Tag Archives: humidor

by Craig Vanderslice | April 17, 2019 · 8:40 am

NewAir CC-300H Climate Controlled Cigar Humidor Review

Back in July of 2015 I became the proud owner of a Newair CC-100 Thermoelectric Humidor, and it’s been functioning wonderfully ever since. It quickly reached capacity, becoming the home for many of my most prized cigars. I stored all of the various coffins, odd boxes and whatnot in it that get lost in the large cabinet, and don’t really fit in a desktop humidor. It also was decorated by Wineadorart.com with some great looking decals. Recently, the folks at NewAir offered me an upgrade to their CC-300H model, not only an upgrade in size but in features as well. Let’s take a look at the list of features that the CC-300 has before I tell you what I think of it!

KEY FEATURES

Opti-Temp™ heats and cools to maintain consistent temperature year-round
Holds up to 400 individually wrapped or boxed cigars for serious collectors
Pin-point accurate thermostat lets you adjust the temperature in 1 degree increments
Removable, adjustable Spanish Cedar shelves and drawers enhance flavors and aromas
Lock and key helps you protect your collection

It’s quite a bit larger than the CC-100, has heating as well as cooling, where the CC-100 only cools. It has a lock and key, which the CC-100 doesn’t. It also has two drawers, and they skipped the dial hygrometer mounted in the drawer which is in the CC-100. Like many dial hygrometers, it isn’t worth a darned anyway, it’s strictly decorative. I had taken a shelf out of the CC-100 to accommodate an additional box, which I won’t have to do with the CC-300H for some time, as it will easily accommodate ten dress boxes if needed. Cabinet boxes will prove to be a challenge and would require removing shelves to make room. I allowed a week or so at elevated humidity for the shelves and drawers to absorb moisture so they wouldn’t be drawing humidity out of my cigars when I moved them in. There’s not a lot of wood, so this isn’t as important a step as it is with a wood humidor. Wineadors aren’t too much more than a fancy coolerdor anyway, it’s just a sealed plastic box with added electronics. I have the same Cigar Oasis Excel that I used in the smaller unit that I rarely ever had to refill and it seems to be settling in right where I want it to be, and I have one of my Govee remote sensors in there so I can monitor things. The room I have this in is the one room in the house that has the wildest temperature swings, so the heating part will be handy in the winter, although my cigars getting chilly is less of a concern than them getting too warm. With all of these units there’s a limit to how far below the ambient temperature it will cool, if the room is 80, it’s not going to get much below 75, but it’s better than 80! Those are the upsides as I see them.

Downsides, minor as they are, would be the placement of the lock. The way is engineered, it’s the most logical way to do it, I get it. It’s on the bottom, and it’s pretty simple, but if you need to keep small children out it’s effective. It isn’t going to keep anyone older than the age of 4 out, but by then you should have taught your child about what are adult things and what are child things. There’s no handle, which looks good and doesn’t really affect anything at all. I like that they no longer highlight the fact that they include a “moisture container”, which they still do, as using that as the source of humidity is just asking for trouble. Of course, as with any humidor, time will tell, but first impressions of the Newair CC-300H are very favorable, and, based on the last 3+ years experience with the smaller predecessor, I have no cause to believe this isn’t a sound investment.

NewAir has provided my readers with a 20% discount off the purchase of a CC-300H! Use code 20CRAIG for 20% off at https://www.newair.com/products/newair-400-cigar-humidor-climate-controlled-heating-and-cooling-with-lock?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=CraigVanderslice&utm_campaign=CC300H .Thanks to NewAir for the oportunity to test drive their humidors!

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Accessories, Review

Tagged as CC-300H, cigar, cigars, humidor, NewAir, Wineador

by CigarCraig | October 24, 2018 · 8:51 pm

Contest: Big Papi Humidor from El Artista Cigars for the World Series!

Yes, it’s another contest! You’d think it was December! I hope everyone isn’t disappointed when the holidays roll around and I’m working in retail for the first time in 3o years and can’t do giveaways like I used to! Of course, I’ll try to do something, but temper your expectations! Let’s get a winner for the last contest out of the way, the lucky winner of the Joya goodies courtesy of Joya and the Wooden Indian is Jared Berel! E-mail me your address so I can send you your loaded travel humidor, hat and cutter! Don’t forget to check out the Wooden Indian’s online store!

In honor of the Boston Redsox being in the World Series, the great folks at El Artista has offered up one of their beautiful Big Papi humidors for a contest! I told them I had just done two contests in a row and my readers were sick and tired of having the opportunity to win great cigar related goodies, but they were insistent, and due to the time sensitive nature of the World Series and all going on as we speak, it was pretty much now or never. I’ve seen this humidor (the winner will receive it directly from El Artista), it’s a beauty, very well made, good fit and finish.

I’ll select a winner next Wednesday. I just looked at the schedule and I suppose the series will be decided by then. I rather expected them to stretch it out for a week but they don’t mess around, a sweep could have this wrapped up by the weekend! (That will make the Boston fans happy and piss off the LA fans, I guess…). So go ahead and leave a comment for an entry like usual. This one is open to everyone. Many thanks to El Artista for the great humidor for this contest!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Contest

Tagged as Big Papi, cigar, cigars, Contest, El Artista, humidor

by CigarCraig | October 16, 2018 · 12:57 pm

News: Adorini Presents Unique 70.000€ Humidor

I’m posting this bit of news from Adorini because I’m a big fan of the two desktop humidors I have from them, as well as the double punch that I use all the time. They make some great products, and I expect everyone to run out and get one of these humidors! I’m kidding, there’s only one, and it’s a little pricey! It’s a beauty though, read on:

This safe is in the true sense of the word a unique opportunity. For this unique item, a historical safe from the end of the 19th century was completely restored. Maybe it was used to store gold bars, bundles of money, diamonds or other valuables – its current purpose is to keep valuable cigars and store them well under ideal conditions.

The restorer of this cabinet was a real artist, or how else to name someone who paints such an illusory real wood pattern on steel by hand? Yes, you have read correctly, the cabinet is made almost entirely of steel! Its weight is about 650kg – in terms of security of stored cigars (and possibly other things) you do not have to worry anymore!

However that was another challenge for him, because cigars require an increased humidity of about 68-72%, which of course can permanently damage a steel cabinet. For this reason, every single screw and every metal part in the inner part has been removed and galvanized, so that the topic rust is a matter of the past.

Up to 1,000 cigars, which will find a safe home in the cedar-lined cabinet, will be humidified with 2 microprocessor controlled ‚ Adorini Cigar Heaven electronic humidification systems, which allow you to adjust and monitor the humidity at will. A 3-day average shows you the condition of the cigars. Even in the world‘s most expensive humidor, which was auctioned a few years ago at a festival in Havana for € 450,000, this precise system was the one that became trusted.

Your cigars could not be better staged in this exclusive piece of furniture. Your guests will be amazed when you operate the smooth and beautiful-looking mechanics, open bars to bars, then open the heavy doors and present your LED-illuminated gems in the spotlight. Above the humidor section you also have another locker in which you can store valuables according to the original purpose. In the base, which is the only part of the humidor safe made of wood, you can e.g. also store some of your wine bottles.
This work of art retails for 70.000€. Only one unit has been made,

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Tagged as Adorini, cigar, cigars, humidor

by CigarCraig | November 2, 2016 · 8:13 pm

A Kuuts Roadking and a Humidor for the Man Who Has Everything

Tonight I took my evening walk with a Kuuts Roadking robusto from the IPCPR show. I spent quite a lot of time talking to Steve Ysidron, the new president of Kuuts, and I can’t talk about a lot of what we discussed. Steve owned the Epicurean brand, and has rolled his Gonzo Santeria and Carnavale brands into the Kuuts portfolio, both of which are excellent cigars. There’s no blend information on the Roadking, but it’s got a great flavor, a lot of sweet tobacco flavor, it’s listed as strong on the website, but I found t to be nicely medium in strength, very comfortable to smoke, and quite pleasing. Everything I read about this cigar from the trade show indicates some question as to whether this will make it to market. I hope it does, because it’s a very good cigar.

For the man who has everything, and needs a fifty count humidor made by a nearly one hundred year old German luxury safe manufacturer. I received this information from Döttling‘s press office:

The retail price for the humidor in this configuration is 12.000 EUR net.
It is capable of storing up to 50 cigars in 4 completely removable trays made of Spanish cedar.
Besides this the customer can give us his requested dimensions and we built the humidor accordingly.
Prices for larger versions are on request.
Customers can choose from a larger variety of calf leather colours and can determine the stitching colour as well.
For personalisation we offer the stitching of initials or family coat of arms.

Obviously, the price point isn’t for everyone, but if you have an extra $13k lying around, this might be a humidor for you. This is the tabletop version of the humidor that’s included in the company’s Fortress, which has the humidor, precision watch storage that winds the watches, and a safe for your valuables. These are definitely the pinnacle of cigar protection.

That’s all for today, the next post will be Sunday’s post by way of Reykjavik, Iceland. I’ll probably pre-write something and schedule it to post in the event that I am unable to post something directly from there. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

1 Comment

Filed under IPCPR, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Döttling, humidor, Kuuts, Roadking

by CigarCraig | July 1, 2015 · 9:00 pm

NewAir CC-100 Thermoelectric Cigar Humidor

A few weeks ago the folks at NewAir contacted me about test driving one of their new humidors. I told them I didn’t need another humidor, and my wife would likely kill me if I brought another one into the house. Their website has pictures of a nicely stocked unit sitting on a kitchen counter, that has about as much of a chance of happening in my house as me running my dishwasher safe AshStay cigar ashtray through the dishwasher! As much as I didn’t need another humidor in the house, this one looked like something my readers would be interested in. It’s available from retailers we all know, it seems like a good value, and the “wine fridge” humidors seem to be all the rage these days. So I took on the burden of introducing yet another humidor to the house, at great peril.

Here are the deets on the NewAir CC-100:

Key Features

Comes with Hygrometer & Moisture Container
Real Spanish Cedar Wood Shelves & Drawer
Stores up to 250 of your favorite cigars
The interior temperature can be adjusted in increments of 1° between 54°F & 74°F.
To properly maintain RH, you need to include a method of adding humidity. For your convenience, a moisture container is included.

Let’s take a quick look at this list first, bullet point by bullet point.

The Hygrometer is analog and is inset into the Spanish cedar drawer which is in the top of the unit. It seems to be quite accurate, agreeing with several digital units I put in as a control. The “Moisture Container” is a plastic tray, and I’m not sure why they include this. I suppose one could put polymer beads in it as a humidity source. If a novice to cigar storage were to just fill this with water and leave it in there it would mold very quickly.

The shelves and drawer are nice and fit well. I tried re-arranging the placement but they seem best suited to be left alone, the drawer in the top position and the shelves underneath. Good quality, perhaps not enough wood to truly buffer the humidity swings of frequent opening and closing, but an acceptable start. Storing boxes on the shelves gives it plenty of wood to buffer humidity.

It’s well known that humidor capacity is based upon the number of petite coronas (typically Montecristo no.4) cigars that can be crammed into the box. this will easily hold 250 petite coronas, although probably not in boxes. I have about 75 cigars in there now with room to spare. Since this is a retrofitted wine fridge, it’s deeper than it is wide, so it’s possible that smaller boxes could be stored two deep.

The temperature adjustment is where this differs from a traditional humidor. I set mine at 70, and it seems to be right on. This will be handy in the summer months, and after I have had this for a while and feel comfortable with the stability I am storing some of my best cigars in there, as well as keeping my “on deck” review samples in the drawer.

Finally, adding a humidifier. I happened to have a Cigar Oasis Excel siting idle, and decided to give that a try. It’s just about the right size and really doesn’t take up much space on the bottom of the unit. The ribbon cable has to come out the front door (on the side), once I decide that’s going to be the humidifier of choice, I’ll stick the wire to the side and hide it real good. This unit is so tightly sealed that I figure Boveda packs or polymer beads of some sort, could work just fine. I actually haven’t heard the Cigar Oasis running much, which is a good sign. Please don’t just fill the included container from point number one with water and let it go, you will end up with a large petri dish.

One of the challenges I still have is finding a place to put this. Right now it’s sitting on the floor next to my cabinet. It plugs in, as does the Cigar Oasis, so it needs to be near an outlet. I would love to find a shelf unit to put it, as well as the other desktop humidors, on, as long as it receives spousal support, creating a sort of “tower of humidors” next to the tower humidor. As if it’s not bad enough (or great, depending on perspective) that the focal point of the living room/dining room is already a humidor. This is where the depth works against the unit, but it’s very close to the same depth as the cabinet (a few inches deeper). I really need to get it off the floor. If I didn’t have so many cigars, this would be a perfect humidor to have as my only unit, it holds humidity well, maintains temperature well and looks nice. I am so confident in it that I put some of my higher end cigars in it. It gets the CigarCraig seal of approval, I think it’s a very good value.