I've got a few boxes of 15+ years old cigars and I was wondering if re-hydrating them would make them worth smoking?

Been holding onto these for 5 years or so and ready to dump them or get them to a point where they would not burst into flames when a match is put to them.

Is it worth it? Would they be at all smokable afterwards?

Suggestions?

El Presidente Method:

#1 - get a girlfriend named MONICA

#2 - insert Cigar

#3 - smoke it, while your pole is getting smoked

If they  can be smoked, I'd rather not spoil the tobacco... assuming it isn't bad already.

I believe one box are Macanudos.. don't know the type.

I'll check them out more closely tonight, they are in their plastic wrappers and in the original box, if that makes a difference.

Buy new ones and take care of them properly..

Quoted: Buy new ones and take care of them properly..

Theses were found during a move, my father didn't want them, I took them "just in case"

I smoke cigars very infrequently anymore, my last was a Dunhill a few years ago.

I'm willing to smoke these if I can or put in my SHTF cache.

It is almost impossible to bring those old cigars back. A few day's/ weeks is all you get. Once the innermost part of the cigar becomes dry, you wont be able to bring them back.

ETA: and if they are Mac's...forget it...Toss em and buy new ones, but noe before buying and setting up a humidor.

If they were confirmable pre-embargo Cuabans (off name) I would keep them just for an ebay collector of boxes and date/ manufact. codes.

If they've been out for 5 years, they're fucked my friend. IF you want to try it anyway, then you can put them in an empty Igloo cooler with a piece of florist's foam soaked in a solution of PG and water (available at most any cigar store). Keep them there for a few weeks and check one. Most likey scenario is that even if you do happen to rehydrate them, they'll taste like ass since the oils are gone.

Quoted: If they've been out for 5 years, they're fucked my friend. IF you want to try it anyway, then you can put them in an empty Igloo cooler with a piece of florist's foam soaked in a solution of PG and water (available at most any cigar store). Keep them there for a few weeks and check one. Most likey scenario is that even if you do happen to rehydrate them, they'll taste like ass since the oils are gone.

Exactly. Oil evaporates, just like water, only slower.
Think of those smelly Glade room fresheners.
You can soak them in water, but they won't smell like flowers again.

I freeze mine.  Had a humidor of sorts (Rubbermaid bin, water source, spanish cedar) but couldnt keep it temp controlled, so tobacky beetles hatched, froze the cigars to kill beetles on the salvageable cigars and just kept them frozen with hardly any ill effects

For Sale: Vintage Cigars! Buy it Now for $100.00!

Thanks for the 411

It all depends on what the humidity is like where you live.  In Europe, they have "dry cured" cigars that are supposed to be great.  Stick them in a humidor and see what happens.   I've got about 300 ciages in the basement and I haven't had them get too dry yet, but check out this link:

http://www.cigargroup.com/faq/

this has info on re-hydrating cigars.  DON'T SOAK THEM IN WATER! :)

At this point it is a crap shoot. It really depends on the conditions that they were stored. I have used this method successfully for five or six year old cigars.


See about one-half way down on the faq.
faq



It has happened to all of us at one time or another. You simply forgot about that nice box of stogies you had in the back seat of your car for 3 months. Ok, well hopefully you aren't that absent minded, but you get the idea. I always get asked what you can do to restore dried cigars.

The most important thing to remember is that restoring a dried cigar takes time. Lots of time and patience. Don't be in a hurry to get the job done.

Step 1 - Take your cigars and put them in a non-humidified humidor. If this doesn't exist, then you can use a zip-top bag with some holes poked in it. You want to bring the cigars to a steady humidity level that is much less than 70%. Let them sit in this environment for about 2-3 days.

Step 2 - Take a fresh clean sponge and get it damp with distilled water. Place inside the zip-top bag and allow it to sit there, not touching any cigars, for at least one more week. This will slowly add humidity to the cigars at a rate that will prevent the wrapper from bursting.

Step 3 - After two weeks your cigars should start to look a lot healthier. Put them in your charged, maintained humidor at this point. Don't smoke them yet. Let them rest for while. I would suggest a month or two, just to make sure things are back to normal. Then you can feel free to smoke to your hearts content.

Try soak one in connyak, vodka, or wiskey and drip "dry".

Ive smoked a few cubans that were dry for 5+ years, just stuck em in my humidor for about a month. They came back just fine

Quoted: Ive smoked a few cubans that were dry for 5+ years, just stuck em in my humidor for about a month. They came back just fine

really? I had a few cubans that went about 9 months without humidifying and I haven't even tried to smoke them yet, they have been in the humidor for almost a year now and I was thinking of trying them