Hello everyone, my name is Cory and I am new to the cigar world.

I went to Mexico, had a Romeo y Julieta, then a Cohiba and now I am hooked!

I have lots of questions but we will start with these:

1) is there a comprehensive "beginners" list of items to have/things to know/how to get started resource that anyone knows of for beginners?

2) I currently have a cigar at my home right now that is kind of flaking apart... is this normal? How long can a cigar last with out proper humidification?

3) any and all help you can give is welcome! Thanks so much!

Welcome. This is a great group and someone here will have the answer to any question you might have. Poke around the site and get familiar. Also, in the upper right hand corner is a search box. Put a topic in there and it will search previous threads. I'm sure you will find everything you need.

---

“A good cigar is like a beautiful chick with a great body who also knows the American League box scores.” – M*A*S*H, Klinger

Welcome Cory...... you've got some work to do. To answer your questions:

1. Things you NEED: A decent sized humidor. The size is relative to how far you plan to take this hobby. If you're "hooked" I'd splurge for at lest a nice 150 count humidor. It's gonna cost you $100 at least, but it'll last you a long time. You'll need to get the humidor started by seasoning it. It should come with instructions on how to do that when you get it. But Boveda makes a kit that takes the brainwork out of it. Google "Boveda" for the site and info. You'll need a digital hygrometer and humidification beads. The beads come in various levels of 60%, 65%, and 70%. I like 70% myself. Xikar makes a decent digital hygrometer. Get a couple gallons of distilled water. They're cheap and will last you a long time. Get a good cutter or punch, depends on which you prefer. I prefer a nice classic guillotine-style cutter. Invest in a good torch lighter. I like them cuz they're good in all environments. Finally, purchase a nice sampler of sticks from Ccom. Call the toll-free number, tell them your a newb and tell them how much your looking to spend and they'll hook you up with a nice sampler.

2. Your cigar is dried out. Hence, the need for the above listed items. Cigars will only last a day, maybe two, without proper humidification.

3. Refer to #1

Good luck, Cory. Feel free to PM me with any more questions.

---

Guns don't kill people......daddies with pretty daughters do.

ALSO.......... Setting up your humidor will take a while. From ordering to getting it seasoned and ready, you're looking at 1-2 weeks. Until then, a zip lock bag with a water-pillow should keep your smokes nice a fresh.

---

Guns don't kill people......daddies with pretty daughters do.

Welcome!

Go to your local shop and get a humidification pillow and a big zip lock bag and place any new cigars in that until you can get a humi set up. We've all started that way ;)

Depending on how long that stick has been without humidity it might be too late. Most likely it's beyond recovery but you can try placing it in the bag and see if it comes around. The problem will be the loss of oils in the wrapper. The cigar might hydrate but you will have lost some flavor.

Here's an article about reviving and it's an overall good site for basic information:

http://www.cigaradvisor.com/education.cfm?id=27

welcome bud!! all of the info so far is spot on, you will need a good sized humidor (always get a bigger one than you think you need), some humi pillows til you get a humidification device, and a decent digital hygrometer.. and if you search here on the forums you will find all the info you will need!

---

Smoke 'em if you got 'em

Welcome aboard. If you look at some of the links at the top of the page you will find some information resources. Any questions you can't find the answer to will be gladly answered by one of the BOTL here. Lot's of good folk around here.

---

Welcome to the forums! Might I suggest the search feature, there is lot's great information that's been asked and answered many times over. If you run into something you cannot find an answer to, we're here to help.

---

Ken Light:

Now what we have is a president who is a limp d!ck worthless piece of slow-acting, overly-analytical nonsense wrapped in a fast-melting candy-coating made of hope... Get him the hell out of there.

Welcome Corey lots of great info to be found on these boards.

---

"If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it"

Faves/Wish List in Bio

I'll just throw this out there, those cigars you bought in Mexico have a pretty good chance of being counterfeit, especially the Cohiba. I made the mistake of thinking I could buy Cuban cigars in Mexico when I was literally days into the hobby, ended up with some counterfeit Cohibas for my trouble, I still enjoyed them because I didn't know any better at the time. So unless you bought them at La Casa del Habano, chances are they were fake.

Welcome to the forum though, I've learned a lot here in the 2 years I've been around and there a lot of good guys here.

---

"Beliefs are neat. Cherish them, but don't share them like they're the truth" Bill Hicks

Welcome - if you want to know more about cigars, the best thing you can do is go down to the bottom of the page in the Cigar 101 forum and the General discussion, and just start reading old threads; chances are every question you wanna ask, (and a lot you didn't think of) has already been asked and answered. So just take a few hours and start going back and you'll learn a lot in very little time

---

Question, challenge, and always keep a fresh battery in your bullshit detector

Corymc23:

Hello everyone, my name is Cory and I am new to the cigar world.

I went to Mexico, had a Romeo y Julieta, then a Cohiba and now I am hooked!

I have lots of questions but we will start with these:

1) is there a comprehensive "beginners" list of items to have/things to know/how to get started resource that anyone knows of for beginners?

2) I currently have a cigar at my home right now that is kind of flaking apart... is this normal? How long can a cigar last with out proper humidification?

3) any and all help you can give is welcome! Thanks so much!

Cory, welcome to the boards...my best piece of advice would be go to amazon.com and get Idiots Guide to Cigars. I'm not calling you an idiot, but just saying this book is GREAT for beginners. I bought the book whenI first started out and it REALLY helped me start to enjoy cigars and taught me everything I needed to know.

---

"Long ashes my friends"

Krieg:

Corymc23:

Hello everyone, my name is Cory and I am new to the cigar world.

I went to Mexico, had a Romeo y Julieta, then a Cohiba and now I am hooked!

I have lots of questions but we will start with these:

1) is there a comprehensive "beginners" list of items to have/things to know/how to get started resource that anyone knows of for beginners?

2) I currently have a cigar at my home right now that is kind of flaking apart... is this normal? How long can a cigar last with out proper humidification?

3) any and all help you can give is welcome! Thanks so much!

Cory, welcome to the boards...my best piece of advice would be go to amazon.com and get Idiots Guide to Cigars. I'm not calling you an idiot, but just saying this book is GREAT for beginners. I bought the book whenI first started out and it REALLY helped me start to enjoy cigars and taught me everything I needed to know.

Not offense to Krieg, but I wholeheartedly recommend AGAINST this book. It was decently informative, but as I got more into it (and into the hobby), I consistently found inaccurate information throughout the book. It's nothing that will ruin your enjoyment, but it'll definitely leave you with a lot of questions (when the point was to answer them), as well as conflicting information as you learn more. I found the "The Cigar Companion: A Connoisseur's Guide" a much more informative read, though admittedly, it does not have the same easy format of the "Idiot's" guide...

Disclaimer: I am typically a big fan of the "Idiot's" guides - I own several. It's just this one in particular that I found very lacking.

---

There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless — boys and women — and I am neither one.

Welcome from the North Florida Chapter of the BOTL. Good advice so far, absorb it and go light up.

---

There is no blender but AJ, and The Beard is his merchant

MOW Special Forces Badge Recipient

Welcome! Lastly we really need to get some sticky's here.

---

.