JohnnyRock

Actually, you bring up a good point which I neglected to mention. If you're the type of person that has many different types/brands of smokes, then it makes sense to keep them individually wrapped (assuming they come that way) to keep the different flavors from "marrying" with one another.

That's what I dig about large humidors, the ability to keep entire boxes together within 1 central unit. I met a guy that used an old commercial-sized Pepsi cooler as his humidor. He lined it with Spanish cedar and installed an electric humidification unit. I think I saw it with about 150-200 boxes of various smokes with room to spare.

okbenzo

Thanks guys! I started with unwrapping, and it is true, the smells are wonderful! I Keep those that are boxed just that way, and wrapped stays wrapped. I have a couple of the 250 humis, nothing like AMGFan though...totally jealous on the stix and the new GTR! I really appreciate the input, best wishes.

Steve

C280 Sport

Thats very interesting about the cooler. DIY Humidors I never would thought of doing that but maybe someday lol. A good example of putting them unwrapped is today a close friend of mine came over and he had a Moya Cigar. I personally do not care for them but he does. I ended up having a VegaFina something no where near as strong but he did not finish his due to being very long. He put it out cut it and put it in one of my humidors. I had to take everything out and consolidate into one and leave his alone because it would stink it up.

JohnnyRock

I've been looking into turning a Red Bull or Monster mini-fridge into a humi, I just need to find one! Wine coolers (fridges) also make cool-looking (no pun intended) humis because they usually have glass doors and internal lighting.

I just picked up a free-standing CAO humidor that can hold about 400 sticks. I'll post pics in a bit, I'm still prepping the interior with a humidifier.

SoCalCLK

Can't wait to see that CAO humidor!

C280 Sport

Awesome JR. Cannot wait to see pics of it!

JohnnyRock

I'm such a slacker! However, thanks to a generous care package, I did recently puff a "La Flor Dominica double ligero" and it was outstanding! Sorry, no pictures of the actual smoke, but it was quite tasty and burned well.

AMGfan

Finally got to the golf course yesterday after a 6 week layoff and being such a Padron *****, I dipped into the stash:

Series 1926 #4
1964 Anniversary Piramide
1964 Family Reserve 44yrs
the bad boy 80yr

Needless to say, each smoke was fantastic...great construction, ash was whitish grey, sweet draw, and just a pleasant time had by me... Sunday...golf with a buddy, daylight savings time, decent weather (windy though), and no cell phone...priceless.

Haven't ordered a box of anything in awhile...decided I needed to start smoking what I already had... I did have to buy another 2000ct electronic humidor...it really doesn't hold anything like that though since I still keep the bottom of the box of cigars to hold them. It really is the only way for me to inventory what I have and to tell me what I need to re-order...probably isn't the most practical use of humidor space but the alternative to me just takes too much time.

Humidor #1 (maybe 4 months old)


Humidor #2 (new)


1st Row: Padron love...

2nd Row: More Padron love w/ a box of Cohibas hiding back there...

3rd Row: Arturo Fuente, Anejo Shark #77, Opus X Fuente Fuente Double Maduro, and Padron Exclusivo...sweet love...:0

4th Row: Did I mention I love Padrons?

5th Row: Highlights: Opus X Sharks, AF Bestsellers, and 2011 Opus X Charity Box (Google it up...it is EPIC...this one is to smoke another box is in the other humidor to age)

6th Row: Opus X Double Robustos, Tatuaje Cabinet Noellas, Joya de Nicaraguas (*** kickers)

JohnnyRock

Ya think?!?! Hahaha...Where ya been, JR?

JohnnyRock

OK, I got off my fat **** and actually figured out how to upload pics from my Nikon. BTW, this little digi camera uploader sucks *****. Not the most intuitive software to upload fotos to. Thumbs down for Nikon software.

Anyhow, here's the humidor I got:



Cool-looking zebra wood veneer, but the veneer looks like it's cloudy from when I was humidifying the unit...I might have over-done it a tad....Anyone know how to fix this?

This thing actually stand about 40" high. The legs could use a sanding & new coat of paint. here's the interior, it has 4 drawers, but as you can see, I pulled out the bottom drawer to make room for the humidification unit (Oasis XL):



As you can see, plenty of room for shmokes! For comparison, that's about 20 Trinidad belicosos:




Here's a close-up of the humidification unit. Not sure, but I'm thinking of cutting a section of the bottom out and fabricating a separate compartment to house the Oasis XL unit. Trouble is, the damn power cord hangs down and is rather unsightly. I might tack it down with some staples to the back and leg of the humidor just to keep looks tidy.

AMGfan

JR...not sure what could get that foggy look out of the wood? Have you tried Pledge or a wood polish?

I'm even tempted to suggest even some car polish/wax...but you might want to try that on the backside of the humidor first.

Jon

JohnnyRock

Jon, I tried the furniture polish/wax thing, I think the clear coat has actually "lifted" or separated away from the veneer below. I bought the humi second-hand so it definitely has some bumps and bruises. I may lightly sand the clear off and re-spray the whole unit to give it a deeper finish. However, I'm hesitant to do so because I know the cool-looking zebra wood veneer is probably not too thick.

BTW, that newer humi of yours is spectacular! Especially your "stock"! Haha...I'm gonna start calling you "Senor Padron"! I love Padrons but need to stock up on'em.

I noticed you're also a big Opus X fan. I should send you the ones I have stored back in Cali. I bought a dozen or so back in '97(?) from Mike's Cigars when you couldn't get them anywhere west of the Mississippi. Mike's wouldn't even sell more then 2 of each kind they had, so I bought as many as I could. I think I actually had the stupidity to buy torpedoes/belicosos at $33/pop! That's how rare they were at the time. Great-looking band, but over-rated for my taste.

Thanks to your recommendations, I'm going to be adding My Father, Man O'Wars and Tatuaje's to the stable. I also like the 5 Vegas triple A's and La Flor Dominica's.

JohnnyRock

Speaking of which, look what showed up today:



And for only $5 more they threw in this nice little sampler:



Overall, a nice package!



Oh yeah, these babies are pretty sweet, too...

AMGfan

LOL...JR...don't go crazy on me. Cigar fever!!!

AMGfan

JR...the first time I bought an Opus X it was disappointing for me...BUT I aged the rest of the Opus X I bought and smoke them about 6 months later and they were fantastic...much smoother smoke after some time resting.

I still have about another 4 months on those Opus X to make it a year...I'm going to smoke the heck out of them after the year of aging is up...

The Padrons are different...after a week of resting (after shipping)...I break them out and they are already great. No long aging process...

You should smoke the Opus X from 1997 now...if they were stored properly then you will probably feel different about them.

Jon

C280 Sport

I have enjoying Jon's carepackage. I am now a Pardon ***** like you. Thank you for getting me hooked. I love them! I have not even touched the Opus X's yet because I ran out and bought more Pardon's lol

JohnnyRock

Jon's a generous guy, isn't he?! He's helped influence some recent purchases and turned me on to some great smokes.

Can you guys tell me the taste differences between the Padrons? I'm about to fire up my last Padron Anniversary belicoso (which I'm thinking should be spectacular since I haven't smoked one in years!) and will probably want to get some new stock.

Fired up one of the new Victor Sinclair's tonight, this one came in the sample pack along with the VS 10th Annivesaries I bought. The one without the band is a VS "Primeros Tabacos". Nice, short belicoso shape (I like my cigars like I prefer my women - curvy and Cuban! Don't tell the gf, she ain't Cuban!). Nice smoke: I'd classify as a med-full with a bit of spice to it. Not peppery, but spicy. Fairly even burn and smooth draw, these haven't even been in the humi for 2 weeks yet. I'm sure they'll even out with a bit more aging.



Excuse the crappy pic, this was taken with my fone, wanted to try it out. The other smoke (w/band) is a Padilla 1948 Sun Grown. Not bad. Cheap as hell ($40/bundle of 20!). Great wrapper, med flavor, nice "puttering around the home" shmoke.

Hard to tell from this pic, but I cut the end at an angle. I noticed AMGfan cut his cigars at an angle, so I've tried that a few times. Cool way to do it. Most people who I saw doing this I would assume are just sloppy, but not AMG. I knew there must be a method to his madness (although I'm not sure what it is, I never asked him). I usually use a punch, especially if the cap/head is flat.

AMGfan

Great day of golf and cigars...so so front (42) but decent back (39)...hit my handicap and had some primo Padrons (#2, Exclusivo, and an 80yr...all maduros) and sweet Opus X Shark.

PS Sorry for the crappy pics...

C280 Sport

Pics still are good enough to see those amazing Opus X I have not had a stick in a couple weeks now. The weather has been pretty bad up here and I have not had much free time to enjoy one. Jon I am looking at comming down to Florida on June 5th. Staying for 2 weeks and then heading back to NY for 3 weeks and then back to FL for the month. We will be getting togeather for Golf I hope

AMGfan

George...cool! I'll be on vacation second week of June...headed to California...flying to LA then driving my wife and kids on a road trip on the PCH to San Francisco. Then flying out of SF.

I believe we can squeeze in a round or two when you come down...I "think" I have a Padron or Opus ready for you.

J

JohnnyRock

Hi guys, sorry for the boring stock image picture, but I didn't snap a foto while I was smoking this lovely gem. This is my impromptu review of the RP "Decade" torpedo.

Let me begin by saying this was a great smoke from start to finish. From the first puff I knew this was going to be a nice stick. I'm a fan of many of RP's various blends, but this one was definitely a stand out.

Smooth, even draw and great flavor. I'd classify as a medium-bodied smoke with lot's of flavor, not overpowering at all. Pretty damn creamy, if I may say so. This would be a nice addition to anyone's humidor, even AMGfans! Hahaha...actually, props to JR for the assist on making this review possible.

JohnnyRock

OK, I'll begin by apologizing for not providing a proper picture of the actual cigar I smoked! But I just want to give you guys an idea of the band and how they are packed.

Anyhow, thanks to AMGfan, he turned me on to Victor Sinclairs several months ago. I've tried several different blends from their Triple Corojo to the Vintage Select. Like the Triple Corojo, this one is a full-bodied smoke, he-man style.

I try not to use words like "nutmeg" or, "cedary" when describing cigars mainly because I've never smoked nutmeg! But since this cigar is expecially fresh in my mind, let me say that this one is very "raw" in flavor, with a heavy tobacco taste.

Truthfully, there wasn't much "flavor" for my palate even though I enjoy fuller-bodied smokes. I imagine this is the cigar John "Hannibal" Smith from the A-Team would have permanently clenched in his teeth during covert operations. There's no subtley here, it's all pure power, like a Tiger tank rolling thru a field of daisies.

AMGfan

JR...love the Decade. Try the 15th Anniversary...it packs a nice punch.

Jon

AMGfan

Sunday morning golf...inconsistent...BUT the cigars were AWESOME!!!! I think I might play again this afternoon...just to smoke more cigars.

Early cigar stash...ummm!


First off...Tatuaje Petite Reserva


Fuete Fuente Opus X Lost City


Padron Family Reserve 45 Year


Arturo Fuente Between the Lines



From this past Monday...after work golf and cigars.

San Lotano Oval - an AJ Fernandez offering that is rich and smooth...spicy with coffee and some chocolate...BEST of the San Lotano line.


Arturo Fuente Anejo 55 - First 1/3 I though I had a bad stick...it just left a bad bite after the puff. I was about to let it die a horrid death under my golf shoe, but I stuck around and glad I did. It ended up to be a good cigar, not great. It smoothened up a bit and gave me a decent kick.

JohnnyRock

Jon, the 15th Ann is on my "order list". Glad to hear about the San Lotano Oval. How was the draw? I read a few reviews saying the first few runs of these cigars were plugged and many buyers ended up returning about 1/3 of the box due to this issue. Speculation was initial production problems led to tight draws.

How much spice is evident? Peppery?