I know some of you enjoy cigars - share!

[drewkaree]

I have seen the small refrigerators that have been converted into humidors, and I've been looking for one for sale cheap, preferable "free"

This will be pretty involved, so I may split this response up just for ease of reading.

It's possible to find them, but turning them into cigar storage will mean you want to take into account one huge factor - you never want to plug them in, even a wine fridge, as they are designed to remove at least some humidity. I didn't realize this for my very first one, the Vissani wine fridge (I'll post pics of my progression). I figured since it would keep temps into the low 60's, it'd be almost perfect for my use. That thing dried out the handful of smokes I threw in to test out the idea, and I realized that all the insulation would maintain the temps even higher if I never plugged it in, which worked even better for my use.

Here's a pic of my past setups - the Vissani was bought at Home Depot Black Friday deal many moons ago - it's easily 15+ years old. I have no idea how much the price was, other than I'm certain it wasn't more than $100, and remains the only fridge I ever paid money for.




The Vissani is likely somewhere in the 4+ cubic foot range. They don't make it easy to figure this out for many of these things, so look for the following: cubic foot range, can capacity (I wouldn't look at anything smaller than 125, which will be in the ballpark), or outer dimensions (roughly 20"+ wide, 20"+ deep, 30"+ tall).

Suggestions for places to look - each of my other 3 were obtained/found in the rear of strip malls or grocery stores. The Haier was non-working, and was pulled out of a diner. I went around, asked if it was being thrown out and if so, could I have it. I was told it wasn't working, which is why they removed it, and if I wanted it, I could have it. Win.

The two True fridges I have came from grocery stores. I used to work for Pepsi, so I would see when they were doing remodels for their checkout register areas, or if a fridge would go bad, they'd replace it. The one next to my two mini-fridges is still working, and I use it for storage when curing my own bacon, or overflow storage when we stumble across deals and/or Costco runs. Same deal, I asked why it was sitting in the back, and if it was being thrown out, could I have it. The bottom vent cover was busted, and they couldn't get it to stop freezing up. Easy fix, spin the temp control, and wait 24 hours. They weren't waiting the 24 hours. The gasket also needed to be replaced, which was easy to find in this internet age.

This is my other True fridge. Non-working from the start, they were happy for me to take it. They have to pay to recycle these things, so this is something they're generally happy to get rid of. This is what the non-working one looks like at this point - my goal was to dress it up and make it less spartan this past winter, but life and other projects intervened. Since it's been working perfectly for my needs since I got it, it's not been high on the priority list

I would also suggest putting out a post, "Looking for NON-WORKING wine fridge or dorm fridge" on any of the places you're comfortable with - Facebook, Craigslist, NextDoor, wherever. While a wine fridge or glass front fridge will be a nicer presentation, a dorm fridge offers some other features you might like. Storage on the door can be used for pipe tobacco, for instance, or butane cans, upright jars like you see on my lower shelf (right side) or whatever you might like. Since you don't want this thing plugged in, you also won't need the freezer for a dorm fridge, but they seem to be more common. Consider removing it, or turning it into your spot to separate any flavored stuff, if it seals up, or just a shelf to differentiate things.

Bottom line is, it seems prices have gone up, so looking for non-working in the first place is your best bet to obtain "Free", but "cheap" has gone up quite considerably for anything new, so you're definitely going to be looking for used. Here's an example of something just a bit smaller than I'd recommend, and even on sale, it's going for just under $100: https://www.menards.com/main/grocer...is9000/p-1642874284650342-c-1446215532061.htm

College is going to be wrapping up soon, so keep your eyes open on your local places (Facebook, Craigslist) for people who don't want to haul stuff back, or are done with it now that school's out. This'll mean a dorm fridge, likely with a freezer, but I'd think you could score something for $25-50 hopefully.


More to come.

 

[drewkaree]

So yeah, I have an absolute buttload of cigars ? That bottom box (Toro 6x50) is a 20-stick box, for reference. You will have stuff that doesn't need aging at all, and you'll eventually settle into your "style". @Jimmers (if I recall) has a really nice setup with what looks to be spanish cedar drawers, and he unwraps all of his, as well as seeming to limit himself to specific smokes. For myself, I'm willing to try many things, and if I like it, I generally wait to buy when I find a stellar price, and I'll go with a box/wheel/mazo. I tend to leave everything in the cello wrappers until moving them to my "current smokes" holder. I share with anyone who wants a stick, and I have multiple different sticks that smoke better at specific humidities, so I have separate humidors for such things, which in turn, takes up space. Not every one of those containers is full, but that's just a small explanation of why I chose to go with more room.

I dunno your skillset, but you will be better served if you can do some things to/for your fridge to make it better. If you have any tools at all, lining the fridge with spanish cedar or phillipine mahogany (common source is luan plywood) will help with humidity regulation. The spanish cedar is nice for aroma, the mahogany will offer little to no aroma. The primary reason for using these two woods is humidity, and the cedar has a great side benefit with the aroma. If you have a Rockler or Woodcraft near you, they'll sell smaller sizes of spanish cedar, the mahogany is actually best obtained at any big box hardware store via 1/8" or 1/4" luan. Line the interior of your fridge with these for help with humidity, however, I would NEVER rely on this for your ONLY method of humidity regulation. I've found Boveda packs to be the absolute easiest (and therefore best, to me) for primary humidification.

No matter what you find, you'll want to plug any holes into the interior of your fridge. There's generally a drainage line, and possibly some electrical wiring, as well as some spots that may need to be filled for any number of reasons. As small as those holes are, they will frustrate you with trying to maintain humidity and temps (depending on ambient temps). Ask me how I know this specific bit of info ? Just a dab of caulk or spray foam will suffice.

Regarding a wine fridge, those shelves will require removal, and you'll need to replace them with straight shelving. You can get some wire closet shelving, and cut it to fit, or you can go the route I did with a few shelves and make some out of luan plywood. My experience with making shelves out of luan was that it was a lot more work than I wanted to go through, with minimal return for the effort. If I were able to find spanish cedar, I would do it again, but I would go a different route for airflow with the wooden shelves.

Maintaining temps inside will be pretty close to ambient temps, but you can supplement heat with a few different ideas. That'll be a whole different conversation we can have if you find the need. Humidity will be more important to you, and that can be managed/maintained through any number of ideas. I have a Cigar Oasis in my big True fridge, and a buttload of Boveda packs. Buy Boveda's off of Cigar Bid for the absolute best price/value, hit me up if you want more tips on this than I've provided in this thread. Boveda's come in many different %'s. If something doesn't smoke well for you, a different % may be the solution - there's where the freezer shelf in a dorm fridge may work, or a separate humidor within your larger humidor, all with a lower/higher humidity pack.

Since going to a fridge setup with separate humidors, the only humidity issues I've had have been a direct result of my own doing.

DO NOT store flavored/cased pipe tobacco's with your cigars, unless you have them in mason jars or other airtight containers. I cellar all my pipe tobacco in mason jars, and keep them in a completely separate storage area.

I thought I was fairly educated on the cigar scene, but following this thread, your posted in particular, I have decided that I have a ways to go with my knowledge base. Are there some specific cigar forums/website you follow? I've been smoking cigars for 30+ years, and I know I'm interested in starting to smoke a pipe too. Thanks for starting this thread, it's been fun following it.

There's so much snootery in the beer/booze/smokes/cooking arenas that are tiresome to me, but I understand that some folks have more giveashit than me ? drink/eat/smoke what you like, how you like to, and as long as you enjoy it, the end goal will have been a success. Everyone at "the top" had to start somewhere, and learned by making "mistakes", and may have stumbled into something by accident. Some guys chew their smokes, others like a V-cut, some look sideways at Acids as not "real" cigars, etc etc etc. If we're smiling, laughing, having a good time, those are the moments in life we're all shooting for. All the background stuff is just an effort to make those times easier. I used to be on some forums for cigars, but mainly when I was trying to figure out storage and humidification. Cigars are expensive enough without wrecking them before I even get to put a flame to one, so I was looking to shortcut the process. In that process, I learned a bunch from forums in those two areas, but I also learned that I didn't like how folks acted - this forum is, to me, a throwback to how people used to interact, and enjoy each others' company. I didn't stick around many forums because of how it felt like high school cliques all over again.

The path I chose to take is to follow a few blogs and YouTube guys for cigars (and later, pipes). There tends to be a blogroll on them, of who they also recommend or follow, and I'll go down that rabbit hole here and there. Find a feed reader app (I use Feedly), and you'll end up with their content delivered to your phone or computer whenever something new comes up. If someone seems to not be what you were looking for, remove them from your feed. I'll throw out some of my current feeds, and I'll throw an asterisk on what's new (and my decision is still pending on them).

Re: pipes, if I hadn't inherited my wife's grandpa's pipe collection, I dunno if I'd have taken it up, but now that I have, I wish I had tried it much earlier. The only downside for me is that pipes are more expensive, and I can't afford to buy them all, or smoke them all. My absolute favorite pipes (yes, I own multiple versions of these LOL) are Savinelli 320's (and Rossi 321 or 8321).

My suggestion would be to find a corncob pipe to start. Missouri Meerschaum would be the only brand I'd consider, and you'll have something to start with that won't cost an arm and a leg. It also will be way less likely to ghost (transfer flavors/scents) if you want to try multiple different types of tobacco. I've pointed out cigarbid.com here, and that's also the route I'd go to try out tobacco's, UNLESS you have a good tobacconist in your area that at least deals in tobacco pipes, where you could likely test out blends and types to see what you like. I'm lucky enough to have a great one near me: https://uhles.com/

Once you find some ideas as to your tobacco preferences, branch out with some more cobs, or go with some of the inexpensive pear wood pipes you can find on Amazon. A simple Bic will suffice, or you may prefer matches, cedar spills, or some other method. Your cigar torch will not be your friend here, and I find matches exceedingly frustrating, but that's for the snobs to argue over beyond the torch. I think if you end up liking a pipe, it'll hook you in. Find a comedic pipe, it may surprise you. My small $7 was bought on a whim, but I find myself reaching for it often. The beer can sized poker-style pipe I have is an absolute favorite of mine if/when I can dedicate the time to such a long smoke, and it's cheap enough to me that I'll bring it out around the campfire if the mood strikes me.

 

[drewkaree]

Realized I forgot to add sites I follow.

https://www.comedycigarsmusic.com/blog **fairly new follow, seems like I might stick with this one for a bit. Interesting. This was a 3rd tier follow (initial blog suggested another, which led me to this one)

Cigar Reviews by the Katman - Katman is now local to me, and I find his life story interesting, and his writing is entertaining to me. Been in a band with Sting's brother, rich music history, and somehow he came to reside nearby. I had planned to try to meet him, as he worked at a cigar place nearby, but he had moved on/retired before that could happen. His reviews are responsible for my PerfecDraw purchases, as well as more than a few smokes - Southern Draw's in particular. He was the initial blog that led me to the guy above, and the next guy listed.

Kaplowitz Media. **Quick, short reads. Not sold on this one, but it's not a burden to see a new post show up in my feed.

Cigar Dojo - Cigar Reviews and Ratings

Cigar Dojo offers in-depth cigar reviews and ratings, as well as cigar tips, podcasts, and the world's first and largest social cigar app.

cigardojo.com

Stogie Review

At Stogie Review, we do things a little differently than other blogs. We don't rate cigars, we smoke them. Our cigar reviews are not based on a number or rating system, instead, we tell you precisely what is on our minds.

stogiereview.com

Both of those are longtime follows. Decent reviews and info, and a good source to turn to when needed.

This one is one of the first I turn to for reviews: Blind Man's Puff: Cigar Reviews, Cigar News, and Editorials I like the format, and it's nice to see multiple reviews and experiences within the same review. It shows how something can be completely different from person to person, and after you find someone who jives with your experiences, you get a REALLY good feel for whether or not you might want to try something new that they've reviewed.

YouTube has made it quite bothersome for cigar reviewers and content creators, and a bunch of folks I followed have simply folded up shop. The one who made the jump to other platforms, that I still follow, is Cigar Obsession. CigarObsession

Regarding pipes, YouTube is where I typically find stuff for my feed. These are the guys I follow:

https://www.youtube.com/@hobbitonpiper

The Pipe Cottage

In service of a cultivated pipe smoking experience "A pipe is more than hobby, art, or pastime: it's an extension of your personality."

www.youtube.com

https://www.youtube.com/@MuttnchopPiper

https://www.youtube.com/@TheSpurgeonPiper

https://www.youtube.com/@ThereAndTobacAgain

Muttnchop & Spurgeon are the two I find myself gravitating towards the most, but all of those guys provide great content.

Lastly, this isn't anything specific, but I just enjoy this guy, and he's "tobacco adjacent"

https://www.youtube.com/@DryCreekWranglerSchool

There's other content creators, but those are what's current on my list. At least 4-5 different forums and sites that I used to have bookmarked for past info and projects have since folded. Not sure if it's just the nature of the hobby, or what. Some of the few that are left, from bookmarks I have:

Cigar Forums | CigarPass.com - from my initial search for humidity control
Home Page @ Cigar Inspector - news and info, good for adding to what's out there
Cigar Asylum Cigar Forum - this is a great resource
Pipe Smokers Forums of PipesMagazine.com - pipe stuff, I've found this to be a great resource

This was/is my go-to when I first started looking at taking up the pipe hobby and branching out beyond my inherited collection: The Complete Corncob primer - Pipedia

Lastly, Developing Your Palate is/was a great bit of info about flavors, and really, getting more from our smoking experiences, and drawing more out of it for further enjoyment. Much of it was spot on for me, and in learning and trying to develop my palate, I found this to be quite helpful. Still find myself going back to this periodically, and I find it's helped with drinks, as well as food.

 

[CigarJeff68]

Well first off thank you for the very detailed response, I found the reading very informative and interesting. So with that being said, I guess its my turn to give a bit of myself. I'm fairly new to posting text in the threads, usually just post memes in the Post-up-your-funny-memes-nothing-political-please thread, so this may ramble in and out of coherency. So I will apologize up front.

First I'll start with the humidors that I have collected over the years. I currently have 4, 2 travel and 2 "regular" humidors.





As for the refrigerator solution, it's funny that you linked the small refer from Menard's in the post, I just got a $30 rebate check from them this week, so I could pick up that for $50. For anything I pick up cheap or not working, I kind of have it in my head that it will be a project for me. Thinking of removing all the mechanical stuff, like you suggested line it with Spanish cedar, I do have a Rockler near me, and adding a humidification system. I like tinkering in the garage. There would be no rush to get it done. I really don't do social media, so I'll have to task the wife with the search on Facebook marketplace.

As for palette, I'm with you, if you like it, then it is a good cigar. No cigar snobbery here. I prefer medium to full bodied, but will try just about anything. I do like an Acid/flavored cigar every now and again too. Again, like you I try to always have enough sticks with me to share with friends. I buy most of my cigars from Cigar International when things are on sale, which is quite often. Most times I pay about $2.50 to $3.00 a stick, which consider decent. I've tried their cigar auction site, but have never come away with anything. I used to have a very nice cigar lounge /store comparable to the one you have near you, but the strip mall that it was in wouldn't let them sign a new lease when theirs was up. Not sure if they have found a new place, but I know it isn't anywhere near me. We have a couple cigar bars around, but the humidors are fairly small and the cigars a pricey.

I will definitely be looking into the links you have suggested. I used to listed to Cigar Dave years ago, not even sure if he is still around.

As for the pipe situation, the pipe in the picture was my grandfather's, and my mom just gave it to me a couple years ago. I haven't lit it up yet.
I have been looking for a corn cob pipe, I've read, as you have suggested, that it is a decent place to start.

 

[drewkaree]

Well first off thank you for the very detailed response, I found the reading very informative and interesting. So with that being said, I guess its my turn to give a bit of myself. I'm fairly new to posting text in the threads, usually just post memes in the Post-up-your-funny-memes-nothing-political-please thread, so this may ramble in and out of coherency. So I will apologize up front.

First I'll start with the humidors that I have collected over the years. I currently have 4, 2 travel and 2 "regular" humidors.

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As for the refrigerator solution, it's funny that you linked the small refer from Menard's in the post, I just got a $30 rebate check from them this week, so I could pick up that for $50. For anything I pick up cheap or not working, I kind of have it in my head that it will be a project for me. Thinking of removing all the mechanical stuff, like you suggested line it with Spanish cedar, I do have a Rockler near me, and adding a humidification system. I like tinkering in the garage. There would be no rush to get it done. I really don't do social media, so I'll have to task the wife with the search on Facebook marketplace.

As for palette, I'm with you, if you like it, then it is a good cigar. No cigar snobbery here. I prefer medium to full bodied, but will try just about anything. I do like an Acid/flavored cigar every now and again too. Again, like you I try to always have enough sticks with me to share with friends. I buy most of my cigars from Cigar International when things are on sale, which is quite often. Most times I pay about $2.50 to $3.00 a stick, which consider decent. I've tried their cigar auction site, but have never come away with anything. I used to have a very nice cigar lounge /store comparable to the one you have near you, but the strip mall that it was in wouldn't let them sign a new lease when theirs was up. Not sure if they have found a new place, but I know it isn't anywhere near me. We have a couple cigar bars around, but the humidors are fairly small and the cigars a pricey.

I will definitely be looking into the links you have suggested. I used to listed to Cigar Dave years ago, not even sure if he is still around.

As for the pipe situation, the pipe in the picture was my grandfather's, and my mom just gave it to me a couple years ago. I haven't lit it up yet.
I have been looking for a corn cob pipe, I've read, as you have suggested, that it is a decent place to start.

I really am blessed with a pretty good number of nice smoke shops in my home area, as well as further up north where our lake house is. The problem is sorting through all the newer hooka/vape stores to find actual smoke shops. What's funny to me is, seeing all your Patel Prohibitions, there's a cigar place in Green Bay that's really nice - Prohibition Spirits and Cigar Lounge – Enjoy Life ? I have only been there twice, as it's an hour from our place up north, but if we're in the area, it's nice to know of the options that are around.

I've only ever had the maduro version of those Prohibitions from a friend, but I recall definitely liking it, as I went looking for more. It was hard to find at a price I wanted to pay, and it seems like they're discontinued now. I've also tried the Bahia orange, and blue, but I've never had the red. The orange was meh+, but the blue I thought was really good. I wasn't a fan of the sandwich construction of the Bahia's, but at the prices you can get them for, as long as you have them properly humidified, they're a nice little gem.

Cigarbid.com is CI's auction site, and if you sign up for their newsletter, they'll periodically e-mail you with some deals that are "can't miss", but they always seem to be 10-packs or larger, which might not be the best for many folks. Upgrading to a larger humidor would give you some headroom, but the hard part is always taking the plunge on something you might not be familiar with.

With that Menards fridge, it'll be smaller than you think - your humidors seem like they would take up about a third to a half of that fridge, but you have a great setup for dry boxing anything from the fridge prior to smoking it. Regardless, it's a step towards more room, which brings the likelihood of successful storage and enjoyment. If you end up picking that fridge up, I'd be interested to see what you end up doing and how your setup changes with the room.

That pipe is really nice, I wonder if your grandfather did some of the work on that one. Not sure if it's got a filter, but if so, you may want to replace it if you ever consider smoking it (or already have, and found it to taste "off"). Since you're comfortable and knowledgeable about Cigars International, I'll suggest their sister site - PIPES and CIGARS - Shop Tobacco Pipes, Pipe Tobacco & More I don't know why they sell some pipe stuff on CI, or why they include cigars on P&C, but I'm sure their marketing team can show how it helps their sales.

P&C is way more pipe-centric, but their pricing on pipe tobacco can be ridiculous. Cigarbid.com also sells pipe tobacco, and I've found the way to get a proper price on cigarbid is to look at the shipping costs, and plan on purchasing 3+ pouches or tins. Depending on what you're considering, you may end up with your entire purchase being less than the price of a single tin from P&C. You'll also get a great way to set a max price for your bids (P&C cost, minus cigarbid shipping cost, and that should be your max bid). I'll put up a post after this lengthy one showing how to set up your search and what to look for.

Given that you've smoked some Acids, and you're not opposed to cased (flavored) tobacco, I'll suggest something that you might be familiar with - CAO flavors are sold in pipe tobacco form. There will be some differences to their cigars, but not enough to make the pipe tobacco worthless. Moontrance seems more subdued vs the cigar, which may be a good thing. Eileens Irish Dream is MORE flavorful than the cigars, which to my taste, is a GREAT thing. Cherrybomb tastes like a more-artificial maraschino cherry for cigars AND the pipe tobacco, and the Bella Vanilla is a nice smooth tobacco for both versions. A pouch and a tin both hold about the same amount, weight-wise, but somehow, the tins always seem to hold more, to me. 2oz doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider what I just pulled out from a fresh tin yesterday, to dry for a bit (shown below), if I were to show you a pic of that tin, you'd be hard pressed to tell that I'd removed anything. 5-15 grams would be a good sampler size, if you can find it. The Uhle's link I posted above should ship to you (as will others), and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them, ever.




Regarding a cob, check Amazon. They're the best price around, unless you can find a model at your local Walgreens that you like. Amazon will point you to the shapes and sizes offered, and a better price than Walgreens, usually. If Walgreens has something you like though, it's hard to beat instant gratification for a buck or three more. The one in that pic above is my favorite, but here's some links to the cobs I have, just click the description to be taken to the Amazon page:

The Country Gentleman - bent bit

The Dagner Poker - 2nd favorite cob, sometimes gurgles, depending on the tobacco

The Legend 5th Avenue, bent bit - this gurgles no matter what, I no longer smoke this

The Cobbit (Shire Cobbit) - wanted to see if I'd like a churchwarden. No, but I'll still smoke this one from time to time

I've got that Legend 5th Avenue up north, for "just in case", but I also leave the Cobbit there too, so I no longer smoke it at all. If you're not wanting to buy anything soon, and you're not skeeved out by my "estate" pipe, I'll ship it your way for free in a month or so, and if you don't like it, you wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit to hear that you disposed of it! ?

This $8 pipe I posted earlier in this thread is also a great entryway, and it'll never be more than a 20-minute smoke, although you'll get more knowledge with a bigger bowl.

Lastly, I can't recommend the pipe (yet), but for what you'll get, this is a great value for starting down the road to pipe smoking. I actually just ordered this last week for the pouch alone, but I also wanted to see how their pipes smoke, as they have a few others I find interesting.

 

[drewkaree]

So cigarbid... the greatest chance for success is to look at items with a large quantity. Start by filtering for what you're looking for, and select quantity for how they should arrange it for you, shown in the green circles.




Focusing on that top row in this instance, we'll look at the largest number of items for each. In this screenshot, the Captain Black in the upper left shows 20 available pouches to bid for, shown by the red arrow. I'll speak to the Nightcap and Royal Yacht as well.

Looking at P&C, that pouch of Captain Black sells for $8.40, right now on sale. This currently sells for $20 at any Walgreens in my area, and between $10-15 at a smoke shop, so their price online is better than what I can pick it up for locally, basically even pricing when shipping is factored in. On Cbid, this should finally sell for between $3-6, unless someone makes a mistake in the bidding process, and accidentally (drunkenly, purposefully) overbids the everyday price.

This is a common tobacco, easily found everywhere, and pricing won't fluctuate very much on this. Most pouches won't fluctuate, but there are occasional exceptions if supply is low. Tins can be slightly more volatile in pricing, but in those instances, I simply sit back and wait for prices to settle again. No tobacco is worth overbidding to me, just like the bourbon pricing on the secondary markets is not something I bother with.

The Peterson Nightcap should end up selling for $8-9 - it's currently priced on P&C at $12. This one is a very popular blend, and there may be days where someone bids it up to $10-12. I got a tin, and was able to witness this fluctuation firsthand. My max bid was $7 initially, and I was shut out of 3 different auctions. I moved it up to $8.50, and snagged one. With that same order, I won that tin of Sweet Killarney, shown above, for $2 less. I had started bidding on the Nightcap after prices had settled to that general vicinity again, as it was being bid up beyond the $12 mark when P&C ran out and had it on backorder.

The Captain Black Gold is showing a slightly higher price simply due to there being only 15 pouches for sale, but ultimately, I'm betting it will sell for the same or $1 less than the White, if bidders are smart.

This same method and strategy holds for cigars as well. I'm aware that there's some effort that might not be at the top of mind, so if you let me know 1-3 sticks you might be interested in, I can tip you off if I see something, and give you a fighter's chance of winning something you'd like.

Hopefully you find some tips in all of this info that result in some great finds and/or a pleasant smoking experience. As much enjoyment and pleasure as pipes and cigars bring me, sharing whatever info I can to help others is my way of gently fighting back against the religious zealots in disagreement with me. Nobody yet has made it out alive. We're all going to die of something, my view is that I may as well die knowing that I enjoyed the experience. I have much, much stronger views and arguments for the hobby, but that's for discussion with someone as we look each other in the eye, knowing we're able to talk things through while tempering ourselves, lest we get a snootful of knuckles ?

 

[Yama1990]

I have seen the small refrigerators that have been converted into humidors, and I've been looking for one for sale cheap, preferable "free" . I really like the idea of an old wine cooler because of the glass door. Is there anything specific I need to look for in the appliance? I thought I was fairly educated on the cigar scene, but following this thread, your posted in particular, I have decided that I have a ways to go with my knowledge base. Are there some specific cigar forums/website you follow? I've been smoking cigars for 30+ years, and I know I'm interested in starting to smoke a pipe too. Thanks for starting this thread, it's been fun following it.

I have exactly what you described, the wine fridge that is. I actually bought it from Newair and it came ready to go just needed to be seasoned, it was a little investment but well worth it! Ive had it for a few years now and maintains temp and humidity better than anything else I've had over the years, protects all my sticks cheap to pricey all the same!

 

[drewkaree]

I have exactly what you described, the wine fridge that is. I actually bought it from Newair and it came ready to go just needed to be seasoned, it was a little investment but well worth it! Ive had it for a few years now and maintains temp and humidity better than anything else I've had over the years, protects all my sticks cheap to pricey all the same!

I've seen those, and I've been watching to see if they'd ever drop in price. While they have, you're not wrong that it's definitely an investment! I'd rather have more smokes to enjoy vs the cost of one of those, but there's very few reviews out that badmouth them. The fact that nobody fails to mention the cost is funny to me, because there's always a deal to make with yourself, and everyone seems to have made peace with that price before they ordered one. ?

What size is yours? I've only ever seen 250-300 stick units, and 500-600 stick versions, but I see they've got another, larger model.

 

[Yama1990]

I've seen those, and I've been watching to see if they'd ever drop in price. While they have, you're not wrong that it's definitely an investment! I'd rather have more smokes to enjoy vs the cost of one of those, but there's very few reviews out that badmouth them. The fact that nobody fails to mention the cost is funny to me, because there's always a deal to make with yourself, and everyone seems to have made peace with that price before they ordered one. ?

What size is yours? I've only ever seen 250-300 stick units, and 500-600 stick versions, but I see they've got another, larger model.

I have the 500-600 version although Im pretty sure I have more than that stuffed in there! Lol
I have no complaints, its got a small fan that moves air around and all. I found a few older pics of mine Ill attach

 

[CigarJeff68]

I really am blessed with a pretty good number of nice smoke shops in my home area, as well as further up north where our lake house is. The problem is sorting through all the newer hooka/vape stores to find actual smoke shops. What's funny to me is, seeing all your Patel Prohibitions, there's a cigar place in Green Bay that's really nice - Prohibition Spirits and Cigar Lounge – Enjoy Life ? I have only been there twice, as it's an hour from our place up north, but if we're in the area, it's nice to know of the options that are around.

I've only ever had the maduro version of those Prohibitions from a friend, but I recall definitely liking it, as I went looking for more. It was hard to find at a price I wanted to pay, and it seems like they're discontinued now. I've also tried the Bahia orange, and blue, but I've never had the red. The orange was meh+, but the blue I thought was really good. I wasn't a fan of the sandwich construction of the Bahia's, but at the prices you can get them for, as long as you have them properly humidified, they're a nice little gem.

Cigarbid.com is CI's auction site, and if you sign up for their newsletter, they'll periodically e-mail you with some deals that are "can't miss", but they always seem to be 10-packs or larger, which might not be the best for many folks. Upgrading to a larger humidor would give you some headroom, but the hard part is always taking the plunge on something you might not be familiar with.

With that Menards fridge, it'll be smaller than you think - your humidors seem like they would take up about a third to a half of that fridge, but you have a great setup for dry boxing anything from the fridge prior to smoking it. Regardless, it's a step towards more room, which brings the likelihood of successful storage and enjoyment. If you end up picking that fridge up, I'd be interested to see what you end up doing and how your setup changes with the room.

That pipe is really nice, I wonder if your grandfather did some of the work on that one. Not sure if it's got a filter, but if so, you may want to replace it if you ever consider smoking it (or already have, and found it to taste "off"). Since you're comfortable and knowledgeable about Cigars International, I'll suggest their sister site - PIPES and CIGARS - Shop Tobacco Pipes, Pipe Tobacco & More I don't know why they sell some pipe stuff on CI, or why they include cigars on P&C, but I'm sure their marketing team can show how it helps their sales.

P&C is way more pipe-centric, but their pricing on pipe tobacco can be ridiculous. Cigarbid.com also sells pipe tobacco, and I've found the way to get a proper price on cigarbid is to look at the shipping costs, and plan on purchasing 3+ pouches or tins. Depending on what you're considering, you may end up with your entire purchase being less than the price of a single tin from P&C. You'll also get a great way to set a max price for your bids (P&C cost, minus cigarbid shipping cost, and that should be your max bid). I'll put up a post after this lengthy one showing how to set up your search and what to look for.

Given that you've smoked some Acids, and you're not opposed to cased (flavored) tobacco, I'll suggest something that you might be familiar with - CAO flavors are sold in pipe tobacco form. There will be some differences to their cigars, but not enough to make the pipe tobacco worthless. Moontrance seems more subdued vs the cigar, which may be a good thing. Eileens Irish Dream is MORE flavorful than the cigars, which to my taste, is a GREAT thing. Cherrybomb tastes like a more-artificial maraschino cherry for cigars AND the pipe tobacco, and the Bella Vanilla is a nice smooth tobacco for both versions. A pouch and a tin both hold about the same amount, weight-wise, but somehow, the tins always seem to hold more, to me. 2oz doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider what I just pulled out from a fresh tin yesterday, to dry for a bit (shown below), if I were to show you a pic of that tin, you'd be hard pressed to tell that I'd removed anything. 5-15 grams would be a good sampler size, if you can find it. The Uhle's link I posted above should ship to you (as will others), and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them, ever.




Regarding a cob, check Amazon. They're the best price around, unless you can find a model at your local Walgreens that you like. Amazon will point you to the shapes and sizes offered, and a better price than Walgreens, usually. If Walgreens has something you like though, it's hard to beat instant gratification for a buck or three more. The one in that pic above is my favorite, but here's some links to the cobs I have, just click the description to be taken to the Amazon page:

The Country Gentleman - bent bit

The Dagner Poker - 2nd favorite cob, sometimes gurgles, depending on the tobacco

The Legend 5th Avenue, bent bit - this gurgles no matter what, I no longer smoke this

The Cobbit (Shire Cobbit) - wanted to see if I'd like a churchwarden. No, but I'll still smoke this one from time to time

I've got that Legend 5th Avenue up north, for "just in case", but I also leave the Cobbit there too, so I no longer smoke it at all. If you're not wanting to buy anything soon, and you're not skeeved out by my "estate" pipe, I'll ship it your way for free in a month or so, and if you don't like it, you wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit to hear that you disposed of it! ?

This $8 pipe I posted earlier in this thread is also a great entryway, and it'll never be more than a 20-minute smoke, although you'll get more knowledge with a bigger bowl.

Lastly, I can't recommend the pipe (yet), but for what you'll get, this is a great value for starting down the road to pipe smoking. I actually just ordered this last week for the pouch alone, but I also wanted to see how their pipes smoke, as they have a few others I find interesting.

I really am blessed with a pretty good number of nice smoke shops in my home area, as well as further up north where our lake house is. The problem is sorting through all the newer hooka/vape stores to find actual smoke shops. What's funny to me is, seeing all your Patel Prohibitions, there's a cigar place in Green Bay that's really nice - Prohibition Spirits and Cigar Lounge – Enjoy Life ? I have only been there twice, as it's an hour from our place up north, but if we're in the area, it's nice to know of the options that are around.

I've only ever had the maduro version of those Prohibitions from a friend, but I recall definitely liking it, as I went looking for more. It was hard to find at a price I wanted to pay, and it seems like they're discontinued now. I've also tried the Bahia orange, and blue, but I've never had the red. The orange was meh+, but the blue I thought was really good. I wasn't a fan of the sandwich construction of the Bahia's, but at the prices you can get them for, as long as you have them properly humidified, they're a nice little gem.

Cigarbid.com is CI's auction site, and if you sign up for their newsletter, they'll periodically e-mail you with some deals that are "can't miss", but they always seem to be 10-packs or larger, which might not be the best for many folks. Upgrading to a larger humidor would give you some headroom, but the hard part is always taking the plunge on something you might not be familiar with.

With that Menards fridge, it'll be smaller than you think - your humidors seem like they would take up about a third to a half of that fridge, but you have a great setup for dry boxing anything from the fridge prior to smoking it. Regardless, it's a step towards more room, which brings the likelihood of successful storage and enjoyment. If you end up picking that fridge up, I'd be interested to see what you end up doing and how your setup changes with the room.

That pipe is really nice, I wonder if your grandfather did some of the work on that one. Not sure if it's got a filter, but if so, you may want to replace it if you ever consider smoking it (or already have, and found it to taste "off"). Since you're comfortable and knowledgeable about Cigars International, I'll suggest their sister site - PIPES and CIGARS - Shop Tobacco Pipes, Pipe Tobacco & More I don't know why they sell some pipe stuff on CI, or why they include cigars on P&C, but I'm sure their marketing team can show how it helps their sales.

P&C is way more pipe-centric, but their pricing on pipe tobacco can be ridiculous. Cigarbid.com also sells pipe tobacco, and I've found the way to get a proper price on cigarbid is to look at the shipping costs, and plan on purchasing 3+ pouches or tins. Depending on what you're considering, you may end up with your entire purchase being less than the price of a single tin from P&C. You'll also get a great way to set a max price for your bids (P&C cost, minus cigarbid shipping cost, and that should be your max bid). I'll put up a post after this lengthy one showing how to set up your search and what to look for.

Given that you've smoked some Acids, and you're not opposed to cased (flavored) tobacco, I'll suggest something that you might be familiar with - CAO flavors are sold in pipe tobacco form. There will be some differences to their cigars, but not enough to make the pipe tobacco worthless. Moontrance seems more subdued vs the cigar, which may be a good thing. Eileens Irish Dream is MORE flavorful than the cigars, which to my taste, is a GREAT thing. Cherrybomb tastes like a more-artificial maraschino cherry for cigars AND the pipe tobacco, and the Bella Vanilla is a nice smooth tobacco for both versions. A pouch and a tin both hold about the same amount, weight-wise, but somehow, the tins always seem to hold more, to me. 2oz doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider what I just pulled out from a fresh tin yesterday, to dry for a bit (shown below), if I were to show you a pic of that tin, you'd be hard pressed to tell that I'd removed anything. 5-15 grams would be a good sampler size, if you can find it. The Uhle's link I posted above should ship to you (as will others), and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them, ever.




Regarding a cob, check Amazon. They're the best price around, unless you can find a model at your local Walgreens that you like. Amazon will point you to the shapes and sizes offered, and a better price than Walgreens, usually. If Walgreens has something you like though, it's hard to beat instant gratification for a buck or three more. The one in that pic above is my favorite, but here's some links to the cobs I have, just click the description to be taken to the Amazon page:

The Country Gentleman - bent bit

The Dagner Poker - 2nd favorite cob, sometimes gurgles, depending on the tobacco

The Legend 5th Avenue, bent bit - this gurgles no matter what, I no longer smoke this

The Cobbit (Shire Cobbit) - wanted to see if I'd like a churchwarden. No, but I'll still smoke this one from time to time

I've got that Legend 5th Avenue up north, for "just in case", but I also leave the Cobbit there too, so I no longer smoke it at all. If you're not wanting to buy anything soon, and you're not skeeved out by my "estate" pipe, I'll ship it your way for free in a month or so, and if you don't like it, you wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit to hear that you disposed of it! ?

This $8 pipe I posted earlier in this thread is also a great entryway, and it'll never be more than a 20-minute smoke, although you'll get more knowledge with a bigger bowl.

Lastly, I can't recommend the pipe (yet), but for what you'll get, this is a great value for starting down the road to pipe smoking. I actually just ordered this last week for the pouch alone, but I also wanted to see how their pipes smoke, as they have a few others I find interesting.

Sorry I haven't responded to your last post, been out of town for work. I just started to research all the links you posted, I have perused the pipes, and I'm definitely going to order The Cobbit (Shire Cobbit). As for your Legend 5th Avenue I wouldn't be skeeved out at all. I'll tell you what, I'll gladly trade you a couple of my Prohibition cigars and a Bahia Red, if you'd like. I do like the Bahia, but I have found a couple of them to have a tougher draw than my other sticks. Not sure if it is a humidification thing or a construction thing. They do burn even, just a little tough to draw sometimes. I'll be going thu all the links you posted and loading the ones i like into my favorites folder.

I have also been tasked with getting the humidor, we have in our man-cave at work, back up and running. I haven't decided what I would like to stock it with, but our owner likes Rocky Patel, so there will definatly going to be some of them in there. So I will post about that endevor as I get into it.

 

[drewkaree]

I'll tell you what, I'll gladly trade you a couple of my Prohibition cigars and a Bahia Red, if you'd like. I do like the Bahia, but I have found a couple of them to have a tougher draw than my other sticks. Not sure if it is a humidification thing or a construction thing. They do burn even, just a little tough to draw sometimes.

Deal!

I know the Bahia orange that I had was a sandwich style construction, not certain about the blue or red. Given the time since I last had that, they may have updated how they roll those and what's used for those.

I wholeheartedly recommend the PerfecDraw for any draw problems. I used to use a cake tester or a 3" trim finish screw for plugs or tough drawing smokes. I won a PerfecDraw, and promptly bought a 2nd after testing it out. Amazon is the easy place to find it, but Dr Rod has a website with all the products he's created that you might find useful as well.

https://theperfecsmoke.com/products/perfecdraw%C2%AE%EF%B8%8F

 

[drewkaree]

Today was the first day of the year to enjoy a smoke with the neighbor. We went out to dinner with them on Saturday, and I treated since they planned to make dinner for us tonight. He likes Perdomo's as well, and I gave him the Perdomo Habano Bourbon Barrel-aged Sun Grown, and I had the Lot 23 Sun Grown. Total Wine often has a Perdomo Sun Grown sampler, but the only one of the 5 that they keep on-hand is the Habano. I had some damage to the 20th Anniversary Sun Grown, and I'll be taking it in for a replacement, and likely another purchase of the sampler as well.

@CigarJeff68 you have mail! Shoot me your address and I'll have a package headed your way.

 

[CigarJeff68]

Today was the first day of the year to enjoy a smoke with the neighbor. We went out to dinner with them on Saturday, and I treated since they planned to make dinner for us tonight. He likes Perdomo's as well, and I gave him the Perdomo Habano Bourbon Barrel-aged Sun Grown, and I had the Lot 23 Sun Grown. Total Wine often has a Perdomo Sun Grown sampler, but the only one of the 5 that they keep on-hand is the Habano. I had some damage to the 20th Anniversary Sun Grown, and I'll be taking it in for a replacement, and likely another purchase of the sampler as well.

@CigarJeff68 you have mail! Shoot me your address and I'll have a package headed your way.

View attachment 218582

First off, that looks like a beautiful smoke! I've been on the road for work the last week or so, and haven't had a change to smoke anything in a minute. The weather is starting to break here in lovely Michigan, so I can start sitting on the deck and partaking on a more regular basis.


And of course as soon as I receive said package, your payment will be in the mail for you to enjoy.

 

[CigarJeff68]

Today was the first day of the year to enjoy a smoke with the neighbor. We went out to dinner with them on Saturday, and I treated since they planned to make dinner for us tonight. He likes Perdomo's as well, and I gave him the Perdomo Habano Bourbon Barrel-aged Sun Grown, and I had the Lot 23 Sun Grown. Total Wine often has a Perdomo Sun Grown sampler, but the only one of the 5 that they keep on-hand is the Habano. I had some damage to the 20th Anniversary Sun Grown, and I'll be taking it in for a replacement, and likely another purchase of the sampler as well.

@CigarJeff68 you have mail! Shoot me your address and I'll have a package headed your way.

View attachment 218582

Sorry, I fat fingered the street address

 

[drewkaree]

Sorry, I fat fingered the street address i

You can edit the address out of the other post, I copied it down. No need for internet trawlers scraping your info.

 

[CigarJeff68]

You can edit the address out of the other post, I copied it down. No need for internet trawlers scraping your info.

Thanks for the tip, and I didn't realize that previous posts can be edited. Guess I learned something today.

 

[CigarJeff68]

Finally I have a beautiful, but a little chilly, evening on the front porch to enjoy a nice smoke & a glass of Benedictine.

 

[drewkaree]

@CigarJeff68 My wife will be dropping your package off to be shipped sometime this upcoming week. I've loaded you up with enough to get you started and sampling the pipe life ?

As for today, I had 3 of these today, as it's a fave of mine, but I haven't had one in quite a while. Brought a 5-pack up, as I am looking for a different selection this year for the lake house, and I haven't gotten around to setting up the traveling humidor yet.

Nub Double Maduro aka Nub Dub.

This afternoon, due to circumstances, I had nothing to drink with my smoke other than a Diet Coke. I follow Katman's blog, Cigar Reviews by the Katman and he keeps mentioning an "egg cream" with a select number of cigars, by switching from water during his reviews, to a Diet Coke. Wasn't sure if other colas or sodas would give the same flavor experience, but after trying it due to no other choices at the time, the first afternoon smoke was given the treatment.

I've never had (or even heard of) an egg cream before Katman, but I can see the attraction to the flavor. This is what Wikipedia has on the subject: Egg cream - Wikipedia I can say that it sounds pretty close to the flavor experience, and I would definitely like to try an egg cream if I found a place that offered it.





Anyhoo, since the day was young and the light wasn't the crappy after-dark lighting, I figured I'd share my little spot to daydream and watch over the lake as I enjoy many of the cigars I've shared. The porch has never been finished off since I've been alive, and the only changes have been to update the materials when the windows were replaced many years ago by my parents. They used to have larger windows, but they were either ONLY screens, or storm shutters, and my mom wanted to make the area usable if it was raining, so she convinced my dad to update it, and other than that change, it's been unfinished to this day. Still reminds me of my childhood, so there may be some updates by me on the trimmings and lighting, but it very well may fall to my kids to finish it off.





Finally, nighttime, and the yellow lights to reduce the bug population. It's not 100% effective, but we've swapped it out for white bulbs, and the difference is staggering, so back to the yellow bulb. Eventually the lighting will be updated, but that's many smokes down the road.

The final Nub Dub of the day, and I was able to procure a water for comparison, and also tried a cream soda. The water really served to emphasize how much better the flavor was with the Diet Coke, but the hands-down runaway winner was the extra flavor with the cream soda. The cigar even did a handstand in appreciation!

Hope you guys had as enjoyable a weekend as I've had, and if this is an indicator of how the summer is headed, this will be a great year.

 

[CigarJeff68]

@drewkaree Thanks for the update, I'm really looking forward to getting started on my pipe journey.

Our weekend started out "working", we ran over to Grand Rapids to pack up our daughter from college, then spent the rest of the day with friends on the west side. Drove home this morning in the rain. Now I relaxing with my first cigar of the day, a Rocky Patel Prohibition Maduro. I moved from the front porch to the deck today. Listening to the Tigers game. I went with a cup of Earl Gray tea with my 1st smoke.


Your smoking porch looks like the perfect spot to enjoy a good cigar or pipe! The photo of the "hand stand" is amazing!

There will be a couple of the Prohibitions along with the Bahia coming your way soon. I think this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And I agree with you on the potential for this to be a great summer.

 

[CigarJeff68]

@drewkaree Well I took your advice and got me a PerfecDraw & a PerfecPak accessory case. Used it on the Bahia and what a difference! Thanks for telling me about this tool!