Expert: James Yee - 3/19/2007

Question
Holla (hello), greatings from mexico. Is it true that cigars from veracrus mexico are equal or better than cuban's ? I got some cohiba (perfectos) and some romeo & julieta (churchhills) I bought a humidor but it dint come with instructions how do I keep it properly mainted since I only smoke one or two in a month, thank you .

Answer
Hi Jose,

There are indeed some Mexican cigars that I can think of that can be comparable to Cuban cigars in terms of flavor but not strength.  Te-Amo and Veracruz are two Mexican cigar brands that I really enjoy.

In regards to properly maintaining your humidor, this is very simple.  When you purchased your humidor, two things should be included with it; a humidification device and a hygrometer.  The humidification device is what will create humidity for your cigars and the hygrometer device will provide an accurate reading of the humidity level in your humidor.  Both are very important to have so if either one of these two items were not included with your humidor, you can purchase them at your local cigar store/tobacconist.

To start, you will first need to season your humidor.  Seasoning your humidor will prepare the wood inside your humidor so that it can properly retain and release humidity.  (If the inside of your humidor does not contain any wood, seasoning is not necessary.)  To season your humidor, you will need the following:

1 – Clean, brand new spray bottle
1 – Clean, brand new sponge
A small piece of plastic food wrap or a clear plastic bag
Some distilled water

To start, use the spray bottle and spray the inside of your humidor with distilled water.  Thoroughly spray your humidor down and then let the water be fully absorbed into the wood.  

After spraying down the inside of your humidor, fill the humidification device up with distilled water and let it sit inside your empty humidor overnight.  Also place the sponge (soaked with distilled water) in your humidor.  Place the sponge on top of a sheet of plastic food wrap so that it doesn’t touch the wood and water stain it.  Let the humidor sit overnight and check on it the next day.  If the sponge and humidification device are fairly dry and the hygrometer has a low humidity reading (less than 65%), re-soak the sponge and humidification device, re-spray the humidor with distilled water and let it sit overnight again.  Repeat this process until your humidor has a humidity level of at least 70% (but no more than 75%).  Once your humidor is capable of holding a reasonable humidity level steadily for several days, remove the sponge and return your cigars back to your humidor.  The humidity may drop again once your cigars are in but don’t worry, this is just the humidity adjusting to the addition of cigars.  Simply recharge the humidifier when needed and the humidity should stabilize after a week or two.

To properly maintain the humidor, simply add more distilled water to the humidification device whenever the humidity level inside your humidor begins to drop.  Be sure to check your humidor every two weeks to make sure the cigars are ok.  Your humidor must have a humidity level of 70% (68-73% is fine) and temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (68-74% is fine).

Hopes this answers your question.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask.  

Regards,
James