Just got over a day cold the other day and have been working a lot so haven't been smoking any that often.  The other day I noticed my humidor was in the 80s humidity, I don't know for how long.  I had about 35 or so assorted cigars in the humidor and now they are all tasting horrible.  I like to keep the humidity at 70 in about 70 degrees and use the sealed packets to keep it constant.

Are my cigars ruined from the high humidity for maybe a day or two or is it me getting over my cold?  I've just thrown away two cigars that I puffed on for 5 mins each.  

70 is too high IMHO...

And I'm guessing your taste is off from being sick.

So can they be saved by drying them out a bit or would I have to start over?  I am in coastal texas so it is usually humid here year around.  What do you recommend to keep the humidity at?

Tobacco tends to make them taste bad.

Um, this is the cigar sub forum...   

Edit to actually answer OP:
In my experience short bursts of high humidity haven't changed cigar taste a noticeable degree. As long as they don't get moldy or split or have other visible issues, get the humidity down to the mid-
60s for a few days or a week. Once they stabilize at a lower humidity I bet they will be fine.

Thanks, I've got em airing out now and the humidity is in the mid 60s.  The wrappers all appear to be fine and I haven't noticed any change in texture or visible mold.  I'm trying a real light Connecticut right now and it seems to be tasting fine.  I bet a lot of the problem was my shirt illness and part too high humidity.

I need a better humidor, these desktop ones are a pain to keep up.  I did buy a digital hydrometer today so hopefully that should help.

Most likely, it was because you were sick.  But it might have been something you ate before you fired it up.  Just sayin'.  

Lowered the humidity (about 60 to 65) in my humidor and got a digital hydrometer and let them sit for about 2 weeks.  They started tasting normal again.  I live on the coast and humidity is usually high so I'm going to try and keep it around 65 humidity.

I think most of the problem was being sick but I think their storage was also kind of at fault.

The proper humidity for storing cigars in a humidor is a personal thing.  You're taste may be different than mine.  Having said that, I don't like the taste of cigars when they are much above 65% humidity.  I think they burn very hot and the residual water just coats my tongue.  Almost every cigar made -- even Davidoff -- needs time in a dryer humidor (65%) to taste good to me.

The real problem with storing cigars a high humidity (80%+) is that they are very prone to developing mold.  If you've gotten to your cigars before mold has set it, then they will dry out to a lower humidity without any problems.  If, however, the wrapper has split, it's probably not worth it to try to rescue them.

Assuming the cigars aren't split and mold hasn't begun to grow on them, just get some propylene glycol and some Oasis and set up your humidor to a lower humidity.  It will take them several weeks to months to dry out, but they will be fine otherwise.

Your problem is one we've all had and recovered from.

Damn it!  I was wondering what that was!


RugRat:  I thought bloom (speckled white mold) was a good thing?

80% humidity would do it. Ever try to smoke in the rain? They burn hot and bitter. 

Next time dry box the ones you want to smoke and just leave the rest of your humidor to acclimate naturally.

Dry boxing means you stick the cigar in a clean Tupperware or empty cigar box for a day or two before you smoke them. 

I keep my stuff at 65% year round.

 I agree.  65% is max for me.  My desktop rocks.  But I keep an eye on the meter ;)

Bloom is NOT mold and is extremely rare.  Nicotine forming on the outside wrapper. Don't ever expect to see bloom.   Mold is useless and destroys cigars.