| All
about Cuban Cigars
There
are many perceptions about how to determine the strength of
a cuban cigar. Often people look at the
wrapper for the answer. This method is misleading.
Wrappers
are only about 1% of the total content of the cuban
cigar, so a dark wrapper will have little, if any effect,
on the strength of the cuban cigar.
So
how can you tell the strength of a cuban cigar
without lighting it? Well, it’s in the name! Cuban Cigar
Brands are designed with their own particular flavours
and strengths, with the variety of leaves from different tobacco
plants making up their individual characteristics.
The
following Cuban Cigar Brands are classified
as such:
Refined
(Extra Flavour) Cuban Cigars
Cohiba
and Trinidad.
Strong,
Full Flavoured Cuban Cigars
Bolivar,
Partagas, Cuaba, Por Larranaga.
Medium
Strength And Flavour Cuban
Cigars
Montecristo,
Diplomaticos, Fonseca, Jose L. Piedra, H. Upmann, Juan Lopez, Flor de Cano,
Vegas Robaina, Vegueros, La Gloria Cubana, Sancho Pana, Quintero, Belinda,
Cabanas, Rafael Gonzalez, Romeo Y Julieta, Statos de Luxe, Troya, San Cristobal
de La Habana.
Mild
Strength And Flavour Cuban
Cigars
Hoyo
de Monterrey, San Luis Rey, El Rey del Mundo, Ramon Allones, Quai D’Orsay.
All About Humidors:
Here
are some notes on how to set up your Humidor. Probably kept
in the 68 to 70 degrees Farenhiet range is best – Also
that is the best range for Humidity as well…you really don't
want to be any higher as you can tell by the fuzziness on your
Cuban Cigars.
How
To Setup Your Humidor
When
most people get their new humidor home, they are anxious to
fill it up with their collection of smokes. If you do this without
first re-humidifying the wood, you may ruin your cigars. Why?
The wood has not had a chance to reach its equilibrium. So when
you put your Cuban Cigars in, the wood will
absorb their moisture and you will be left with dry useless
cigars. Not exactly the reason you bought a humidor, huh? To
solve this problem, all humidors should be re-humidified before
their first use.
Re-humidifying
your humidor is easy, just follow these simple steps:
-
Place
a shallow container filled with distilled water in the humidor
-
Place
calibrated hygrometer inside humidor
-
Charge
your humidification device
-
Place
humidification device inside humidor
- You
have to check the relative humidity every day. Depending on
a number of factors this can take a few days to a few weeks.
When you get in the 70 – 72 humidity, range it is safe
to store you Cuban Cigars inside. As long
as you constantly recharge your humidification device you
will never have to wait to store your Cuban Cigars
again.
How
To Calibrate a Hygrometer
To
calibrate your hygrometer you will need table salt, a see through container
such as a Ziplock baggie, and a small shallow open container, like a bottle
cap.
Place
a teaspoon or so of salt in the shallow container and add a few drops of
water to get it wet. You don't want to dissolve it, just get a good damp
pile of salt in your container. Remember, you don't want a salt water solution,
just damp salt. Place the shallow container in the baggie along with the
hygrometer.
Seal
the baggie with some air trapped inside (so it is not tight against the
hygrometer) and let it sit. Allow this to stabilize for at least 6 hours
(don't rush it). After it has stabilized, check the hygrometer reading
without opening up the baggie. It should be exactly 75%. If not, you can
simply adjust the reading by turning the dial on the back of the hygrometer
with a small screwdriver.
How
To Charge a Humidifier
To
fill or charge your humidifier, you should remove it from the
humidor and dampen the humidifier in a 50/50 solution of distilled
water and propylene glycol (PG), usually referred to as activator
solution. You are not looking to soak the humidifier, just get
it damp, usually a few squirts of activator solution will be
enough to keep it charged for a few months. This procedure should
be repeated when your Cuban Cigars start to
get dry or when your hygrometer reads the humidity as being
lower than you prefer.
Simply,
PG is a hydroscopic substance. It absorbs moisture from the environment
(like a salt shaker does in humid weather). The distilled water evaporates
until the ambient humidity approaches 70%. At that point the PG won't allow
any more moisture in the air. Conversely, if there is too much moisture
in the air, the PG solution absorbs the excess, bringing the system down
to 70% as well.
Some
people figure that instead of buying distilled water, they will simply
use tap water, or even filtered water. Filtered tap water is full of all
the dissolved minerals which will ultimately plug your humidifier. The
PH is balanced in tap water with chemicals which may interfere with the
PG and cause variations in your humidity. |
