Dry Box?

[tippexx]

I've been trying this using an empty Cohiba Magicos box. It sits on top of my desk. But a cigar box, even a nicely put together one, isn't a humi it doesn't have as good a seal. I keep a hygro on my desk, and frequently the ambient humidity in the room, especially if it's raining or has been foggy goes well above 75? .... is this dry boxing thing really any use?

[tippexx]

.... I should also have added .... the humidity goes sky high every night when Chris has a bath .... or when she's doing the ironing!

[cohibaIV]

What's the story behind dry boxing??

[Stevieboy]

What's the story behind dry boxing??

Seems like we need a course 101 on this subject as I'm not au fait with it either. I did a wee Google a while back but couldn't draw much of a conclusion. I can understand trying to slightly dry out an over-humidified cigar but, surely the whole point of humidification is to replicate the humidity in Cuba. Do Cubans themselves dry-box before lighting up?? If not, why do it at all!?!?!

[giga]

I'd like to know a bit more too.
I sometimes leave a cigar out for a couple of hours before smoking if it's too soft.
Is this the same idea?

[whisky77]

Dry Box? KY?

I sometimes take my cigar out of the Humi a couple of hours before smoking due to my Humi being at a slightly higher measurement, as i like my cigars springy to the touch, but i have never heard of this "dry box" technique.

Tell us more somebody!

[TJCoro]

Dry Box!

Umm. I've heard of 'dry boxing', but it ain't got nut'n to do with puros!






You'd better not be talking about me, Bag Boy?


Hey BB! I keep my blu-balls in a dry box...does that count?


(Hurumph!) Have I mentioned lately that you two are idiots??? (Not Catalina Joy, of course )

[Stevieboy]

Ooh that Catalina and her dry box....just how the sailors like her

Umm. I've heard of 'dry boxing', but it ain't got nut'n to do with puros!






You'd better not be talking about me, Bag Boy?


Hey BB! I keep my blu-balls in a dry box...does that count?


(Hurumph!) Have I mentioned lately that you two are idiots??? (Not Catalina Joy, of course )

[TJCoro]

Mr. Lonely!

Ooh that Catalina and her dry box....just how the sailors like her

Any one but you, right senor steviethesad!

[SeanP]

For those that don't know "Dry Boxing" is putting a cigar in a non seasoned humidor or cigar box that has a low humidity level in order to remove some of the moisture from the cigar.

I smoke more NCs than CCs and most of the NCs I smoke are maduros. Maduros usually have thicker and hence more moist wrappers so I tend to dry box them the most. Usually kept at 68% RH in a humidor/tupperdor/coolboxidor I find that some cigars smoke better a bit drier so in the 'dry box' they go a day or so before smoking. So why not just keep all of them at a lower RH you ask? Mostly space and my personal storage solutions...don't want to keep them all at a lower RH so I just use this method. Simples.

Arf - if you have a box that is not 'seasoned' then only the interior humidity level will matter since the wood will be drawing out some of the moisture in the cigar. But I would pop a hygro in there and see how it holds over a few days. If it's real dry don't box them for as long. If it's too moist, box them a bit longer. But if they are smoking better after being dry boxed then I say keep doing what you're doing .

[whisky77]

Cheers.

Thanks for further clarification on this mate.

[cohibaIV]

Wonder if I should do a bit of dry boxing for my NCs then? as they always tend to burn a bit crap when taken straight out of the humi...

[whisky77]

Weird!

Wonder if I should do a bit of dry boxing for my NCs then? as they always tend to burn a bit crap when taken straight out of the humi...

That`s weird, I always think the NC burn better straight from the Humi.

I will try this dry box thing and see if it makes any difference.

[TJCoro]

Mamma's got a dry box, Daddy never sleeps at night.

That`s weird, I always think the NC burn better straight from the Humi.

Don't listen to him, mate...his humidor IS a Dry Box!





Hee-Hee! That's what she said BB!

[Puff Scotty]

Dry Box?
Hi Tipp, I'll say straight away although I've heard the term "dry box". I believe it should just be called a conditioning humidor, historically your cigars were kept by your merchant & you only had a small humidor indoors, that culture is now changing, obviously according to affluence size would vary.
The purpose of your conditioning humidor would be to raise (or lower) the RH of the cigars to your personal taste.
I personally, as I have a limited palette, enjoy a 'wet' smoke whereas most purists with a better cigar education believe a slightly drier cigar releases more of the tobacco constituents when smoked.
I think there is to much emphasis spent on 'accurate to the 'Nth' degree' type of cigar keeping, experiment with old dress boxes & find out what smokes best for you.