to all you Maestros,

i live in Norway and just recieved a box of Oliva cigars that I ordered from the US. The shipping took almost two weeks (!). The cigars seem to be "hard" and dry. Is that normal, and if yes, how long should I let them rest before I start smoking them?

They probably are a little dry. What kind of Olivas did you get? Just curious as to what wrapper they had.
If you can, start storing them at 50% RH for a couple of days and bring them to 70%. They might start to crack overwise.

thanks, they are serie o maduro robusto. The cigars look fine, so hopefully the conditioning you reccomended will bring them back to normal.

A conservative rule-of-thumb is to let cigars stabilize in a controlled environment (your humidor)for at least 30 days before smoking. Since yours have been in transit for a fairly long time and appear to be dry, 60 or even 90 days would be better.

A little extra humidor time won't hurt and may even round out any rough edges of that Nicaraguan tobacco. I don't know about the O series but for the V series, it seems that 8 to 10 months contributes to a smooth, round smoke.

Me, being the silly guy I am. I just put my Oliva Serie S Churchill's straight into my humidor with the humidity at 70% and some of them cracked actually quite a few of them did. This is a mistake that I hope never to make again and I hope that No one else will either lol.

With a maduro wrapper, I would do 60 days or so, maduros are coarse and thick, and will soak up a lot of moisture. Olivas are not particularly strong cigars, so I would not let them go much beyond that.

A tight draw for the O is normal, so don't panic FYI. Be sure to tell of your experiences with the cigar when you get around to it.

Thanks you all, I guess I'll let them rest for a couple of months and try another one then.

Because the cigars are dry to very dry. You should place them in a double zip lock bag and place them in your humi. Allow them to rest there for about a month to a month and half. After the first rest has been completed, remove the outer bag, and then place the single bag with the cigars back in your humi. Again allow the cigars to rest for a month or two. After the second rest, remove the last zip lock bag and place in humi, again to rest.

This two bag drill will allow your cigars to come back at a very slow rate. Hopefully slow enough not to crack.

Good Luck

Following this method, should the bags be sealed? Are they permeable enough for moisture to get in them? Just curious...

quote:

Originally posted by hawksfan75:
Following this method, should the bags be sealed? Are they permeable enough for moisture to get in them? Just curious...

I believe it wouldn't matter (fold the top over or try to seal the top), pretty sure the bags are permeable enough...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bones,

if the bags aren't sealed then they will be the same humidity as the rest of the humidor...the humidity will come in through the top of the bag and then humidify the cigar and making the point of having 2 bags around it moot.