What Do I Do With My New Cigars and Humidor

So, Christmas has come and gone, and a kindly friend or relative gave you some cigars, or a humidor, or both. What do you do with them now? You're not a regular cigar smoker, so you want to learn how to take the best care of your new acquisitions. Here's a list of do's and don't's that will help:

With your cigars,
"DO"
- keep them in their little wrappers, (if they came wrapped)
- keep them in your new, (or old), humidor
- inspect your cigars occasionally, (make sure the wrappers are intact and they're still humidified)
- share your cigars with friends who show an interest in them, (nothing adds to a cigar like good company to share the smoking experience)
- smoke them yourself, (don't keep them forever, waiting for just the right moment to smoke them. You have 'em, enjoy 'em.)

"DON'T"
- leave your cigars lying around, (they WILL dry out, even on a rainy, humid day)
- store your cigars in the refrigerator, (a refrigerator's job is to suck the moisture OUT of things)
- smoke 1/2 of a cigar, put it down, then come back to it later, (cigars NEVER taste as good after they've been sitting around and are then re-lit)
- share just your crappy cigars with friends, (share the wealth, and let others enjoy what you enjoy.)

With your humidor:

"DO"
- break it in properly, (see a previous blog post about the "Care and Feeding of Your Humidor)
- put it somewhere where you have easy access to your smokes
- check the humidity regularly, (even when you think the ambient humidity is keeping your cigars fresh)
- use humidor fluid, (propylene glycol), distilled water, or proper humidifying gel crystals
- keep your humidor at the proper temperature and humidity--approximately 70 degrees F, and 68%-72% humidity--a little variation either side of these numbers WON'T destroy your stogies)
- check your cigars as well as your humidity, (to be certain your smokes are staying fresh)
- stock some premium, top-shelf sticks in your humidor that you know are always waiting for you

"DON'T"
- leave your humidor open to the air any longer than necessary, (especially in the dry summer months)
- let your humidor get overly warm, cool, dry, or moist, (see above suggestions)
- use tap water, (sediments have a tendency to gum up your humidifying brick over time)
- use anything to humidify your cigars unless you are CERTAIN it's the proper thing to use.

All that said, with a little care and attention, your cigars will remain fresh and smoke-able. It does take a little attention, but like any other hobby or endeavor, practice will make it second nature, and you'll know that you can always go to your humidor and be greeted by fresh cigars.

FRIDAY NIGHTS DOWN AT THE LOUNGE

What are you doing on Friday nights?

Down at the cigar lounge, we're trying to have some sort of event every Friday night. Last Friday we had a barbecue and movie. You missed it? Well, next Friday, when you come to downtown Vacaville for the Creekwalk music series, you should stop in to the cigar lounge and see what's happening.

Maybe it'll be a wine-tasting evening, where you can sample some new wine and a cigar or two. Maybe it'll be a barbecue and a movie again. Maybe it'll be a cigar event, where you can meet a representative of a cigar company and take advantage of great cigar deals. Or, maybe it'll be an evening of meeting other cigar aficionados and enjoying a leisurely time of chatting, trying some new cigars, and end up adding our lounge as one more stop on your regular Friday night itinerary.

Hope to see you here.

Names In The Cigar World

As you buy more cigars, frequent more cigar stores, and become more knowledgeable, you will undoubtedly run across several names that seem to dominate the cigar industry. Jose "Pepin" Garcia is one of those names. As one of the leaders in the cigar making world, his history is varied and interesting.


Jose "Pepin" Garcia

Early life

Christened José García, Pepin was born into a large family of tobacco growers/cigar makers in Báez, a town in Villa Clara province, Cuba.


Marriage and children

His son, Jaime Garcia is following in his father's footsteps. He and his father created the blend for the Don Pepin Garcia Serie JJ brand. His daughter, Janny O. Garcia, is also involved in the family business.


Tobacco career

Cuban years

Don Pepin began his life with tobacco in December 1961 at the age of 11 when he began working in a factory in Báez owned by an uncle. In March 1963, he began working at the Félix Rodríguez export cigar factory in Báez where he worked until he emigrated to Nicaragua in 2001. He spent thirty years in Cuba developing his skills as a torcedero (cigar roller) and blender, earned numerous accolades for his blending abilities and achieved the highest ranking possible as a cigar roller, Class 8 (Master). Among the awards he won was the Productivity Prize for rolling 320 Julietas (a vitola of 7 x 48 in size) in four hours. The Cuban press often compared the speed and dexterity of his rolling to that of a magician. He is also a Tabaquero Maestro (Master Blender), and was also a “teacher of teachers” in the arts of blending and rolling cigars.

He helped blend cigars such as Cohiba, Partagas, and Montecristo. During the 1990s, he was in charge of Quality Assurance for the Cohiba brand, and was also a consultant to several Cuban cigar makers. Also during the 1990s, he was accounted Cuba's most productive master roller.

He left Cuba in 2001, going first to Nicaragua where he worked with AGANORSA, a major tobacco grower. In 2002, AGANORSA merged with Tropical Tobacco, and the combined company continued as Tabacalera Tropical. Don Pepin stayed on for a while as a blending consultant to the new, combined company. He then went to Miami, Florida, where he continued to work with Tropical, and also set up a small rolling operation of his own in the Tropical warehouse, but soon established his own company and factory. The company, El Rey de los Habanos, Inc. was begun in June 2002,[1] but was not formally incorporated until December of that year. He is currently the President, and his daughter Janny is the treasurer. The corporate offices are at 1120 SW 8th St, Miami, Florida.


Cigars

In the short time he has been on his own, Pepin Garcia has moved from a relative unknown to a major name in the "boutique" brand arena. In addition to his own brands, he has blended and makes several others for various companies. His skill as a master roller has often been recognized. Pete Johnson said that his "unusually adept skill is evidenced by the fine construction of the cigar". By 2007, his reputation as a superior cigar maker had grown and he was tapped to create and manufacture a completely new brand (San Cristobal) for a major premium cigar company, Ashton Distributors, Inc.
The first brand Pepin made on his own was Tatuaje for Pete Johnson, and after this brand received high ratings in Cigar Aficionado magazine, Pepin was suddenly in great demand and many people wanted a Don Pepin brand. The tiny Miami factory was unable to keep up with the growing demand, and it became necessary to open a second factory, Tabacalera Cubana, in Estelí, Nicaragua.
Don Pepin’s goal is to re-create the Cuban style as closely as possible without using Cuban tobacco. He has found that Nicaraguan tobaccos render the flavor closest to the Habanos he has in mind, although other tobaccos are used as wrappers from time to time, notably Ecuadoran grown Connecticut shade. His cigars are not for everyone, as they are medium- to full-bodied and can pack quite a punch.
All of the cigars made at his factories are made in the Cuban style and are finished with a triple cap. In addition, every box is marked with the date of manufacture, a practice which is beginning to gain favor outside of Cuba, where it has always been done.

Care And Feeding Of Your Humidor

Humidor Care

If you are planning on keeping your cigars for longer than 1-2 weeks, you will need a humidor. Cigars must be kept below the maximum temperature of 73°F (23°C) and between 65-72% humidity. Ideal conditions are 70°F (21°C) and 70% humidity.

Proper cigar storage is crucial. If you do not store your cigars properly you may encounter some of the following problems: uneven or too rapid burn, harsh or bitter taste, broken wrapper, difficulty lighting or keeping the cigar lit, mold, and tiny holes in your cigars, a sign of tobacco beetle infestation.

When you first set up a humidor, you must check the humidity level at least every two weeks to ensure that the humidity does not vary. Once a month (more often in arid weather conditions) add a propylene glycol solution (recommended) or distilled water to the humidifier. Once your humidor is stable and you have been taking care of it for a while, you will learn how long you can go without adding water or activation solution.

You should never use tap water as it contains minerals and chlorine that can clog the humidifier’s pores and inhibit operation.

Store your humidor in a cool, dry place to prevent mold growth. Avoid placing your cigars in direct sunlight. If the temperature and humidity get too high, cigars can develop a potentially damaging fungus or mold. Another hazard of cigars stored in too hot or humid an environment is an infestation of worms called lacioderma. The worms lay eggs inside cigars and burrow out, forming tiny holes in the wrapper and metamorphosing into tiny, brown beetles. If you discover the presence of worm holes in your cigars, remove and destroy the affected cigars immediately, and then carefully inspect all the cigars in your humidor for signs of infestation.

A humidor’s proper moisture and temperature must be created before storing cigars. To setup your humidor, follow these simple instructions:
1. Submerge the black plastic humidifiers in activation solution or distilled water until well saturated. Dry off the surface of the humidifier and place on a towel for approximately one hour to make sure that no dripping occurs.
2. With a clean, lint-free cloth dampened with distilled water wipe the interior of the humidor. This step can be skipped if you are afraid of damaging the cedar interior, as may happen if the wood becomes too wet.
3. Leave a damp sponge in the humidor resting on a plastic bag. Make sure there is no direct contact between the sponge and the humidor. Instead of a sponge you may also use a shot glass full of water.
4. Attach the humidifiers and the hygrometer to the inside of the lid. Also, place the humidifiers in the bottom holders of the humidor if applicable.
5. Close the empty humidor for at least twelve hours or overnight.
6. Open the humidor and remove the sponge and the plastic bag.
7. Close the humidor again for an additional twelve hours. Your humidor is now ready to store cigars. When placing cigars in the humidor, make sure the cigars do not block the humidifier’s vents.

To check if the hygrometer is reading correctly, use the salt method to test its calibration. You just need to:
1. Place some salt in a bottle cap or small cup and dampen it with a few drops of water (without dissolving it).
2. Carefully place the wet salt and the hygrometer inside a see-through container and close tightly. You can use a zip lock bag provided it seals well and you leave some air inside as well.
3. Let it sit for at least 6 hours and note the reading on the hygrometer without opening the container. It should be exactly 75%, the difference is how much your hygrometer is off.
4. If needed, adjust the needle to 75% by turning the screw on the back.

If you follow these instructions correctly you should have a stable humidor that will keep your cigars in perfect smoking conditions for a very long time.

What's new at PF Cigars?

What's new at PF Cigars? Rather, that's Piano Fuerte Cigar Lounge. You may have noticed the new signage...window decal and awning. If not, stop by 333 Merchant / Ste. C and check it out. Besides the signs, we're also doing a bit of remodeling on the inside.

The humidor has been reworked, remodeled, and redone, and by the time you read this, it should be finished. And, lurking inside the walls of our remodeled humidor are loads of cigars.

We not only carry our own line of special blends with the Piano Fuerte label, but we have an extensive selection of premium cigars from major manufacturers.

Our ROCKY PATEL event of last Saturday was successful, and we want to thank all of our friends and customers who stopped by to enjoy a cigar, some snacks, and a whole lot of conversation. A pleasant by-product of that event is that overflow of ROCKY PATEL cigars that we have in our cigar humidor...Rocky Patel Vintage 1990, 1992, 1999, Olde World Reserve, Edge, Renaissance.

If you're looking for great cigars and a great place to smoke the, stop by and visit. Nothing's finer than enjoying a cigar with folks who stop by.

Welcome to the world of cigars.

Q: What's a good cigar?
A: Whatever you enjoy smoking.

That's not meant to be flippant. Like wine connoisseurs, cigar enthusiasts have wide and varied tastes in what they smoke. There is no simple or pat answer to that question. A good cigar is one that should give you some amount of pleasure while you're smoking it and, hopefully, give you cause to buy another one just like it. Those taste may change daily, or even during the course of a single day. A mild cigar in the morning may not be as satisfying later in the day, or after a large meal. A full-bodied cigar may suit your taste today, but in the company of others, perhaps at a dinner party, or even lounging at a barbecue in the backyard that taste may change toward something more medium or even mild-bodied. Your favorite cigar this week maybe be a different brand, strength, size, and country of origin than it was a month or two ago.

So, my favorite answer to the question, "What's a good cigar" is "The one that I'm smoking right now."