AboutJames Yee Expertise My main area of expertise is Cuban cigars but I can also assist you with cigar etiquette, humidor maintenance and troubleshooting. Unsure of a certain cigar brand? Wondering what a certain cigar tastes like? Have any questions about Cuban cigars? Just let me know! I have smoked every brand of Cuban cigars and most reputable non-Cuban cigar brands on a regular basis so I know a fair bit about taste profiles, cigar etiquette and other fine nuances to cigar smoking. (NOTE: My main focus is on premium, hand-rolled cigars and not cheap, machine made, convenience store cigars.) IMPORTANT: PLEASE NOTE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE CIGAR OR CIGAR-RELATED APPRAISALS. If you have a vintage cigar item and you want to know if it's worth something, please contact an antique dealer that specializes in "TOBACCIANA".
Experience I currently have 15 dedicated years of cigar smoking (an average 4 cigars a day) and counting. I have smoked every brand of Cuban cigars and most reputable non-Cuban cigar brands on a regular basis so I know a fair bit about taste profiles, cigar etiquette and other fine nuances to cigar smoking. For 5 years, I studied with Cuban torcedores (rollers), catadores (taste testers) and revisadores (inspectors) on every aspect involving the production of the Cuban cigar and I am currently writing a book that will help beginners understand everything they need to know about cigars and cigar smoking.
Thanks to all your help in the past, I have my humidor running perfectly at 70/70 with no more than 1 degree or RH fluctuation.
However, in august, I will be leaving the country for a year. I am going to bring my humidor and cigars as I want to smoke in the new country, and no one will take care of them while im away from Toronto. However, I will be living in a bachelor so I will not have access to anything like a cellar or basement. I know that leaving the air conditioner on all day will kill me with electrical bills.... do you have any suggestions on what I could do to keep the temperature down? cause I know during the days, the room will get quite hot. Is there a better alternative than maybe leaving the cigars in a closet or washroom? (I assume those places get the least amount of sunlight from the windows)
Also a few more questions... Is it easier to keep a humidor stable when there are more cigars? I recently got a box of cigars, and my humidor seems way more stable with them inside.
And the whole time, when RH gets too high I have been adding 50/50 PG formula, and when RH gets too low, I just add distilled water. Is this process alright?
thanks again James!
Answer Hi Andrew,
Based on your situation, your best option would be to invest in a thermo-electric humidor. Thermo-electric humidors will properly and automatically maintain perfect humidity and temperature levels; regardless of the climate conditions. Many thermo-electric humidors are also fully-configurable so you can custom set the temperature and humidity levels to your specific liking.
The best part about a thermo-electric desktop humidor is that you can take it with you anywhere so when you move back to Toronto (or decide to live abroad elsewhere), it will continue to maintain proper humidity and temperature wherever you are.
As an alternative, you can also store your cigars in a wine-fridge retrofitted with Spanish cedar and an electronic humidifier to accomodate cigars. This is a very popular method among cigar smokers/collectors because wine fridges can store plenty of cigars - single and whole boxes - plus you can custom set the temperature so that it is more ideal for your cigars. Wine fridges with a full glass front door are also popular because of their aesthetic design plus it allows you to see (and show off) your cigar collection. ;)
If a wine-fridge or thermo-electric humidor is not possible, your next best option is to store it in the coolest room possible. Use a digital thermometer and try to find the coolest room in your new home. Even a 1 or 2 degree drop in temperature helps. Avoid keeping your humidor near windows or major appliances and/or light sources that emit heat. Storing your humidor in a closet will work but you need to make sure that the closet is indeed cooler than the rest of the house.
As for 50/50 mixtures, whenever the humidity becomes too low, you can counterbalance the PG by diluting it with a bit more distilled water. Also, humidors can indeed be more stable when there are more cigars in it. While some people argue that this is negligible, many people do agree that their humidors perform better when there are more cigars in it.
Hopes this helps. As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.
