A cigar is a perishable luxury item.
A neglected cigar will vent its feelings.It may become so dry that it unravels or smokes hot and harsh. Or it may become so wet that it won’t stay alight, and the draw will be “hard enough to herniate you” as Dale Scott (regular contributor to Smokeshop Magazine, www.smokeshopmag.com) says in his 1997 article “Inside the Wrapper”.
The factors affecting the comfort zone of your cigar are temperature and humidity.
The 70:70 rule applies, ie. Relative Humidity of 70% at 70ºF (21.1ºC)
(The Gourmet Guide to Cigars – Paul Garmirian, 1990)
Temperature:
Cool is essential, 19ºC to 21.5ºC. If your cigar is stored at too high a temperature for too long, the dreaded tobacco beetle, embedded deep in the cigar, may hatch and eat its way out of your lovely Robusto, leaving a neat hole that renders the cigar unsmokeable. But you don’t have to run around with a thermometer. You know the cool place in your home or office, the place where you would be comfortable in a warm jacket, even in summer. That’s where you should keep your cigars.
Humidity:
Relative Humidity is the amount of water vapour present in the air compared with the maximum the air could hold at that temperature – any more than the maximum and the air will be saturated and it will start to rain. Cooler air holds less water vapour before it is saturated, so the same amount of water vapour will be closer to saturating the air and give a higher relative humidity reading.
Relative Humidity is measured with a Hygrometer (Hygrostat).
Dale Scott postulates that the cigars need the same amount of water vapour all the time, so if the cigars are stored at 20ºC (68ºF) the Relative Humidity reading on the hygrometer should be 75%. If the cigars are stored at 21.5ºC (72.5ºF) the Relative Humidity reading should be 68%.
Consistency:
Cigars don’t like drastic changes – so if you keep them within this comfort zone (20-21.5ºC, and 65-75% relative humidity) they’ll be happy and the small changes in temperature and humidity won’t make any practical difference.
Generating humidity – keeping the air moist:
Humidifiers can range from a damp wad of cotton wool or florists’ oasis, up to a high-tech unit, which only requires attention once every three to four months. In practice, resist the temptation to over humidify your cigars.
Measuring humidity:
Several types of hygrometers are available. Most of them will give you only an approximate reading. However many cigar Aficionados claim that the only true way is to feel the cigars. They could be right – there is a certain degree of subjectivity involved. You may prefer your cigar slightly drier. Theo Rudman quotes a British cigar merchant as saying: “A dry, aged cigar gives you the taste of pure tobacco, not simply water”. Try it, but smoke slowly.
The Humidor:
“A container for cigars which seals and contains a hygrometer and humidifier.” This definition covers anything from Tupperware to the finest, cabinet quality, cedar box with inlaid design. Every time you open the “humidor” the air changes. This small exchange of air helps maintain the freshness of the air, but it’s the reason why you need to watch the humidity.
Travelling – don’t allow your cigars to get too warm – beware the cubby-hole:
If you’re taking a full box, damp the outside of the box and wrap it in a strong plastic bag – folding the bag to provide an adequate seal. As you use the cigars fill the empty space with crumpled tissue paper, moistened with one or two drops of water. (Not too much)
The safest method, especially for a variety of cigars, is to use individual glass tubes. The cigars will keep almost indefinitely in the same perfect condition as they were when they went into the tubes. And the tubes can also be used to “doggy bag” unfinished cigars.
Most leather cigar cases are not airtight and don’t include a humidifier.
Hint: Use a three-cigar case and replace the middle cigar with a cigar freshener.
When things go wrong:
Your cigars are too wet or too dry. Don’t despair, they can be restored provided the wrapper is intact.
Take it easy – cigars don’t like sudden changes. To reverse either way takes much patience.
Too dry – the cigars feel really hard, almost brittle. Leave the cigars in their original cedar box, wipe down the outside of the box with a wet sponge or place a wet sponge next to the box, seal the whole box (and sponge) in a plastic bag and leave it in a cool place for at least a month. Alternatively, put the cigars in a Tupperware, or similar, container on a bed of cedar sheets (you can normally find one in any box of 25 cigars). Next to, but not touching the cigars, put some damp cotton wool or sponge. Open, feel the cigars and cotton wool (moisten if necessary), Generally they will be perfectly acceptable provided the natural oils haven’t evaporated (usually through overheating).
Too wet – The cigars are damp and spongy. Leave the humidor slightly open for a few days, and then closed without humidification for as long as it takes. Open every few days to check – the air needs to be exchanged.
If they are mouldy (blue-grey “fur” which forms when the conditions are too hot and damp) you could treat the affected cigars separately, but it’s probably too late.
“Bloom”(or plume) is a white “dust” on the surface of a cigar (akin to that on a plum). It is not harmful and can be brushed off with a soft brush. (Some people believe it improves the cigar.)
Colin Wesley
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