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Dry Boxing

Thoughts said:
I am sorry to revive an old thread but I just wanted any newbie that searches the forum to see this.

So I have practiced with dry boxing over 2-3 months. First of all my setup is a cigar box with a tight seal (tested with hygrometer) and a bovida 62% packet (all I had at the time).

I would pull out a few to place in the box and smoke them throughout the week, then I would pull one from my humidor that remains at a constant 69-70 degrees and 67-68% humidity to smoke that day. I would try the different cigars at different intervals through the week in the dry box while trying to keep the same sizes in the dry box and humidor to test the dry box effectiveness.

Holy shit was I surprised.

My straight from humidor cigars would have some good flavors but would have awful burns
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While my cigars throughout the week would have better and better burns. The one pictured above was a nice cigar that I had stored for a while in the humidor that I paid good money for. I ended up relighting and touching it up multiple times through the night.

As the cigars that sat in the dry box would rest, I would get more pronounced flavors and even burns that required no upkeep whatsoever. This happened so frequently that I ended up ordering a 60% humidity bead pack to hopefully be delivered soon.

TLDR: dry boxing is worth it, even if it sits only for 2-3 days it definitely helped the burns on my cigars and decrease the touch ups needed
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That photo hurts my soul...
 
Has anyone come across a cigar that does not like being dry boxed? I cut a La Riqueza #4 last night after 4 days in a 62% box and it was like there was nothing inside the wrapper. I suppose it could be a one-off but I have smoked 15 out of that box and all were fine.
 
CigarStone said:
Has anyone come across a cigar that does not like being dry boxed? I cut a La Riqueza #4 last night after 4 days in a 62% box and it was like there was nothing inside the wrapper. I suppose it could be a one-off but I have smoked 15 out of that box and all were fine.
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Many NCs I've smoked are just fine out of the humidor, though some really benefit from boxing, such as Undercrown Sun Grown and Archetype Axis Mundi, to name two specifically. I haven't met a CC yet that didn't benefit greatly from being in The Box for a few days.
 
CigarStone said:
Has anyone come across a cigar that does not like being dry boxed? I cut a La Riqueza #4 last night after 4 days in a 62% box and it was like there was nothing inside the wrapper. I suppose it could be a one-off but I have smoked 15 out of that box and all were fine.
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I’ve dry boxed all the La Riqueza that I’ve smoked and it always seemed to help. Granted (IMO) it’s a great cigar right out of the humidor as well. The bigger improvement would be in the burn more than the flavor. My dry box sits right around 58%. I think you’re onto something with it just being a dud stick. I certainly don’t claim to know more than your average joe about dry boxing, but I don’t think that 4 days at 62% would have a big negative impact on a perfectly healthy cigar.
 
H. Vachon said:
In your opinions, does 58% seem too low? Cigars typically don’t sit in the dry box for more than three or four days.
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Personal preference, to be sure. First step is to make sure your hygrometer is calibrated, so we're on the same page when we discuss RH. Frankly, it doesn't matter if your smokes are consistent and you like them. Ask a bunch of seasoned cigar people what they like to smoke their cigars at. You'll get answers all the way from 58% up to 75%. I like to store / age at a minimum of 65-68% because we know for sure that oils will start to crystallize out of the tobacco when stored long term much lower than that. Anything over 75% and your risk of mold goes up exponentially. My cabinet runs 67% ish most of the time. My dry box is 60-62%, most of the time. And I'm a happy guy......;)
 
BlindedByScience said:
Personal preference, to be sure. First step is to make sure your hygrometer is calibrated, so we're on the same page when we discuss RH. Frankly, it doesn't matter if your smokes are consistent and you like them. Ask a bunch of seasoned cigar people what they like to smoke their cigars at. You'll get answers all the way from 58% up to 75%. I like to store / age at a minimum of 65-68% because we know for sure that oils will start to crystallize out of the tobacco when stored long term much lower than that. Anything over 75% and your risk of mold goes up exponentially. My cabinet runs 67% ish most of the time. My dry box is 60-62%, most of the time. And I'm a happy guy......;)
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Same here. I keep my cabinets at 68 percent humidity and my drybox at 62. I could go a bit lower, but I usually have about 10 to 12 cigars in there at a time and they are good for 2 weeks. Definitely works for me.
 
I never used to dry box anything and didn't know how.

Then I had some that didn't smoke too well and came here and found how to do it.

I now dry box everything for at least a day or two, more if possible

The other day I went to the humidor and pulled one from a box that I've had about seven years. Went outside to smoke on a day with low humidity and it started swelling and splitting as I smoked. Was perfect when it came out of the humidor. I realized I hadn't dry boxed it, as I have taken 12 or 14 straight from that box previously. The next one I dry boxed for three days and my son smoked it and enjoyed it, no problems.

I have never smoked one that I wish I hadn't dry boxed.

I suggest that you look at dry boxing as a type of conditioning to bring it out of the humidor to smoke.
 
Peer pressure, I tell you! Ok, this is what's driven me to try this dry box shit you people are doing. I'm certain it's gonna be a pain in my ass, but I'll give it a try. Hell, maybe I just call "the witch" and have him work some black magic on these things. ;)

I'm smoking, or trying to smoke this Monte 2. This has happened to e the last few I've pulled from this box, but I just figured it was me, getting it too hot during lighting. Possibly not. It's lit, starts well and then BAM!! Feels like the end is a mush ball and it's tough to get a draw through. A couple puffs later and it'll burn a bit, then slowly gets back to less smoke.

Unlike personal user, mine is not splitting or swelling that much, just getting a bit "mushy". I suppose letting it "dry box" a bit, may prevent this from occurring, yes?!

WTF? I'm too freakin set in my ways to have to change this much. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Thanks for reading.

Floyd T
 
I keep my humidor and tupperdoors at 65% and have never felt the need to dry box any.
They all seem to smoke just fine except for the occasional plug or tight roll
 
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