Dear loyal readers,

About six weeks ago, we decided to take a short break from the site for personal reasons–mainly to give us time to build up some new material for the site. But we will be back in the New Year. Until then, have a great holiday season, smoke a Fuente Anejo (amazing smokes, as always), and enjoy some good brews.

We will return.

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Last week I purchased the JR Weekly special which included a nice Montecristo humidor at a great price. This will be my third humidor in an ever growing collection. While I began working on the initial preparations for the new humidor, I remembered back to my very first humidor and how I couldn’t find good information on what to do with the thing. I just put a few cigars in the thing and fought major humidity issues for over a year. I’ve since learned that proper humidor preparation is key to successfully storing cigars. Below I’ve outlined the steps I take when preparing a new a humidor or getting an existing humidor ready for winter.

Step 1: Wet the Wood

Any humidor worth putting cigars in is lined with Spanish Cedar which is prized for it’s insect resistance, rot resistance, and it’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. Unfortunately, by the time you get your hands on a new humidor, it’s extremely dried out. To fix this, start by wetting a plain paper towel (or brand new sponge) with distilled water. Wipe every bit of exposed wood to lightly cover the entire surface area. Make sure not to use too much water or you’ll run the risk of water stains or even wood rot.

Step 2: Bowl of Water

Once you’ve got the wood wiped down, the next step is to get a bowl, cup, tuperware, etc filled with distilled water and place it in the humidor. The larger the surface area of exposed water the better. I prefer to use a low profile bowl over a cup. Fill the bowl 3/4 of the way and place it inside the humidor. Close the lid nice and tight.

Step 3: Wait 24 - 48 Hours

This is where the real magic happens. You’re looking to infuse water back into the wood. This will help stabilize the humidor and ensure that you can achieve that perfect 70% humidity. On my first humidor, I skipped this step and the thing never reached 70% humidity. No matter what I did, the wood was so dry that it always absorbed what I threw at it. Try to wait the full 48 hours for maximum results.

Step 4: Test it Out

Once the 24-48 hours has passed, open the humidor and remove the bowl water. It’s likely at this point that the humidor is actually >70% humility. The only way to find out is to put your trusty hygrometer and get a reading. I personally use digital units that you can calibrate. Cigar International sells a great little hygrometer for $23 that is adjustable. My humidor read 77%. If you’re anywhere north of 74%, I recommend that you let the humidor rest with the lid closed. Check the reading a few times a day. When you’re below 74%, you can move on to the final step. Mine took about 12 hours to stabilize to 69%.

Step 5: Add Humidification

At this point, you’re ready to add your on going humidification device. After years of using water pillows, I’ve decided to start using the humidification gel jars. They seemed more convenient. I steer away from the old school sponge and propylene glycol mix. I picked a few up jars from CI. Remember to use distilled water and don’t over fill.

Step 6: Add Your Cigars!

At this point, it’s time to add your cigars and you’re done! Keep an eye on the hygrometer to make sure things don’t get out of control. With the humidification jars, things should stay pretty stable.

A Few Final Tips

If the humidity is to too high, you might be using t o o b i g of a humidification device. Look for something smaller. If the problem persists, try leaving the humidor lid open for a few hours.

If the humidity is too low try more humidification or go through the prep steps again and let the bowl sit longer. Try 72 hours or longer.

Distilled Water is key. Whenever we’re talking about cigars and humidity, forget tap water period. A bottle of distilled water cost $.99 and will keep you’re humidor free of impurities for at least a year. Tap water contains too many minerals and God knows what else to risk ruining your nice humidor or your fine cigars.

I hope these tips help you get the most out of your humidor.  As always, please feel free to leave us some comments if you’ve got some other tips or questions.

-Dicksbain

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My brother and I are gamers. Sure, we’re quickly becoming old skewl gamers. But I prefer to call us “original gamers”. We grew up on Mario Bros and Saturdays spent at the arcades with a pocket of quarters playing Gauntlet and Xenophobe. This past week, I’ve played (and completed) a phenomenal game called Bioshock. If you haven’t heard here, here, here, here, here, or here, it’s going to be the ‘Game of the Year’. And I completely agree. It’s the best game I’ve played since Knights of the Old Republic.

Bioshock contains lots of tobacco references. There are billboards advertising cigarettes, there are boxes of Habana Especial cigars throughout, and I even found two walk-in humidors (see pics below). And like many games before it, you can smoke cigarettes…for a price. You’ll take a hit in the health bar. I calculated that if you smoked about 20 cigarettes you would keel over and die. I just don’t get this. At first, I think it’s cool that you can even commit in-game smoking. It’s almost cute that you lose a little health when doing it. But I must ask, what message is the gaming industry trying to send us? I can take 21,214 bullets to the face, but a few smokes will kill me? I can fall 9 stories and walk away without a scratch. But a cigar will kill me? If I smoke, as long as a first aid kit is handy, I can cure cancer?

I’ve never seen any other group in the entertainment industry treat smoking this way. When Bruce Willis lights a cigarette at Nakatomi Plaza in Die Hard, he doesn’t start coughing uncontrollably and die. The terrorist don’t win because he finds a pack of Marlboros. When shot, he bleeds.

I’m not a crazy nut who wants to change the gaming industry. I’ve just always found it ironic that a few cigarettes can kill you, but you can survive grenades, flamethrowers, and hundreds of enemies in games. The way things are headed, I imagine smoking will be banned from video games soon anyway. Which will be another rant…

For now, enjoy these shots I took of the tobacco goodness from the fantastic Bioshock:

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While I support fighting for your rights to have a fine cigar, this guy [allegedly] took it way too far!

AP 8/20/07 - SAN ANTONIO, TX) - A San Antonio police officer has been suspended indefinitely after an internal affairs investigation into allegations he used a racial slur and beat a woman who asked him to put out his cigar at a community pool.

Detective Keith Alfaro has until Friday to set up a meeting with Police Chief William McManus to appeal the “contemplated indefinite suspension,” said police Sgt. Gabe Trevino. Trevino said the action is tantamount to a firing.

Tamara Vaughan, 18, said Alfaro, who was off-duty, hit her 25 times, choking her with his forearm, injuring her jaw and bruising her arm during the July 22 incident.

Alfaro was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and evading and resisting arrest.

An attorney for Alfaro had no comment. A call to another of Alfaro’s attorneys was not immediately returned Monday.

The incident is being investigated by Bexar County because it happened outside city limits.

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It’s been all over the news and on every blog with the exception of ours…till now. If you’ve been out enjoying the summer with some fine stogies, there’s a chance (slim) that you haven’t heard; Under nearly identical bills making their way through the U.S. House and Senate, the federal tax on the highest-priced premium cigars could jump as much as 20,000 percent.

The federal government currently taxes cigars at 4.5 cents each. Under the new bills, the tax rate will jump to 53 percent of the manufacturer’s price, up to a cap of $10 — a jump of 20,000 percent from 4.5 cents.

To put this in real terms, a box of 25 Perdomo ESVs at $11 a stick would take on a $5.83 tax, making them almost $17.  The box which would have cost you $287 will now cost $420.  That does not include state, county, and city taxes which could easily bring the total close to $500.

This is a cause worth fighting:

Contact your house representatives or state senators.

You have 3 options.  1) Take action. 2) Quit smoking. 3) Get a 2nd Job to pay the tax.

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From Cigar Jack:

They are working at both the local and the state level to find an exemption to cigar bars. If you live in Ohio please call your local Senators and ask them to support the exemption (SB No 195). If you are unsure of your Ohio Senator check here.

Senator Gary Cates of West Chester is sponsoring the bill.

Cincinnati Enquirer has an article on the push for the exemption.

Kentucky Bars enjoy boom from Ohio Smoking Ban

Judge says no to injunction of Ohio Smoking Ban

Ohio Cigar Bar Exemption News

Ohio Cigar Bar Keeps on Smoking.

No Smoking In or Out…

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Nicotine and me will be together till the end…I’ve known that since I was 20.  Sure, I’ve moved from Cigarettes to cigars years ago.  And instead of smoking one cigarette every 30 minutes, I smoke a cigar every other evening.  Still, it’s the nicotine that I love so much.  Well, it turns out it may not be so bad for you:

From Wired:

Nicotine acts on the acetylcholine receptors in the brain, stimulating and regulating the release of a slew of brain chemicals, including seratonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Not surprisingly, the first scientific work that identified these chemicals and how they affect the body came out of nicotine research — much of it performed by tobacco companies.

Full Story

Also, this study shows smoking wards off Parkinson’s disease.

Chalk one up (finally!) for nicotine…

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