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Someone, not too long ago, posted on this forum the fact that they freeze their cigars as soon as they receive them and prior to placing them in their humidor. When I first read this I thought....man is this guy paranoid!! Well let me tell you, I've have come to the conclusion that it is better to be safe than sorry.

This morning, when I went into my humidor, I discovered a dead beetle. I inspected every cigar and none had holes in them. The dead beeltle could have been caught up in the folds of one of the cellophane wrappers and may have come from the distributor that way (it, the beetle, was very dry and pressed flat).

That being the case I got out my large "zip lock" freezer bags and proceeded to freese the entire contents of this humidor...approx 80 cigars.

I have now decided, given my sizable investment in my puros, to treat the problem prophalacticly by freezing every cigar prior to placing them in my humidor. I know the routine...you freeze for three days.....after three days place bags of cigars in the refrigerator to thaw slowly then return to humidor.

Now, I was wondering if anybody on this forum knows anything about long term freezing of cigars. Will long term freezing (months or years) damage the cigar or affect their flavor? Can cigars suffer "freezer burn", like foods can? Any thoughts, opinions, or first hand experiences out there.

Looking forward to your responses.

Take your cigars, wrap them twice in plastic cling wrapper, put them in two zip lock bags, then in a sealed tupperware container and lay them in the freezer. If you are using a deep freezer where the temperature gets very low, only two to three days is required and five days in a freezer that is attached to the fridge. After freezer time, place the gars in the fridge for approximately two days. At the end of the two day period, let them sit at room temperature still in the tupperware. At the end of this process, you can place your cigars in your humidor for about four days before smoking them. The cold temp of the freezer will kill the beetle egggs, which causes the most damage when they hatch and tunnel their way out of the cigar. Keeping the cigars wrapped thru this process will cut back on damage from condensation. I have not had any problems with freezer burns or dryness. As I said in an earlier post, it works for me.

Yeah, he did and I got a bit carried away with my answer. The cigars should not stay in the freezer for more than five days. Any longer will ruin a lot of good smokes.