your humidor. If it was not, just squirt the 50/50 on it a little at a time until it appears to be getting full. You don't want to "drench" it because you need some space for moisture absorption. You want your cigars "moist", but not too moist. Does this make sense?

[B_Dub___Cigar_Ambassador]

Do not put your cigars in the humidor before it has been seasoned. The dry humidor will quickly suck the life out of your new cigars, and it will take far longer to restore the humidity to them evenly.

I would also discourage you from trying to speed up the process. I tried to do it once, and got mold as a result. Do not put foreign objects, even sterile ones, into your humidor (wet paper towels).

Wiping the walls could potentially leave water stains on your pretty new humi, and it could cause the wood to warp... ruining the precision joints of your box.

I now have almost a dozen humidors in the house, so I've learned how to do it right.

Put a small glass or two containing humidor solution (50% Propylene Glycol + 50% Distilled Water) into the humidor along with your calibrated hygrometer. After the RH reaches near 70%, introduce the cigars and your humidifier.

You should be receiving a package soon with some pretty nifty contents. If you'll follow the directions enclosed, keeping your humidor properly humidified will be a breeze.

[MurphyDawg]

Well, not complaints there!



Looking forward to it, Thanx man!
TomC