Is there anything i can do to tell the age of the box/cigars? if they were stored for years un-humidified (which is most likely the case since my Bro-in-law doesn't smoke), are they even going to be smoke-able?

i can throw some pics up in when i get home from work but until then...should i even be wasting my time?

Smoke one. Olivas are good sticks.

They don't date stamp samplers as far as I know, I don't think they date stamp boxes either for that matter.

1. 70% humidity is probably too high for nursing sticks back to proper humidity. Start lower. You want to re-humidify as slowly as possible. If you go too quick, the filler picks up moisture too quickly, swells, and will burst the wrapper. Think "Gurkha" but worse.

2. I would remove the cello and leave it off. Check the sticks for mold. Plume brushes off easily, mold does not. Mold comes in a ton of colors but often has a blueish hue to it. Mold is always furry but this may not be detectable by the human eye alone. I've never heard plume described as being "waxy". This may be a result of whatever caused the warping and rusting of the hinges in which case the cigars may be trash.

3. Good call on not comingling these sticks with others. I would personally never end that segregation.

Is the box water stained? Part of me is wondering if the box was actually drenched at some point.

Yellow cello can be a result of age, but it can also occur very rapidly under certain adverse conditions. Heat, high levels of ammonia, these can cause cello to yellow significantly in a short period of time. I once intentionally turned a box full of clear/new used cello sleeves into a box of very old looking yellow cello in about two weeks by placing it near a heat source and adding a small amount of ammonia & rubbing alcohol (essentially an ammonia inhalant and forcing the ammonia into vapor) to a stainless sauce cup inside the box.

You mentioned that they still smell like a cigar, so at least there's some hope. If they aren't too dry, I'd say just try one.

Oh, and good call on keeping them separate.

AS for the warp and rust, exactly what i was thinking of also, they had to have been humidified at some point, or stored somewhere damp and musty :/

the snowflake, may has something to do with plume forming inside a cello??? just a thought...i will try to burn one depending on condition. maybe tonight! i let you all know how it goes, or if you never hear from me on this forum again, please alert my local coroner about this thread.....

Plume doesn't usually form unevenly, even under cello. Could be a mineral deposit related to the over-humidification.

Also, something to keep in mind: not all cigars develop plume, there is no timeline for those that do (I've seen it happen as quickly as 6-9 months, and I also have 30 year old cigars that still haven't developed it), and it doesn't mean diddly squat when it does form.

I wouldn't worry about the coroner, now, the CDC on the other hand...

Close but no Cigar,😂 lol he married my sister.....if they are terrible, maybe ill walk down to the corner and sell them to the local hoodlums as "formaldehyde dipped" Blunts.....[jester]

TITIWOP!

Yes...this thread is worthless w/out pic

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Whatsa matta? Past your bedtime you 🌫 ?