Expert: James Yee - 7/29/2010

Question
Hi James, I have a few questions that are pretty unrelated and hope you can answer them

1) Im buying a 150 count humidor with a cigar oasis XL.  Considering I have the Cigar Oasis, do I still have to prep/wipe my humidor with distilled water?   or can I just put the Cigar Oasis in?   And how far away from the cigar oasis should my cigars be?

2) I would be surprised if you knew the answer to this, but here goes.   If I am flying from country A to county C, but have a stopover in country B (USA), is that illegal?  If countries A and C are fine with cubans

3) Lastly, whenever I buy cigars, they seem way softer and more humidified than the ones I keep, which I keep at 70%.   I know some people like the RH a little higher or a little lower, but its a pretty significant difference.  Is there something stores/suppliers do differently?

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Andrew,

To answer your questions:

1/ Even with an electronic humidifier, your humidor should still be seasoned.  Seasoning will prepare the humidor so that it can absorb and regulate humidity more effectively.  This allows your Cigar Oasis to perform longer and consistently without the need to be recharged frequently.  Technically, an unseasoned humidor will still function and properly maintain your cigars but you may notice that the unseasoned wood will drain your humidification device faster than normal.  An unseasoned humidor may also have erratic humidity performance.  A seasoned humidor however, will have a more consistent humidity levels and the water supply in your Cigar Oasis will last longer.

Your Cigar Oasis unit can be placed anywhere in your humidor as long as you do not obstruct it with cigars or humidor fixtures such as your humidor trays, shelves or drawers.  If you obstruct the Cigar Oasis, the flow of humidity will be blocked and localized in a particular area in your humidor and this can cause high humidity levels and mold to form.  It's ideal to keep your electronic humidifier at the base of the humidor in a centered location.  This will allow the humidity flow to be even thoughout the entire humidor.  

2/ I've been told (according to my colleagues) that if you have Cuban cigars in your luggage and have to do a stopover in the US, your cigars can be seized if they're discovered during a luggage check.  This however, is not always definite and will largely depend on the Customs agent and whether or not he's in a good mood that day.  

It's best to call the airline and double check this with them beforehand.

3/ Cigar stores usually keep their humidity higher than 70% in their humidors.  This is done because in a retail environment, humidor cabinets and walk-in humidor doors are constantly opened and closed on a daily basis for customers so a lot of humidity is let out.  By increasing the humidifier's humidity output, the humidor cabinets and walk-in humidors regain humidity more quickly so that the cigars are not compromised by the humidity loss during business hours.  It's not uncommon for retail stores to set their humidifier's humidity level to 73-77% depending on the size of their walk-in humidor and placement of their humidifier.

I hope this helps!

Regards,
James