Expert: James Yee - 11/26/2008

Question
Hello Mr. Yee,

I am 27 years old and have purchased my first humidor, it was a fairly inexpensive piece and I doubt it is made of Spanish Cedar.  It is a nice design and I plan to upgrade in a near future to a 150-200count unit with Spanish Cedar.  I have treated my box 24 hours now with distilled water, I initially dampened the lining(I assume it is a cedar as you can clearly see the difference in the box material and the lining). I would let it sit 45 minutes while being open to breathe, dampen the lining again, wait 45 minutes and repeat for a third time.  I have then added distilled water to the humidification device(do not know it's actual name yet).  allowed th water to run out for several minutes while upside down on a paper towel.  After 10-15 minutes I repeated this process and 10-15 minutes later I installed the humidification device by attaching it to the lid of the humidor. I then placed a shallow dish of distilled water within the humidor and closed the lid for nearly 24 hours.  I have only two cigars which my girlfriend brought back from a Mexico trip(I initially had three but smoked one already).  So Mr. Yee my question would be this, what is the minimum amount of  time I should place a cigar in the humidor prior to smoking?  I want the cigar to be treated enough to enjoy it properly, yet I do not know the minimum amount of time recommended.  I have read, that if properly maintained, a cigar can last a life time(in the humidor of course)!  I don't think I will ever get to such a point, then again there is also no telling with time!

Thank you in advance for your response, I look forward to reading your recommendation and any future questions I am certain to have for you.

Best Regards and Happy smoking!

Eli

Answer
Hi Eli,

First, welcome to the wonderful world of cigars and cigar smoking.  I hope you really enjoy it.  To answer your question, cigar storage times actually varies and greatly depends on the condition of the cigars themselves.  If the cigar has been well-humidified when you purchased it and spent at most, only a few days outside of a humidor, then the cigar really only needs a minimum of 1-2 weeks in your humidor (at an ideal humidity level of 70%) before you should smoke it.  This should be more than enough time to rejuvenate the cigar and make it enjoyable.  If the cigar is dry, it will burn too quickly, burn crookedly and taste stale.

However, cigars that have been without humidification for a longer amount of time will obviously require more time in a humidor.  Extremely dry and brittle cigars will require a minimum of 4-6 months in a properly maintained humidor before you attempt to smoke them.  This extra amount of time is required so that the humidity can permeate the entire cigar and rehydrate the filler tobacco.  Extremely dry cigars may also be very fragile and brittle so it's always best to rehumidify the cigar as much as possible before you attempt to thoroughly handle them.  If not, the cigars' wrapper leaves may crack and split from the slightest touch or even during smoking.

On average, it's always best to let your cigars sit in a humidor for at least 1 month before you smoke them.  Of course, if you're in no rush to smoke the cigars, then I would suggest that you let them sit in your humidor for a longer period of time.  This will allow the cigars to thoroughly humidify and the longer a cigar ages, the more defined the flavours may be.  Like a fine wine, cigars will also taste better with age. ;)

Hopes this answers your question. If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James