Water or Solution

[Sam-cr]

Originally Posted by HeavyMetal

Sam,

Use the RH *you* like. As Anton noted anything around 60 - 70 RH is fine from a preservation standpoint. Like Anton and I, there are smokers who prefer a bit lower RH - around 65. I prefer it since cigars around 70 taste wet to me. Others feel that 65 tastes too dry. None of us are "right". It's personal taste.

BTW, the 70/70 "rule" came from a personal preference of Zino Davidoff. His instruction was that all cigars for sale be at 70/70.

As far as aging, Min Ron Nee notes in his encyclopedia that experienced collectors age at a very low RH and temp in an airtight wrap. As low as 50F/50RH. The low temp & RH supposedly aid in development of plume. But then again they are aging for 10 - 20 years. While I do have some patience I don't have THAT much. I age at my smoking RH of around 65. I have noticed that the lower the RH the quicker plume will develop. Can't comment on lower temp or airtight wrap so I defer to MRH.

Thanks man, I guess over time I'll be able to pick out the difference, because honestly right now I can't tell if a cigar has been in 60 or 70%. I'm going into my second year smoking cigars so I'm still kinda new.

[HeavyMetal-cr]

Originally Posted by Python

[I guess that it might have something to do with the lower RH letting some of the oils of the leaf escape to the surface and crystallize as the higher RH is keeping the surface leaf moist with 'water' rather than the oils of the leaf.

I would *guess* it's something like that. Tho I would note that the RH will be about the same throughout the cigar. So, water retards whatever is going on to permit the migration and crystallization????

One other thing I like about lower RH is less mold. I rarely see any white and never green.