Can I save my dried-out cigars?

April 27, 2004 9:38 AM

I have some cigars I received as a gift a few weeks ago. I didn't place them in a humidor (I didn't have one) and are now they are all dried out. Will putting them into a humidor and rehydrating them return any sort of quality back to them? Is it worth it?
posted by jstew to grab bag (8 comments total)

jstew, it is certainly worth a try, especially if they are decent cigars. If you don't have a humidor, one stop-gap method is to place them in a ziploc bag with a cut piece of sponge which you have saturated then squeezed the excess water out of.

Also, a couple weeks without a humidor isn't necessarily too long (depending on the environment where you are, natch). It is possible that the wrapper is becoming dry but the tobacco inside is still good and moist. I say you should definitely give it a try, there's nothing to lose.

What kind of stogies are they?
posted by vito90 at 10:05 AM on April 27, 2004

don't know if it works with cigars, but I always was told to put a carrot or two in your stash if you weren't going to indulge right away.
posted by crunchland at 10:26 AM on April 27, 2004

vito90: they are cuban montecristos. i tried one when i first received them. i'm not a connoisseur of fine cigars, but it was hella good.
posted by jstew at 10:46 AM on April 27, 2004

I've rehydrated cigars in the past with pretty decent success (my humidor is not the best, and will dry out if not refilled every week). I'm not a true conneisseur, but the rehydrated cigars were suprisingly smokable.

On preview...those are some nice cigars - I'd certainly give it a shot.
posted by malocchio at 10:49 AM on April 27, 2004

The humidor ought to restore them pretty well. Definitely worth the cost and effort.

Low usernumber for a first post! Welcome, I guess.
And when you're finished, can I come over?
posted by Kwantsar at 12:00 PM on April 27, 2004

rehydrating is possibly, but is a very slow process.

via cigar afficianado

The idea is to recondition the cigars slowly: Place them as far away as possible from the humidification device for the first couple of weeks, and then move them closer over a period of six weeks. Or, you might place the dry cigars in a box that has lower humidity for a week, and then put them in a box with slightly higher humidity for a week or two, and finally in a box with the proper 70 to 72 percent humidity. Again, the entire process might take up to six weeks.

(where box=humidor)

posted by crush-onastick at 12:03 PM on April 27, 2004

Cuban Montecristos! I must insist that you make every attempt to save them!
posted by vito90 at 1:11 PM on April 27, 2004

If you age them like your Mefi account . . .
posted by yerfatma at 5:14 PM on April 27, 2004