Expert: James Yee - 4/9/2008

Question
Dear James,

My question focuses on proper storage of factory sealed and unopened cigar boxes. Like all my fellow cigar enthusiasts here, I am extremely passionate about cigars and love indulging at every appropriate opportunity. In addition, acquiring and collecting cigars is a passion I wish to appease as well.

Questions surrounding proper storage of loose cigars in humidors, for smoking at a later time, have been addressed and tackled quite comprehensively. However, the different options available for proper long-term storage of sealed, unopened cigar boxes remain relatively unknown (to me atleast).

If purchasing a large cabinet humidor is not a viable option, then instead is it okay to store each individual sealed box in a zip-lock bag with charged humidifier (For example a Firstland International slim round humidifier for 25 cigars)?

How effective are Humid-EZE Humidfication Disks or Sticks for the above purpose and would you recommend using them in place of a charged slim humidifier?

Any extra tips, suggestions and recommendations you can make in this context will be quite invaluable and will serve me well for years to come.

Reading the cigar Q/A section here at AllExperts is what I consider to be some of the best cigar world knowledge imparting reading out there. I look forward to your answer and thank you for being an invaluable resource to cigar enthusiasts the world-over.

Sincerely,

Kunal

Answer
Hi Kunal,

For long-term storage of whole boxes, storing your cigar boxes in humidified Ziploc bags will definitely work.  In fact, there are commercially-available, humidified Ziploc bags (aka "Humi-pouches") designed specifically for this purpose.  These humi-pouches are also much better to use for improvisational cigar storage/travel because they require no maintenance and can keep your cigars properly humidified for 3 months with little or no supervision at all.  If you prefer to use humi-pouches instead of making your own, they can be purchased at any cigar store/tobacconist and are available in a variety of sizes.  Depending on the size, they can cost anywhere between $5-$15 per bag.

If you prefer to fabricate your own humidified Ziploc bags, be sure to add a 50/50 Propylene Glycol/distilled water mixture to the humidification device(s) and this will prevent the humidifiers from generating too much humidity.  In a plastic container/bag environment, excess humidity can be trouble for your cigar collection.  The 50/50 mixture will create the right amount of humidity for your cigars (70%).  Any type of humidification element will work but cellulose polymer-based humidification units such as crystal tubes and gel pillows are less-susceptible to bacteria and perform longer than aquafoam-based units.

A better alternative however, would be to store all your cigar boxes in one large container instead of several containers/bags.  By doing this, your cigar collection will be more easy to manage.  (Rather than maintaining several Ziploc bags and humidification devices, you'll only need to watch and control one.)  A popular and inexpensive storage container that many cigar enthusiasts prefer to use and recommend is a large beverage cooler (aka "Coolerdor").  It may seem like a comical idea but coolerdors are quite popular among cigar collectors who do not want to invest in a large humidor cabinet.  Coolerdors can hold many cigar boxes, are resistant to bugs/dirt/debris and can maintain humidity quite well.  Simply store your cigar boxes in it and add a humidifier and hygrometer to properly maintain and measure humidity.  Spanish cedar is optional in a coolerdor but many people prefer to line the interior of their coolerdors with it.

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

Regards,
James