Cigar Storage Basics
Good cuban cigars improve with correct storage. And you should never let a prime Cuban cigar lose its quality.
If you like excellent Cuban cigars, you need to know how to store them, so that they won’t dry out or get moldy. If they’re too damp, they can be hard to smoke with an intermittent burn. They can even become moldy. If your cigars are kept in an overly dry environment they will taste harsh.
So improve your cigars with proper storage or let them rot?! Here are some cigar storage basics to safeguard your investment.
Premium Cuban cigars are an investment and usually increase in value over time. You won’t want to throw away expensive sticks because you stored them incorrectly. Like fine wines, many cigars increase in value as they age (to a certain point). The flavors in the tobacco mature and develop a more complex aroma.
Torcedores keep their hand-rolled cigars for at least three to six months before selling, and many a Cuban aficionado will claim five is the perfect number of years to age a cigar. It all depends on the exact cigar, but whether more or less you need correct cigar storage.
An exquisite Cuban cigar should be aged in an environment that echoes the one in which it was rolled. Cuban cigars do best when they are in a warm, relatively humid climate. To achieve the perfect atmosphere, you need either a DIY humidor or a pricier ready-built humidor made of cedar or mahogany.
A humidor can be made out of a wine chest, an ammo box, or Tupperware. You need a warm spot away from windows (as you don’t want temperature fluctuations) and relative humidity of 65%.
The two critical ingredients and cigar storage basics are humidity and temperature. The ideal temperature to keep a Cuban cigar is 60˚F to 65˚F (16˚C to 18˚C). Relative humidity, which is the amount of moisture in the air, should hover around 65%-68%.
Only distilled water should be used as your humidifying agent, as using tap water often contains pathogens or chemical contaminants which can cause mold to grow. Even though your ideal aging period is three years, check the humidity and temp of your humidor every two weeks to make sure conditions remain consistent, and to add more water if necessary.
And of course, if you have a good cigar storage, you can buy and keep the best Cuban cigars.