Expert: James Yee - 6/7/2008

Question
Hello, I have read some of the Q & A you have posted and found the information to be very helpful. I've recently come back from Cuba and decided to start myself a small collection. Upon my return (having no previous experience with cigars prior to my trip) I was told I had a decent collection (cohibas, trinidads, monte cristos, romeo y juliettas, bolivars, guantanameras and a few more I can't remember). I immediately purchased a small (125c) humidor to ensure their keeping good. I've had these for maybe a month now and today (on a real warm and humid day) I noticed the humidity had gone up to mid to high 70s. It's going to be a real warm summer and I don't have air conditioning. How should I store these or is there a way to adjust the solution to a lower humidity? I'm just starting out and have done a little bit of reading on cigars and humidors but any information you could spare on good maintenance and such would be very helpful. Also, I heard aging certain cigars is beneficiary, is this true for the ones I have?

Answer
Hi Simon,

When maintaining cigars in your humidor, it is important to remember that the humidity level inside your humidor must be higher than 67%, but not exceed 73%. 67-73% is the safe range for humidity.  If cigars are kept at BELOW 67%, the cigars will be too dry and brittle.  If they are kept at above 75%, they will be too soggy and unsmokeable.  Also, prolonged exposure to humidity above 75% can cause mold to form on your cigars.  For temperature, the humidor's internal temperature should be kept in the low 70's and not exceed 79 degrees Fahrenheit.  Prolonged exposure to temperatures above 79 degrees will cause any tobacco eggs in the tobacco to hatch and feed; thus ruining your cigars.  

An ideal and simple to remember formula for optimum cigar storage is "70/70".  This means, 70% humidity and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you can keep your humidor's humidity at 70% and the temperature at 70 degrees, your cigars will be perfectly safe.

If your humidor's temperature is increasing to dangerous levels and you don't have air conditioning in your home, it's best to move the humidor the the coolest room possible and avoid keeping your humidor near any windows or natural and artificial lighting such as sunlight or lamps.

If your humidor's humidity is also rising uncontrollably, you can add a 50/50 Propylene Glycol (PG) and distilled water solution and this will balance the humidity out at exactly 70%.  If this 50/50 mixture doesn't achieve 70% humidity, you can fine-tune the mixture by adding a few drops more PG to lower humidity, or more water to increase humidity.  50/50 pre-mixed solutions are available for purchase at most cigar stores and tobacconists or you can purchase PG separately and mix it with distilled water yourself.  PG is available at most cigar stores, tobacconists and pharmacies.

When using Propylene Glycol, it is important to remember that PG can last a long time inside your humidor - on average 2 years - so you only need to add this mixture just once.  After the initial mixture, all you need to do is regularly add distilled water to the humidification device, when needed, to maintain an ideal humidity level.

In regards to aging cigars: yes, aged cigars do taste better and like a fine wine, a cigar's flavours become more defined and richer the more it is aged.  However, aged cigars do eventually peak and at this point, will become more mellow.  Aging times and how well a cigar tastes during aging greatly varies on the type of tobaccos used and how well they are you used together.  ALL cigars have the potential to age incredibly well though darker cigars that are abundant in natural oils are often the best candidates for aging because the natural oils will eventually extrude from the cigar and crystallize.  This is known as "plume" (also called bloom) and plume on a cigar is a clear sign that the cigar has been aging well.

Many of the Cuban brands that you purchased are known to age well.

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

Regards,
James