I was given a Cohiba 25-anniversary edition cigar the other day, and I have to say it sucked.
The draw was next to impossible, even after 'poking' it the 1st time, and then regressing so much, a 2nd time. Even then, almost impossible to draw. It also had a acidic taste to it.
Could this be due to the way it's stored? My buddy tends to store his cigars in high humidity (81 at the time).
I was deeply disappointed. I had to resort to a Padron 5000 in the end just to make it a somewhat enjoyable evening.
I sincerely thought it was a fake.
What's the key to ageing, storing such a cigar, etc?
I have to agree with PF and BK in this matter. I have smoked cigars that were over humidified and they just taste horrible. This level of humidity can also cause mold to start forming on or in the cigar which will completely ruin a good cigar. CC's definitely smoke better when maintained at 65-67% RH and NC's are usually best stored at 68-70% RH. Hope this helps.
"Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man's enjoyment of his cigar" - Mark Twain
Some people also use a propylene glycol solution to help keep the RH at a certain level. I've tried using it before, but it seemed to add an undesirable flavor to the cigars IMHO. I only use distilled water in my humi and keep a regular check on it. Temperature is almost as equally important as the RH due to tobacco bettles. Most say the ideal storage temp is 70 degrees, but some prefer to store at cooler temps, around 65 degrees. I try to keep mine as close to 70 as possible, but as a general rule of thumb, you're better off being on the cool side, rather than the warm side. I've known some beginers to store their cigars in the refrigerator, and I would not personally recommend this. I would get a ziploc bag and a humi-pak and put them in there for storage before using the frig. If you don't want to purchase the humi-paks, ask you local B&M for some that are used in some of the cigar boxes. I know the Fuente line uses these when they box their cigars and the B&M's usually just throw them out when they open the boxes.
"Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man's enjoyment of his cigar" - Mark Twain
My buddy tends to store his cigars in high humidity (81 at the time).
Tell your buddy he has sent a dinner invitation to beetles. Food menu includes his cigars only. But he should also warn the invitees that there might be some mold on their food very soon, so they've got to hurry up.
Seriously, I think even Behike would behave as a dog rocket at that humidity.
------- "And it is not just a business. It’s a love affair." Paul B.K. Garmirian about making cigars
I was given a Cohiba 25-anniversary edition cigar...
Storage issues aside, I'm not aware of such a cigar existing.
Now there's a point. Not on Trevor's site certainly. The closest thing is the 25th anniversary of cubatabacco humidor containing 50 coronas of no particular marca, and which I imagine is quite unbelievably rare.
"You want WHAT on the fu<king ceiling?" - Michelangelo, 1566
Originally posted by Sir Buford: I was given a Cohiba 25-anniversary edition cigar the other day, and I have to say it sucked.
The draw was next to impossible, even after 'poking' it the 1st time, and then regressing so much, a 2nd time. Even then, almost impossible to draw. It also had a acidic taste to it.
Could this be due to the way it's stored? My buddy tends to store his cigars in high humidity (81 at the time).
I was deeply disappointed. I had to resort to a Padron 5000 in the end just to make it a somewhat enjoyable evening.
I sincerely thought it was a fake.
What's the key to ageing, storing such a cigar, etc?
Ok, we know this was fake so lets get passed that. For CC's and for the most part most cigars in my opinion smoke better under 70% humidity. For CC's, if you can hold steady at 65% for a few months you will see a world of difference in taste. I store all my cigars between 65% to 68% but try to stay at 65%. All my smokes taste and perform better this way.
Thanks for all the advice (I'll pass it along to him). I think he may have just filled his humidifier, but regardless, he says he likes his cigars moist and tends to keep it in the mid to high 70s.
I keep mine between 65 - 69 Rh.
I'll try to post a picture of the band. I'm pretty sure it had a 25 on it, along with the word anniversary or something to that affect.
But he should also warn the invitees that there might be some mold on their food very soon, so they've got to hurry up. 
