Recovering some neglected sticks...

StratSlinger

New member here, just looking for a little info - or possibly just confirmation that I've done right.

I'm a relative newb - got a hand-me down 50ct humidor a couple summers back, and I've picked up a few different samplers over the last couple summers (I rarely ever smoke in the winter, too dang cold out there!), and a couple 5-packs here and there if I find something I like (I still tend towards mild/medium blends).

Anyway, I let the humidor get away from me over the winter.  It was stored in my basement, which is a little on the cool side, but not bad (I'd say 60-ish year round).  It's also damp, though not really bad in the winter (I run a dehumidifier from April through October, to keep around 65RH - but I'm honestly not sure what the RH in the basement is like during the winter).  Anyway, I failed to keep up with humidification over the winter.  I filled it back up about a month, maybe month and a half ago (I'm using humi-care gel), rotated the sticks a little bit, but not aggressively - probably turned them every other week or so.

I broke out one yesterday - a Romeo y Julieta Cedros #2 - and it seemed in good shape.  The wrapper was actually a little more oily than I recall them being in the past (an effect of aging?), but there was no sign of any mold or other problems I could recognize.  I lit it up, and it seemed great - burned slow and even and drew nicely, and no harsh taste or anything.

So - I guess I'd ask if I did the right thing to recover the sticks, or did I simply get lucky?

laker1963

StratSlinger:

New member here, just looking for a little info - or possibly just confirmation that I've done right.

I'm a relative newb - got a hand-me down 50ct humidor a couple summers back, and I've picked up a few different samplers over the last couple summers (I rarely ever smoke in the winter, too dang cold out there!), and a couple 5-packs here and there if I find something I like (I still tend towards mild/medium blends).

Anyway, I let the humidor get away from me over the winter.  It was stored in my basement, which is a little on the cool side, but not bad (I'd say 60-ish year round).  It's also damp, though not really bad in the winter (I run a dehumidifier from April through October, to keep around 65RH - but I'm honestly not sure what the RH in the basement is like during the winter).  Anyway, I failed to keep up with humidification over the winter.  I filled it back up about a month, maybe month and a half ago (I'm using humi-care gel), rotated the sticks a little bit, but not aggressively - probably turned them every other week or so.

I broke out one yesterday - a Romeo y Julieta Cedros #2 - and it seemed in good shape.  The wrapper was actually a little more oily than I recall them being in the past (an effect of aging?), but there was no sign of any mold or other problems I could recognize.  I lit it up, and it seemed great - burned slow and even and drew nicely, and no harsh taste or anything.

So - I guess I'd ask if I did the right thing to recover the sticks, or did I simply get lucky?

Well since you never mentioned using or looking at a hygromater... you got lucky. You should try to get a hygro inside the humi to see what the RH in there is. Your basement probably kept it in a good range, so yeah, luck did it LMAO.

StratSlinger

Yeah, I left out the part about my (admittedly cheap) hygrometer crapping the bed.  It's clearly stuck at one specific reading, and won't budge.  Needless to say, a replacement/upgrade is en route. 

kuzi16

StratSlinger

I ordered the humi-care digital from c.com yesterday, should have it in a couple days!

Depending on how things go in the next couple weeks, I may need to order another - if I acquire a few more sticks, I'm going to need to set myself up a tupperdor for a little more capacity.

ThinBluLine06

As long as the stick performed fine and you enjoyed it, thats all that matters in the end!

ljl

Agree you probably got lucky. But it all worked out. Humi gel is OK, personally I think beads rule. I would not recommend the puck that normally comes with a humi, seems like you're always a second away from mold with those. But if you get results you like, that's what matters. That digital hygro will be a real lifesaver.