It’s pretty easy for cigars to become dried out. Sometimes you misplace a box of cigars and forget to store them in your humidor (incredible, but it does happen). Sometimes you find a box of old cigars in your grandparents’ basement. Or your non-smoking friend tells you about his trip to Cuba seven months ago and how he brought back a box full of Behikes for your birthday. Anyway, by the time you find those cigars, they’re completely dry. The good news is that depending on how far gone they are, you may be able to bring them back, although, in most cases, somewhat short of their original quality. You’ll still be able to enjoy them, but some of their flavors may be lost. If the wrappers of the cigars are cracked or unraveling, then it’s too late to revive them (they’ll fall apart as you try to smoke them)—but if the wrappers are intact, there is a good chance you can 'repair' them. The process of reviving dried cigars is not a quick one, but with some time and patience you’ll be able to save your cigars.

There are several different techniques you can use to revive dried cigars, most of which will take you several weeks to complete. Don’t ever put your extremely dry cigars into a fully charged humidor right away. This will ruin them. It’s a good idea to equip yourself with a hygrometer which can measure moisture. This will help you to control the process of reviving the cigars and to know when the process is complete and the cigars are ready.

Technique #1

• Get a Tupperware container or a plastic bag. Don’t use a cedar box, since wood aerates moisture, both absorbing it and releasing it at the same time. The result is that you won’t be able to build up moisture in a cedar box, which is what you need to be able to do. So use plastic instead. Tupperware containers and plastic bags both can seal, which is critical.
• Get a sponge, or alternately oasis foam, and access to distilled water (propylene glycol works too). Start out by placing the cigars in the box or bag with the hygrometer and sealing them in. Walk away for a few hours then come back and read the humidity on the hygrometer. This will give you an idea where you’re starting from.
• Next, place about a teaspoon of water on your sponge or oasis foam, and place that inside the box or bag with the cigars and the hygrometer.
• Walk away again, but keep coming back to check on the process regularly. You’re waiting for the hygrometer to read 70%. Every 24 hours open up the bag and add another teaspoon of water to your sponge.
• Once the hygrometer reaches 70%, you’ll need to maintain the humidity level in the box or bag at 65%-70% for 2-3 weeks, adding distilled water to your sponge as necessary. Every few days you’ll need to gently turn the cigars over a quarter turn.
• After several weeks the process should be complete and the cigars revitalized.

Technique #2

• Open the box of dried cigars and place the box in a damp location such as a cellar or crawl space where moisture gathers.
• Keep the box of cigars in the damp place for roughly a week. You may need to do it longer if your cigars are extra dry. During that week, rotate the cigars a quarter turn every couple of days.
• After a week or two is up (depending on the severity of the dryness you’re trying to counteract), put the cigars in your humidor at 70% humidity. Continue to rotate the cigars a quarter turn every few days. The process will be complete when every cigar has been turned the full way around at least two times.

Technique #3

If your humidor isn’t fully charged, then consider placing the cigars inside for a week. Only after a week should you consider charging the humidor fully and letting the cigars sit in the fully charged humidor. Again, never put the dried out cigars into a fully charged humidor to start with.

Technique #4

Dampen a sponge or a paper towel. Either wrap the damp paper towel around the cigar box and leave it for a week, or use the sponge to dampen the cigar box. You don’t want to get the box wet. You just want to create moisture. If you go with the sponge method, put the box in a sealed plastic bag for a couple of days. After that your cigars should be ready. This is a rush method though and it is more likely to fail than the others.

And if you don’t want to do it yourself…

Some cigar shops will actually revive dried cigars as a service to regular customers. As professionals, they are adept at providing cigars with just the right amount of humidity to restore them (some cigar stores will also store cigars for customers in humidors to keep them at the right level of humidity to begin with). This is really a good idea if you don’t feel confident about doing it yourself since you won’t risk ruining your cigars.

Techniques 1 and 2 are probably the best ones to go with if you are going to try to revive your dried cigars yourself. The last technique is probably not a great one to go with unless you’re in a big rush—but the fact is, the best results aren’t going to come with a rush job, and you’re more likely to ruin your cigars permanently if you’re in a hurry to get them back into pristine condition. Take your time reviving your dried cigars—the problem wasn’t created overnight and won’t be solved overnight. With several weeks to a month of diligence though, you should be able to revive even extremely dry cigars—always assuming they aren’t peeling apart or cracked when you start out.

Again, revived cigars will probably not be as great as they were before you (or somebody else) let them dry out. Expect some lost flavor. If you’ve never tried a particular cigar before and you try one for the first time after reviving it, chances are you won’t be getting an entirely accurate idea of its quality. It’s certainly still better than losing the cigar completely though!

PS Know any other techniques to repair dried cigars? The comment section is all yours.

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Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Petit Robusto
Size : 4 x 50
Wrapper : Broadleaf Maduro
Filler : Nicaraguan Corojo & Criollo
Binder : Nicaraguan
Hand-Made
Price : ~$6 each
More info about purchasing DPG Series JJ Little Robusto cigars...

I was really excited to see the old Series JJ line of Don Pepin cigars debut a new size, especially one of my favorite vitolas, the petit robusto. Revisiting the Series JJ line really excited me because first I have not smoked one in a really long time, second it’s one of my favorite cigar lines, and third it was one of the first brands that made me fall in love with cigars and the genius that is Don Pepin Garcia. The “Little Robusto Project” was the brainchild of Jerry Cruz, of Stogie Review, to commemorate his infant son’s passing and give awareness, and raise money, for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Appearance : 5 out of 5 stars
For a maduro wrapper, this cigar is quite light in color. It's lighter than the original Serie JJ Maduro, and darker than the regular production Serie JJ. The wrapper is a beauty though nevertheless, and appears flawless with substantial amount of oils. The veining is very thin and the seams are super tight. The band on the “Little Robusto” is different from the regular production as well. It’s very attractive and ornate with white, gold, and minor reds. The wrapper smells of faint earth and leather, and the foot smells of sweet sugar cane and straw.

Construction : 4.75 out of 5 stars (4.75)
Lighting made easy per a triple flame torch, the draw is pretty open, and the smoke production is massive. Lots of creamy smoke can be drawn from the Serie JJ and allows for flavors to be dissected. The burn line starts off pretty straight and razor sharp and the ash is light grey to almost creamy white. These are pretty much “light ‘em and forget ‘em” cigars. The production is top notch with hardly a burn problem among them.

Flavor : 4 out of 5 stars
I am surprised to not find much pepperiness in this stick compared to the original Serie JJ. The cigar is much sweeter it seems than its counterparts, and it is starting off in a very good place in my book.

1st Third: Flavors of sugar cane sweetness, earthiness, some nuts?, and musk start off the cigar. The flavors are vivid and the smoke is thick and creamy. The body of JJ is smoking in the medium bodied category. At this point the corojo really seems to shine to me and is quite enjoyable. I am questioning myself more and more now, “Why have I gone so long without you?”

2nd Third: Hella smooth is the “Little Robusto.” Not a whole lot of change in this cigar in the beginning of the second third, but the flavors are spot on. The marshmallow sweetness is something really coming through that I like a lot.

3rd Third: Of course now the flavor profile has become a little stronger and flavors a little darker,… but not by much though. Nutmeg, almonds, and continuing earthiness has concluded this helluva cigar.

Value : 4.75 out of 5 stars (4.75)
I would throw down $6 bucks for this type of smoke all day long. For a short smoke, it delivers everything you could possibly want for little coin. And better yet, it goes to supporting a good cause.

Overall Rating : 4.25 out of 5 stars (4.25)
From what I remember of the Serie JJ’s from back in the day, I remember them having a much more peppery profile. The “Little Robusto” hardly had any of this pepperiness. The Little JJ instead is super smooth, really sweet, and just a delicious little cigar. I really love corojo leaf, and it seems that the earthy core of this cigar really expresses what this leaf is all about. This is a great treat for me truthfully considering all the non-corojo cigars that I have been smoking and reviewing lately. Please don’t overlook this little guy on the shelves, it is a solid stick with a great creamy profile in a compact frame, and helps out guys like Jerry Cruz in his goal to provide more attention to SIDS awareness. From one Filipino to another, Jerry Cruz, keep up the good work and we all support what you are doing.

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The winner of the $16 Amazon gift certificate is Bennett. Congrats!

Long ashes everyone - and stay tuned for more contests in future!

PS If you would like to support CigarInspector.com, feel free to make your Amazon purchases through this link. Thank you!

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Cain cigar reviews

M. Germany and Zack reviewed three Cain cigars in September-October 2011. Zack started with the Cain Habano Double Toro, M. Germany soon followed with a review of the Cain Daytona. Finally, they joined their forces to do a dual review of the Cain Maduro Double Toro.

Aging Room Small Batch

Robustojoe reviewed a Dominican puro called Aging Room Small Batch, made at the Oliveros factory. "The Aging Room Small Batch M356 is the first truly outstanding cigar I’ve smoked in a long time."

"Off the Beaten Path"

M. Germany got a great idea to write about smaller cigar manufacturers: "Over the next several weeks, I will be rating and reviewing several cigars and companies that you most likely have never heard of." The "Off the Beaten Path" series turned out to be a very interesting guide to cigars that one can rarely find in online supermarkets or on B&M shelves. Have you heard about the Antillian Cigars Corp, Clints, Black Patch, Blue Mountain, El Sueno, Achievement?.. Now you did.

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Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Robusto
Size : 5 x 50
Wrapper : Nicaraguan Sungrown Oscuro (Somoto)
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : $6.50-$8.00

To some, Elogio is not a new cigar, but to me I found out about this manufacturer just recently on a trip to Houston to visit Smoke Ring cigar store. I was introduced to a few new brands there of which I was surprised to how good they smoked. Elogio is manufactured in the town of Somoto, Northwest of the famous city of Esteli. Elogio has several lines of cigars that include the LSV, Habano, and Excepcionales (a double torpedo).

Appearance : 4 out of 5 stars
The Serie LSV has an oily dark brown leathery wrapper with some minor dark blotchiness and very small veins. It is traditionally adorned with a carefully placed triple cap. The band is simple and attractive with not much pomp. The wrapper has aromas of mainly leather, citrus oil, and bitter sweet chocolate and the foot has just a faint leatheriness.

Construction : 2.5 out of 5 stars
Construction appears top notch from looking at the cigar. The cigar is solid with no soft spots and seams are tight. The triple cap is a nice ode to Cuban style crafting. Lighting was easy with my triple flame lighter. Smoke production is plentiful and creamy. Unfortunately this is where the positives stopped though. The cigar had some burn problems and would canoe down one side and go out if not frequently puffed on,… a little annoying considering this happened in more than one sample. The filler tends to splay out as the burn line continues down the cigar and the wrapper tends to burn very slowly and go out. More than likely these cigars need to be dry boxed for a significant amount of time as each consecutive sample I smoked was dry boxed longer than the previous.

Flavor : 3.25 out of 5 stars (3.25)
After lighting the initial profile starts out with some mild Nica pepperiness more like cayenne than black pepper. Leather notes dominate after a few puffs, but not really getting much more than that.

1st Third: The pepperiness from the start continues farther into the first third of this cigar. Leather and hazelnuts are what I detect most now, and the finish is citrusy acidic but the smoke is very creamy and thick. A little cinnamon also sneaks into the aftertaste of the smoke. It’s not knocking my socks off with flavor at this point but the profile is relaxing and quite good. The body is hitting squarely in the full category.

2nd Third: The second third loses almost all of the pepperiness. The creaminess seems to be the focal point, and nutty flavors dominate. A little bit of floral kick weaves in and out of the profile. All in all,… just creamy. The amount of smoke is perplexing on the draw. Some draws you only get a little smoke and then sometimes you get so much your tongue feels like its wearing velvet. There is a lingering sweetness leftover from the thick smoke on your palate though.

3rd Third: Cream, cream, and more cream. The LSV displays a unique musky quality that is different from any other cigar I have smoked in a long while. There still seems to be a tiny bit of nuttiness but it's hard to discern. I have to admit the finish is quite nice and pretty intriguing.

Value : 3.5 out of 5 stars
I suppose anything south of $8 is satisfactory in my book with this cigar. It has premium tobacco obviously and shows some tender loving care in production. The flavors are unique enough to find a place in many people’s smoking rotations.

Overall Rating : 3 out of 5 stars
Burn problems aside, this cigar displays a fairly unique amount of flavors for Nicaraguan tobacco. The curing process and location of the farmed tobacco seems to give it this flavor profile ‘cause there isn’t anything like this cigar. The creaminess of the smoke is quite awesome and the musky character is a little cubanesque. The sweetness in the aftertaste left on my palate after expelling the smoke in my mouth is also a plus in my book. The overall body hits near the full meter. Something, for me though, is missing in this blend, and doesn’t really strike a cord that would have me pulling the trigger to buy many of these cigars (maybe it’s just plainly not my profile). I think the strongest point of this cigar is the fact, I believe, that this cigar will appeal to a wide range of smokers. So give it a try. Elogio might be your new favorite smoke. Keep smoking my friends,…

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As I stated in my best cigar books post, proceeds from sale of books would be given back to one lucky reader in the form of a gift certificate. Here is another one. It is a gift card for $16 that can be redeemed on Amazon.com (doesn't work on .co.uk or .fr).

Just leave a comment on this post to be entered in the draw. The winner will be announced in one week, next Monday.

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Avo 85th Anniversary 2011 Limited Edition

In the beginning of June, I purchased a couple of these cigars when I was in Geneva. The Avo 85th Anniversary LE 2011 is a damn fine smoke both in terms of presentation and flavors. At $17.50 it's not going to make it into my regular rotation though.

Padilla Habano Artisano

This is the kind of cigar that immediately catches your eye in the B&M. That's exactly what happened to Zack who just had to purchase the Padilla Habano Artisano, featuring three different leaves in its wrapper. Unsurprisingly, it didn't exactly taste as good as it looked.

Top cheap smoke: Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8

Through the summer, we ran a contest which consisted in telling others about your favorite cheap smokes in a cigar review. You can click here to view all the submissions that were received. The winning review was about a cigar called Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8 and it's indeed a great cheap smoke.

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Origin : Dominican Republic
Format : Churchill
Size : 7 x 54
Wrapper : Nicaragua
Filler : Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Binder : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : ~$11.00 each
More info about purchasing Gurkha Cellar Reserve cigars...

In 1989 Kaizad Hansotia purchased a small cigar company called Gurkha, named after Nepalese warriors whose bravery impressed the British soldiers, for a paltry sum of $143. He intended the cigars to be unique gifts given to customers of his family’s watch business. Twenty-three years later, this growing boutique brand produces over two dozen distinct blends and recently released a new line called the Cellar Reserve.

The name and packaging of the Cellar Reserve Churchill elicits vivid imagery of rolling green hillsides marked with crisp rows of grape vines bursting through the earth and perhaps even gracefully shimmering in a gentle summer breeze. Despite outward appearances the contents of this box did not originate from the gravelly soil of a renowned French chateau. In fact, it is an obscure pairing of tobacco from disparate farms isolated geographically by miles of ocean that gave birth to the Gurkha Cellar Reserve Prisoner Churchill. The oily Criollo wrapper is mottled with a few medium sized veins but rolled nicely with tight seams. A grandiose band holds an overwhelming amount of unnecessary text but is easy to remove.

The cigar begins softly with a mild vegetal note accompanied by an underlying sweetness. As the cigar warms the texture becomes creamy with smooth medium bodied flavors of earth, nuts, and wood overtaking the initial mild flavors. The nutty finish gives a lingering effect but is moderate in length. A slightly firm draw toward the beginning relaxes a few inches in.

The Cellar Reserve is a relaxing cigar that won’t smother the palate in dense flavors but still leaves the smoker satisfied. Lasting for slightly over an hour and a half, the cigar retains balance throughout almost the entire duration and does not become warm until the last inch. I would like to thank Gurkha for supplying the cigar for review.

Appearance/Structure – 12/15
Smoking Characteristics – 23/25
Flavor – 21/25
Overall Impression – 32/35

Total - 88

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Note: we didn't want these new packs to be freely visible on the site. If you really want to see what they look like, click on the picture below (not for the faint-hearted).

Recent “health” legislation passed in Australia will harm small cigar retailers but is unlikely to actually curb cigar smoking or protect the health of cigar smokers. The new laws — similar to those being considered by the FDA in the US right now — will require that all tobacco products sold in the country be packaged drably without style or flair and include large, clear health warnings on their labels. This will include cigars as well as cigarettes — even though cigar smoking is a completely different industry.

The Australian government believes (as the FDA in America does) that this will prevent youthful smokers from purchasing cigars, and that it will reduce the amount of smoking which takes place in Australia. This is a fallacy for more reason than one. For starters, the average cigar smoker is male, age 35 and older. Youthful smokers usually turn to cigarettes and not cigars. The other reason that applying the legislation to cigars won’t reduce smoking is that cigar smokers don’t smoke the same way and for the same reasons as cigarette smokers.

Smokers of premium cigars are connoisseurs—they don’t smoke out of habit, they smoke instead to enjoy a hand-made product which has been artfully crafted for a unique experience (the packaging is part of this experience). Premium cigars aren’t cheap, and they are enjoyed slowly at a leisurely pace. While the Australian legislation may curb cigarette smoking (or not), it is unlikely to curb cigar smoking, since cigar smokers will simply turn to online retailers for their cigars. One Brisbane cigar retailer, Rob Ayala (owner of Cigar Czar), took a poll of his customers and found out that 58% of them would simply buy their cigars online instead of from him. Only 1.3% said they’d cut back on smoking. "No one who purchases premium cigars at $15-$50 ($300-$1,250 a box), will purchase plain-packaged, plain-banded cigars when they have so many options internationally," said Ayala.

"We must challenge perceptions that cigars are in any way more glamorous, or a less harmful alternative, to cigarettes," said Health Minister Tanya Plibersek.

There is no scientific evidence to suggest that cigars aren’t as unhealthy as cigarettes in the most basic sense (at least I can't find any - got a reference?), but the differing habits of cigar smokers typically are less unhealthy, starting with the fact that cigar smoke is not meant to be inhaled. Here is scientific evidence - thanks Cameron! Furthermore, cigar smokers don’t burn through packs of cigars each day. Many treat themselves to just one nice premium cigar every few days, or even just once a week. Cigars cost a lot more, and are meant to be enjoyed in the moment—not burned through rapidly and mindlessly. The new legislation ignores this fact and is punishing premium cigar smokers and retailers without regard to these facts — and all that will do is harm small businesses in Australia and cut into the rights of the consumer.

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