Expert: James Yee - 8/4/2008

Question
My uncle just sent me some Cuban cigars as a gift.  He's had them for a couple years. He sent me a Cohiba in a glass tube, a Cuba Aliados in cellophane, and 2 Montecristos nudes.  His instructions were to humidity slowwww-ly.  I have a humidor I keep calibrated at 70-71%.  I want to keep these separate due to past instances w/ beetles in Cubans.  So now I'm wondering how to "slowly" humidify.  What does that even mean?  I have freezer ziplock bags, a couple mini humi-pillows, and a digital hygrometer... tell me what to do!

Answer
Hi Greg,

To humidify a cigar "slowly", you have to introduce a cigar at a lower humidity level - such as 60% - and slowly increase the humidity back to 70% over time.  This technique is often used for cigars that have been extremely dried out (ie: bone dry and too brittle to handle cigars) because introducing a fragile cigar to abundant humidity too quickly can cause a cigar to swell and split.  Fortunately, because your humidor is set at 70-71%, your cigars won't be in any danger.  Dry cigars have been known to split when the humidity is 74% or greater.

Humidifying cigars slowly is also more effective when it is done in a controlled environment away from your other cigars such as a separate humidor or tupperdor.  To humidify cigars "slowly", you can use another humidor or tupperware container with a humidification device filled with Propylene Glycol and distilled water.  (Humi-pillows may work but credo-style humidification devices are more effective and controllable in this situation.  If you're having trouble finding Propylene Glycol, you can usually find it at most cigar shops and drug stores/pharmacies.)

Normally, a 50/50 mixture of Propylene Glycol and distilled water will create a 70% humidity level so fine tune the mixture by adding more PG than water.  When you have the achieved humidity level (60-65%), let the cigars sit in the humidor for two weeks so that the cigars are re-acclimated to humidity.  (During this time, you can also monitor the cigars for any present beetle or mold activity. New beetles or mold however, will not form unless humidity is 75% or higher and the temperature is greater than 75 degrees Fahrenheit.)  

After a couple of weeks, the dry cigars should be safe enough to handle by hand.  You can now relocate the cigars to a humidor running at 70% humidity.  Allow your cigars to sit for at least another 4-6 weeks before you attempt to smoke them.  This will allow your cigars to fully rejuvenate.

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