How to Choose a Cigar Humidor
Cigar humidors perform a vital function for the cigar aficionado, or even the beginner. Their function is to store your cigars, keeping them at just the right humidity, which should be in the range of 65-72%. Maintaining the right humidity is vital to keeping your cigars in the best possible condition. If the air is too dry, the cigars dry out, and lose flavor, will burn hot. If the air is too moist, mold can spoil them, cause uneven burn.
When cigar humidors are doing their job well, the cigars age in a way that enhances their flavor, improving your enjoyment.
If you really enjoy a top-quality cigar, then choosing one of the many quality cigar humidors available is an important investment for you, one that will last you many years. If you think about it, you are potentially investing hundreds of dollars in cigars, wouldn’t it be in your best interest to store them correctly?
Humidors come in many styles. You can choose a humidor with trays, high gloss finish, with legs, etc. There are so many to choose from, that you need to know the basics to ensure you are getting a good quality box that will preserve your cigars for years to come.
Here are 5 easy steps to choosing the right humidor.
1. Size. There is a really famous nerd type guy, whose name I don’t remember, that basically said you will take up as much space as you are given.
For example, my wife’s purses keep getting larger and larger, and more and more stuff keeps getting shoved inside. I mean really, does she need 42 different kinds of gum? But I digress. You want to start off with a humidor that is at least 50% larger than you think you will need. So if you have say 25 cigars, buy a 40-50 cigar humidor.
Why? Because inevitably you will start to store more cigars, so it is better to plan ahead. Start off with one that won’t break your budget, but that you won’t grow out of in 5 minutes! For a brand new smoker, who is getting started, I suggest a nice 50-100 cigar humidor. Remember, you can put fewer cigars in a larger humidor, but you can’t put more in a small one!
2. Seal. A humidor without a good seal is like a Sunday without football. It just plain sucks. You want to make sure that when you close the lid of the humidor that it makes a nice whoosh sound as it closes. I have heard people mention things like the dollar bill test, and other various things. But honestly, it all comes down to closing the lid. If it slams shut, it is good for nothing more than storing your remote controls in. If it puffs or whooshes when it closes, you are golden. When purchasing online, and you can’t actually see or touch the humidor, it is important to ask the proprietor if their humidors whoosh when they close. I am sure you know where I am going with this. All of the humidors we offer close with a nice whoosh.
INSIDE YOUR CIGAR HUMIDOR
3. Liner. Quality cigar humidors have a Spanish Cedar lining. It’s chosen because it can handle the humidity required without warping. Anything else inside a humidor is silly. You want the cedar to be kiln dried, which means they literally dry it out to remove all the sap. This prevents a icky mess on all your cigars. Insert whatever Clinton joke you want to here. But seriously, Spanish Cedar is where it is at. The indian’s used to use it to build boats because it is water friendly. The cedar should also be non-aromatic. This isn’t the cedar you put in a gerbil cage or a closet. This is a different cedar. It doesn’t smell.
4. Style. Make sure that your choice of humidor complements your own personal style. There really isn’t too much to say here. If you don’t like it on the desk or where ever you are going to put it, it doesn’t really matter how well it works. I mean, if a world famous chef made you spaghetti and colored it blue you probably wouldn’t eat it. So why would you want an ugly ass humidor sitting on your desktop?
5. Quality. Ensure that the humidor is good quality. If the lid warps, or the hinges fail, the seal will be broken. Then, all
you’ll have is a nice-looking storage box. Always remember, “Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.” Cigar Star focus on quality first and style second. That being said, price doesn’t dictate quality at all. In fact, December 2003, Cigar Aficionado Magazine reviewed 10 or so humidors. Most of them were boxes costing thousands, yes, thousands of dollars. They also reviewed one which sells for $199. That humidor got a B-, and a humidor costing over 5 times more money got a C-. So price isn’t the determining factor. Make sure the hinges are good, the joinery it good, and above all, make sure it has a nice warranty or guarantee. All of our humidors come with no questions asked warranty. 1-5 yrs.