OK so cigars may not get the sniffles, but they sure won’t smoke like they should sometimes.

I really do feel that Cigars can get “sick,“ especially after being shipped in the mail. There are so many variables when cigars are shipped such as the temperature, the humidity, how long it takes to ship, etc.  There have been a lot of times where I’ll get a pack or box of cigars in the mail,  open it up And they feel extremely soft.  After putting them in a humidor or putting them away for a week or two everything seems to get back to normal.

If cigars get too hot, too cold, dry or over humidified, they won’t smoke – and in turn taste as they should.

They can get soft or squishy if too hot or humidified and if you try to light it up at that point it may not burn correctly.  The combustion won’t be right and ultimately, that will affect not only the burn, but the taste/flavor

It just comes down to the environment, the extremes that shipping cigars can go through from one environment to the next – cold to hot, dry to humid, etc. The humidity can be regulated a lot easier with Boveda packs and other methods of humidity control. The temperature though is pretty much out of your control when cigars are in the mail and plays a huge role in how they can smoke.  Too cold, they can become hard and brittle.  As mentioned before too hot, they can become soft. Neither one of those scenarios will turn out well for the person trying to light the cigar up.

Whether receiving Cigars in the mail or even traveling with them, it’s a quick or drastic change in their environment that has the biggest impact.

Nowadays, no matter what cigars I get in the mail I will always put them away for a little bit before trying to light it just to ensure that the conditions have regulated in the cigar.  Giving a cigar time to “rest” will ensure that the humidity and temperature is where it needs to be and that it’s acclimated into the new environment that it’s in. It’s funny that environment, yet again, is the one key factor into changing the way a cigar smokes/tastes.

There have been a lot of times where I take some of my favorite cigars with me on trips then I get to light them up and I’m disappointed that they just don’t taste like theyshould. The burn is off. The flavor is off.  Just everything about it is off.  IF experiencing a cigar for the first time with the cigars like that, I’m not sure that I would look back a second time.  The environment cigars are kept in can play that much into the smoking experience.  It won’t take long for them to dry out or become over humidified.

So in the end, I suppose Cigars are like us: when sick, let them rest.  Cigars should acclimate to their surroundings in order for them to be in their best condition.

If you want an optimal experience, let them rest in optimal conditions.