Expert: Bill Finck Jr. - 11/28/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi Bill:

I use part of my wine cellar for cigar storage.  Kind of a walk in humidor.  Temp is 57-61 degrees and RH is 57%.  Is my humidity OK or do I need a room humidifier?  If so, do you have any suggestions?  Thanks.

ANSWER: Mike,
Industry standard for cigar storage is 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 70% relative humidity. Storing them at a cooler temperature won't hurt the cigars at all, but at 60 degrees, you need about 80% relative humidity to keep them from drying out. Instead of trying to humidify the entire cellar consider putting a humidor in the room. If you're storing 250 cigars or less you should be able to find a good desk-top humidor that will help you hold the proper humidity. If you are storing a larger amount, you'll need to find a cabinet-type humidor that will fit in your storage area. We have some humidors on our site at www.finckcigarcompany.com. If you can't find what you are looking for let me know and I'll help you track one down.

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

QUESTION: Thanks Bill.

I'm familiar with "industry standard," but the cigars just look so cool sitting out in the wine cellar.  I guess my question is: how bad is my situation and what can I get away with, even if it is not "optimum?"  If I keep my current situation, are my cigars good for a year, six months, three months or is it too unpredictable to call?  I'm OK if they last 6 months to a year.  For long term storage, I can do the desk top route.

If my current set up is unworkable, my second choice would be to humidify the whole room.  If you have suggestions about a "room humidifier" let me know.  Do they make them specific to cigars?

I guess my third choice would be a desk top humidor, but I just took them out of the desk top when I put them in the wine cellar.

Thanks again.

Mike

Answer
Mike,

With your relative humidity that low, you'll see significant drying out of the cigars within a few weeks. One of the smartest guys in the cigar humidification industry is David Desieyes at CMT Inc. This guy know his stuff and sells the best equipment on the market. His Habitat Monitor products are A-1. We use his commercial units to humidify our factory and cigar storage areas. He has a great line-up of home use wine and cooler and cigar humidor products as well. Check his company out at www.habitatmonitor.com and let me know if you need any more help.