Humidor seasoning and a couple of other questions

Question 1. Just received my humidor a couple of days ago and got to seasoning it promptly...using water from the water cooler of delivered agua from "alhambra water bottling company". I was so eager to get to the task I didn't think to check whether the water was distilled. I for some reason took it for granted this is water that's packaged and sold and so would be free of the impurities that would ruin a humidor. Is my humidor ruined ? Can't I dry it out and then season it properly with distilled water and have it live its natural life?

Question 2. I have a package of sticks arriving shortly and need storage. I will probably get through this batch in a month or 2. Assuming I used non-distilled water for the seasoning, will the batch be safe in the humidor for that duration until I can properly season it?

Question 3. A lot of good deals on CCom come in tins. Are these tins, self contained humidors in the short term, say a month or two, which I can then use for storage while I make room in my puny 20 stick humidor.

Question 4. I am beginner cigar smoker. Not new to tobacco, though....I was chewing in my teens but rarely smoked cigarettes off and on. I had my first cigar I received from ccom and it really blew my mind. It was the Reposado '96 with a Maduro wrapper. I noticed a really wonderful smell to it. It smelled almost like a fragrant incense to me. Is this a character of the Maduro wrapper or the filler for the brand?

Question 5. The reposado '96 did not have a band. Is this a signature of this cigar brand that it does not have a band?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

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Comments

xmacro

1) Agua from alhambra water bottling company??!! ROTFL - You're making this a lot harder than it needs to be. Go to Wal-Mart and buy a gallon of distilled water for about $0.90 (yes, it's about 90 cents or a dollar), put it in a shallow dish, and leave the dish in your humidor for about a week.
But otherwise you haven't done enough damage to care about, so don't worry (and even if you did, drying it out won't solve the problem since the minerals would already be in the wood).

2) Don't put the sticks in unless the humidor is done being seasoned. Until it's finished, just put the sticks in a tupperware and throw in a water pillow that comes with your Ccom order

3) No, they're just decoration. Tupperware, though, can be used as a humidor for a few months without any problems

4) Not sure about this; maduro's typically have a sweetness to them, so that may be what you tasted. If you enjoyed the maduro in Reposado '96, be sure to try a 5 Vegas Gold Maduro - very delicious IMO (mild to medium body)

5) Reposado's don't have bands on them - all three wrappers (maduro, habano, and connecticut) are like that

kuzi16

what he said

Schrooz

Well, my humi is seasoned and I've stacked it to the brim with my recent samplers I got from Ccom. Not exactly keeping to optimal settings though, it's kind of warm where I am and the temp is 80F/ 83% this morning. I should have cracked a window when I left last night! I've read somewhere that the higher humidity is to be expected of a newly seasoned humi so I'll sit on it and see what happens. As for the temp, I think I will move it around my little apartment to find the best place for it...

So far have smoked:
5 vegas classic
reposado 96 maduro
house blend brazilian label
MOW ruination
5 vegas 'A'

For some reason the Reposado 96 is a standout because of its aroma and taste. Kind of strange I think since it's the cheapest of the bunch. I think it's because I was less drunk (on wine for that matter) when I fired it up that it left an impression on me. Hahaa. It could have been the wine that I tasted along with the stick.
The others I smoked after a shot or two of bourbon.
I still have another Reposado in the humi and will try again sober to see how it goes.

Happy smokes!

lilwing88

If you can, get the temp down in your apartment and keep it down, that's crucial. A spike in heat and rh for a short while is no reason to panic. Just make sure that it starts to come down closer to 70%/70F. High temps and high rh can hatch beetle eggs. No es bueno.

The Cank

Don't say the "B" word

kuzi16

80/83% is prime conditions for mold. id worry more about the RH than the temp. get that down to about 65-70% and temps up to 80 are not a problem at all.

fla-gypsy

I agree with Kuzi, at higher temps you have to keep the RH down, preferably about 65%

Schrooz

It did the trick. Humidity went from mid 80% to mid 70%. It's an "Ultra-gel" humidifier I got from ebay to maintain a 50-75 humi. Mine is a 20 count box. That may be the main problem. I may have also overfilled the container. On the instructions it said to near full, but I just got it full as I recall. Anyway, going to let the humidifier sit out and dry out a bit before I put it back in. I have a sponge humidifier as back up if needed...now that one is for a 20 count box. Will wait and see how it works.

Anyway, smoked a diesel last week. What a cigar! Had some red label johny walker on hand while I puffed away. Really liked it. I can't wait to try the diesel Unlimited that I hear is coming out soon.

Schrooz

Schrooz:
It's an "Ultra-gel" humidifier I got from ebay to maintain a 50-75 humi. Mine is a 20 count box. That may be the main problem.

THE MAJOR CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM!

I got so excited trying to get a quality humidifier it didn't register that it was meant for a larger humi. Embarrassed [:$]

Just as well. I may just get a 50-75 stick humi in the near term!
Had me a MOW ruination just now. Good stuff! With good scotch whiskey it's even better!