Expert: M J Robbins - 1/26/2011

Question
QUESTION: When pricing humidors I see they use "quantity of cigars" as part of the sales pitch. With outside dimensions similar in size why are the quantities so different? I guess the real question is: What size cigar do humidor manufacturers use to come up with how many cigars the humidor will hold?

ANSWER: When entering the cigar world you enter another dimension where truth does not exist.
Vintage 1990, Vintage 1992, pre Castro Cuban tobacco found in a vault in the basement of an eccentric millionaire. Vintage 1993, Vintage 1990 and the list of fabrication goes on and on.
Every vintage on the market that I see is just made up. There are more fake Cuban cigars than the real thing.
So it only holds true that all the humidors are the same made up crap.
Each humidor manufacturer makes it up - simple as that; I got 2 different color humidors from the same company and they are the same size, one says on the box 75 count and the other says 100 count.

Each cigar manufacturer makes up everything also - simple as that.
The only people that tell me the truth is the guy that makes my cigar and Padron the most famous in the world.
So I know exactly the age of my cigar and how long it has been in the cedar storage room.
Weeks or months and I can tell by the smoke when I get them.
If he rushed them and it was just a month in the aging room, I will age the cigar myself for 3 or 4 months or more. My manufacturer knows that telling me the truth does not effect our relationship it makes it stronger. And when he delivers great product the customers rave about it and I know he is right on.

OK maybe a few humidor manufacturers are pretty honorable but you will pay a lot for honesty.
Try Vigilant for the best in the world.
Try Daniel Marshall and you will get straight talk.
The rest - go look at your local shop, get the dimensions of a box you like and use that as your basis for your selection.
You will need a digital hygrometer to tell the proper humidity, the analog hygrometers do not work properly, period.
I sell the cheap humidors, but tell the customers the truth and change all the equipment in the box to make sure it works to my specifications after testing each box personally.

A typical claimed 100 box with a shelve will hold 48 good sized cigars in comfort.
A typical 50 box will hold around 25 - 30 cigars comfortably.
I just packed a 50 count box right to the top with 40 churchills. But I would never suggest filling it to the top as that will trap humidity and that is not good.

Good luck
Mike

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I purchased a cigar log (record) book. One of the descriptions it asks for is "cigar shape". Where may I find an illustrated guide to the different shapes of cigars (please something attainable).

Answer
The ring gauge system is simply an antiquated system that measures the diameter of a cigar in units of 64 (64 is equal to 1 inch). Therefore, a ring gauge of 48 would be a 3/4" inch thick cigar.

Corona     5 ½ to 6"   42 to 45 ring gauge
A smaller cigar shorter smoke

Panatela   5 ½ to 6 ½" 34 to 38 ring gauge
Long thin cigar notorously uneven and many tight ones as this cigar is hard to make

Lonsdale   6 to 6 ½"   42 to 44 ring gauge
A long Corona usually a milder version of any cigar

Churchill  6 ½ to 7"   46 to 48 ring gauge
Big traditional cigar

Robusto    4 ½ to 5"   48 to 50 ring gauge
Any shorter fat cigar

Toro       6 to 6 ½    48 to 50 ring gauge
Medium cigar with a medium girth

Presidente or Magnum 7 to 8 ½"   52 to 60 ring gauge
El biggo cigar long and fat or medium and long

Torpedo, figurado or pyramid
(Cone Shaped Head) 5 ½ to 6 ½"   46 to 52
small(mini belicoso), medium or large cigar with a head like a missile, that you cut to your preference for the draw you like.

Perfecto
Any size shaped at booth ends and fat in the middle

However keeping track can still be a challenge as a Churchill made by H Upman is a Toro size.
Others can be equally confusing as they try to make their cigars unique to you, like an El Rey Del Mundo Rubsto Larga which is a big Toro or an El Rey Del Mundo Rubusto Supremo which is a Churchill.
Robusto supremo = Churchill, Corona Grande or gordo = large Toro or just toro.
So figure out how you want to list them - by name, size or the real designation of the size and shape.
Remember also that a cigar you like this year will not be the same cigar next year, just like a bottle of wine the crops are different year to year. Companies also change hands year to year and the cigar blends and quality change with them, so listing a bunch of cigars you like may not be relevant next year. It never is for me...

Enjoy
Mike