Anyone that knows anything about cigars knows they can't be kept on your kitchen counter for very long. Cigars, like pretty much any consumable are hydroscopic in nature, meaning they absorb relative humidity from their surrounding atmosphere. The appropriate environment for cigars is one of debate, but general consensus is that they should be kept around 70% Relative Humidity (RH), and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This can be a challenge to achieve, especially in Florida, where air conditioning your home or business to 70 degrees can cost a fortune.
However, controlling the humidification is somewhat easier, and cheaper, than controlling the air temperature, so that's a good place to start.
Cigar smokers are offered a plethora of humidification devices on the market today. Everything from high end active humidifiers that blow the humidity around your storage device, eliminating deadspots, to conventional sponge-style humidifiers that come free with most humidors, or cost less than five bucks on their own. Here's an overview:
- Active Electric Humidification: These devices use electricity and some kind of reservoir in conjunction with a hygrometer to measure the relative humidity of your storage solution and blow humidity around to achieve the desired level. Cigar Oasis manufacturers a popular line of such devices.
- Two-Way Humidity Packs: These devices, somewhat new to the market, are great for keeping a small number of cigars at perfect humidity in a sealed environment. They consist of a paper-packet with a membrane that achieves isotonicity between the inside of the packet and the outside environment. Their best feature? They're one of very few solutions capable of bringing down humidity as well as raising it back up. Boveda, distributed by Ashton, are forerunners in this category. If you live in a dry environment, they're also good for storing guitars and other wood instruments, as well as artwork, to protect against cracking.
- Two-Way Humidity Beads: While the packets may be no-nonsense, Heartfelt Industries makes another two-way humidity product in the form of small ceramic-like beads that come in a variety of containers. The beads are also capable of absorbing excess humidity and become clear when properly humidified. They come in a variety of pre-calibrated humidification levels, 60%, 65%, 70%, and so on.
- Crystal Gel Humidifiers: These new crystal jelly humidification devices on the market replaced the older style sponge-humidifiers because they're less susceptible to clogging over time. They consist of a perforated container filled with hard crystals that absorb several times their weight in water and humidify your storage solution passively. Many manufacturers make these, and some higher end humidors are now starting to come with them standard. I've both used and sold the Cigar Savor line of humidifiers in store, and they work fairly well.
- Sponge Style Humidifier: For many years these represented the only method of keeping your cigars properly humidified, and some experts still swear by them. They're very simple devices, made up of a perforated container filled with a spongy foam insert, resoundingly similar to floral foam used in the flowershop industry. Simply fill them with water and drain the excess, and they should keep your cigars humidified without issues. Many humidors come standard with these, but it is recommended to upgrade sooner rather than later, because they can become clogged by water impurities fairly easily.
All of these solutions, except the sealed packets, work best when supplied with distilled water - which has nearly zero impurities. Feeding your humidification anything less than distilled water is asking for the device to become clogged with impurities, and you risk malfunction and possible damage to your cigars. Luckily, pure distilled water is available in most grocery stores and drugstores for about a dollar a gallon, supporting the cheapskate in all of us.
So now that you're set up with humidification, you need some way to track it, to quantify how humid your storage solution is. Well, that means a hygrometer. Fortunately, they only come in two varieties, digital and analog, and function just like watches.
Analog hygrometers are simply a gauge with a needle that measures humidity, usually attached to a synthetic fiber wrapped around the column that expands and contracts with humidity. They're notoriously inaccurate and require recalibration fairly regularly.
Digital hygrometers use a silicon plate with two conductors at either end. Air moisture attaches to the silicon and the hygrometer measures relevant conductivity between the two ends. More conductivity means more humidity. These can be extremely accurate or terrible depending on their build quality, and tend to hold their calibration longer than their analog brethren.
So you've got a humdifier, you've got a hygrometer, now you need a place to put it all together, your humidor.
Humidors can be as elaborate as you want. In my shop, we use twelve cases with sliding glass doors and wood interiors to store our cigars. This has the benefit of keeping the smoke from our lounge from attaching to the cigars, while providing a fairly well sealed environment to keep humidity from escaping.
Some people use tupperware. Hey, it seals, and works great. It's not pretty, but who gives a crap if it keeps your cigars come out perfect?
Most people fall somewhere in the mean and use a wooden box with Spanish kiln-dried cedar lining the inside and a fairly good risen seal. These embody the true definition of humidors, and can be as small as 4-5 count or as large as a thousand or more. A quality wooden humidor has an added benefit that my cabinets or tupperware can never touch.
The wood itself is hydroscopic, containing even more humidity to protect your cigars from drying out. In addition, as the wood trades humidity with the cigars, contaminants like ammonia or sulfates are removed from the cigars, cleansing them, and perfecting their taste over time. Better humidors actually age your cigars to perfection faster. Mind blowing, I know. You too, can perform the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs.
So hey, that's that, Quality humidifier in a quality humidor measured by a quality hygrometer equals perfect cigars. Get out there and show them who's boss.
-Ephram Rafael Nadaner
Current Smoke: 5 Vegas Classic
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