Re-Hydrate Cubans
Discussion
I've got a couple of very, very expensive, genuine Cuban cigars and I intend to smoke one on my forthcoming 50th birthday. But, they are really dried out! Anyone any good tips on how to PROPERLY re-hydrate one of them? I've heard about putting them into a container with apple chunks for a while, but don't want to ruin the taste!
JungleJim said:
Rosscow said:
That won't re-hydrate them. That's for stopping them drying out in the first place!
It will. But you need to be quite conservative with the amount of apple, else the cigars will swell and be ruined.
I recently re-hydrated a couple of Churchills
How much time have you got for this?
I simply put mine in the humidor (67/68% RH) for about 3 months.
Note that the humidor is occasionally opened
, and the hydrators (such as shown above) are recharged occasionally in that time.As you probably don't have a humidor (or you wouldn't be asking this in the first place would you?), a lock style food container is probably your best bet. like Lock&Lock
The biggest danger, is that the cigar rehydrates too quickly, or too much, and splits the wrapper (the outer layer of the cigar).
That isn't necessarily the end of the world, but it's nasty, and you really want to avoid it, and requires repairing if it's at all serious.
I would recommend these from Boveda, as you can achieve varying levels of RH.
Start with the lowest 62% for several weeks, and then 65% or 69%, or in three stages if you have the time.
Keep them in the warmest room in the house (assuming that's no more than 70-72 F), and open the box once every 10 days to 2 weeks.
Don't go any higher than 69% as many quality cigars are likely to swell and become unnaturally tight, and it will simply be too damp to smoke well in any case.
They of course must lay flat the entire time, and fully out of the tube, if they are in tubes.
Apologies to others; but I really would avoid the fruit and veg approach if you value the cigars.
You just aren't certain about the RH level, and could easily end up leaving them dry or splitting them.
And don't do just the one, get them both as healthy as possible, and keep the remaining one that way. It can only deteriorate further if left.
For long term storage; 69% RH will probably be best.
Agree with the last two posts.
Slow and steady rehydration is key to getting the best results. It takes weeks, not days.
Overall, the cigar will not have the taste it should have had.
I suspect that few people realise that the preparation of the tobacco leaves can be a months to years long process in itself, before the cigar is finally made. Even then, the cigars may be stored for weeks to years again before sale. Much the same care as when creating fine wines.
Little (if any) of that of course applies to the packaged, off the shelf cigars from the local news agent or supermarket.
I was pretty lucky with my churchills. They were not too bad, as they didn't seem to have dried completely, having been kept in their tubes.
Slow and steady rehydration is key to getting the best results. It takes weeks, not days.
Overall, the cigar will not have the taste it should have had.
I suspect that few people realise that the preparation of the tobacco leaves can be a months to years long process in itself, before the cigar is finally made. Even then, the cigars may be stored for weeks to years again before sale. Much the same care as when creating fine wines.
Little (if any) of that of course applies to the packaged, off the shelf cigars from the local news agent or supermarket.
I was pretty lucky with my churchills. They were not too bad, as they didn't seem to have dried completely, having been kept in their tubes.
For cigars that are very dry, take a ziploc bag, prick holes in it, add your cigars and seal bag. Place into another ziploc bag along with a sponge damp with distilled water and leave somewhere dry and cool.
Check occasionally and top up sponge when needed.
This method takes time, but does work. A few years ago I revived a box of Cohiba Esplendidos this way, it took several weeks and the final few cigars are still in my humidor waiting to be smoked.
Check occasionally and top up sponge when needed.
This method takes time, but does work. A few years ago I revived a box of Cohiba Esplendidos this way, it took several weeks and the final few cigars are still in my humidor waiting to be smoked.
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