[enkindled]

Hi B.O.T.L's! This is my first post here so first of all warmest regards to all my brothers and sisters.

I got into the cigar hobby a couple of years back and have been reading a few cigar books and forums on aging cigars (while enjoying quite a few cigars along the way) . All of them mention a coolidor, humidor or tupperdors for storing and aging cigars. I was wondering if the same principle applies to ziplock bags?

I remember buying 10 loose sticks of My Father Le Bijou 1922 in Aug 2020, and the first one I smoked was the harshest most off-putting cigar that I had put in my mouth. Full of ammonia and just plain bad (shocking, as it was the cigar of the year in 2015 I believe). I then stored them remaining sticks with 65 rh boveda pack in a ziplock. Fast forward May 2022, I revisited that long forgotten ziplock bag and took one cigar out. The cellophane was super yellow and when I took the stick out, it had that beautiful grayish white plume on it. Smoked it and it was incredible. I was shockingly surprised by what a couple of years (give or take) had done to the cigar. Full flavored, smooth and just a pleasure to smoke. Still can't believe that it was the same cigar I smoked back in 2020.

This got me thinking.. Is it possible to age cigars in a device as simple as a ziplock (I know it's ugly) with proper humidification? Would love to hear if any one of you have had a similar experience. BTW that boveda pack lasted full 1.75 years in the ziplock! Otherwise I remember replacing them once every 4-6 months in a traditional humidor setup.

 

[Humphrey's Ghost]

Polyethylene is a more unstable plastic and will break down more readily over time
The same is not true of polypropylene
The hydroscopic nature of cigars make them susceptible to taste and odor contamination from anything that is not stable and benign, especially over long periods of time
Many years ago I stored some of my sticks in Ziploc bags over a five or six year period
It began to affect the flavor of the cigars



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[Rondo]

Good cigars deserve better.
Even Swishers comes in a box.

 

[enkindled]

Good cigars deserve better.
Even Swishers comes in a box.

Absolutely! I live in a small apartment currently so space is an issue. I need a good temporary solution for a couple of years by when I am planning to get my own house where I intend to get a full fledged cigar storage and aging system. I guess I can store them in Tupperware boxes? I have tried using a humidor but it has been such a hassle to maintain humidity and quite a few of my cigars got messed up. I know I need more practice and patience to get it right, but I also don't want to be checking on my stogies every month, given that I travel quite a bit.

 

[Humphrey's Ghost]

Tupperware is your best bet


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[BlueRidgePuffer]

Either Tupperware or Boveda makes a nice cheap acrylic humidor that does the same thing. I think you can find 50cta for around $50 last I checked

 

[Rondo]

Any airtight container and some 65% bovida is all you’ll ever need.

 

[Dual-500]

Polyethylene is a more unstable plastic and will break down more readily over time
The same is not true of polypropylene
The hydroscopic nature of cigars make them susceptible to taste and odor contamination from anything that is not stable and benign, especially over long periods of time
Many years ago I stored some of my sticks in Ziploc bags over a five or six year period
It began to affect the flavor of the cigars

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Trying to understand.

I've been using freezer rated 1 gallon size zip lock bags with a Boveda in it for years. They are safe for food so I figured cigars would be fine.

So from what I have read here, tupperware plastic is fine, but not zip lock bags?

This isn't intended to be argumentative, but educational.

Pictured in my profile is a box of Bolivar Belicoso's in a 1 gallon Zip Lock freezer bag with a Boveda, sitting atop the humidor inside a converted beverage cooler.

Thx.

 

[Humphrey's Ghost]

Trying to understand.

I've been using freezer rated 1 gallon size zip lock bags with a Boveda in it for years. They are safe for food so I figured cigars would be fine.

So from what I have read here, tupperware plastic is fine, but not zip lock bags?

This isn't intended to be argumentative, but educational.

Thx.

I’m not a scientist but it is my understanding that the chemical bonds in polyethylene can begin to break down over time, emitting undesirable gasses, although as we are all aware, they certainly do not decompose entirely.
Theoretically the same thing is not true of polypropylene that is used in such things as coolers.
25 years ago I had my sticks in coolers but separated by Ziploc bags.
Over a period of years I noticed a degradation in the flavor of most of my cigars, so I switched to wood and paper separators and the flavor improved across the board.
If you haven’t noticed any I’ll effects, then I wouldn’t worry about it.
It is also possible that freezer bags are more stable than regular Ziplocs.

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[Dual-500]

Thanks for sharing the experience. I've been looking for an acrylic humidor to replace the bags with. In the end, I'll probably go with a larger beverage cooler so there's plenty of room for everything I do with it. Then I can fit larger acrylic or even regular table top rigs in it for seasoning & aging.

In the early days I wouldn't have thought I'd go this far with storage, especially past the first thermoelectric wine cooler. But now it's sub compartmentalized for different uses.

Really enjoy the variety and having some aged stuff in there for when I'm in the mood for something special or to share one with a buddy. Have some 8-10 year stuff now in the mix.

I don't use any open drawers in the cooler, it's either in the 7 drawer humidor or still in the box and the box mummified inside 1 gallon zip lock freezer bags with Boveda's. The cooler has 4 lbs of silica sand in two open top tupperware containers in the bottom under the 7 drawer humidor.

The longer I smoke, 25+ years now, the more I like having some variety.

So much to learn.

 

[bpegler]

As many have suggested, Tupperware is probably your best bet. Also, I think that you’re discussing resting rather than aging cigars. Real aging probably starts at 7+ years, and can last for decades. I’m not sure that any of the cigars you mentioned would benefit from real long term aging.
Enjoy your cigars, and have fun with the hobby!


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[Rondo]

I’m not a scientist but…