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.
Question Hi James, I have purchased a cooler (aprox 2'x1'x1' deep) also I have a peice of spanish cedar about 6' long by 1" thick and 6"wide, I plan to cut it in half (1/2 in. thick) to make some kind of wood lining, and shelving, just not sure how the best way is to go about it. Can you point me in the right drection to build one, maybe a website or somewhere to get some more info on putting one together? Also until I get it put together, I recently purchased a few boxes and am keeping them in the cooler with a few empty cigar boxes just to add more wood inside, do you think that will work well for a while. I am using a rectangle humidifier about 2"x6".
Answer Hi Grant,
With a coolerdor, the cedar lining does not need to be seamlessly assembled with precision. In fact, you should let the cedar panels sit loose inside your cooler. (Cedar will expand and contract with the humidity so they should not be permanently affixed to your cooler in any way.) All you need to do is line the interior base and four sides of the cooler (adding cedar under the lid is optional) with Spanish cedar so that it will absorb and regulate much of humidity. 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick Spanish cedar is perfectly fine to use for the interior lining.
It's also important that you use KILN-dried cedar and not air-dried cedar. Air-dried cedar will warp and bow from the humidity and possibly break over time. Kiln-dried cedar is much more resilient to moisture which is why it is commonly used in humidors.
For shelving, a simple free-standing cedar shelf with four legs will work fine. Be sure to cut many slats into the shelf platform so that it can aerate humidity more effectively between the top and bottom levels of your coolerdor. When cutting the slats, make sure they are approximately 1 inch apart from each other. The thickness of the slats should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. This will allow maximum aeration but also allow the shelf to retain rigidity and support the weight of the cigars. If the shelf starts to bow from the weight of the cigars/cigar boxes, add a set of legs to the middle part of the shelf to support the weight. The legs can be simple dimensional Spanish cedar lumber cut to your desired length. For coolerdor shelves and aeration platforms, 1"x1" legs cut to a certain height are popular and easy to construct.
As an alternative to slats, you can use a drill and drill equally-spaced holes into the shelf (like a peg board) instead of cutting slats. Be sure to use either a 3/8 or 1/2 inch drill bit for the holes.
For assembling the shelf and shelf legs, brass nails or screws are fine but you can also use non-toxic, low-fume carpenter's wood glue. If you're really skilled with carpentry, using interlocking joints such as dovetail, mortise and tenon, tongue and groove and even dowel is better because it allows the wood to freely expand and contract from the moisture without possible damage from permanent screws or nails.
It's also perfectly fine to store your loose cigars in empty cedar cigar boxes in your coolerdor.
Hopes this answers your question. As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.
