Last week I purchased the JR Weekly special which included a nice Montecristo humidor at a great price. This will be my third humidor in an ever growing collection. While I began working on the initial preparations for the new humidor, I remembered back to my very first humidor and how I couldn’t find good information on what to do with the thing. I just put a few cigars in the thing and fought major humidity issues for over a year. I’ve since learned that proper humidor preparation is key to successfully storing cigars. Below I’ve outlined the steps I take when preparing a new a humidor or getting an existing humidor ready for winter.
Step 1: Wet the Wood
Any humidor worth putting cigars in is lined with Spanish Cedar which is prized for it’s insect resistance, rot resistance, and it’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. Unfortunately, by the time you get your hands on a new humidor, it’s extremely dried out. To fix this, start by wetting a plain paper towel (or brand new sponge) with distilled water. Wipe every bit of exposed wood to lightly cover the entire surface area. Make sure not to use too much water or you’ll run the risk of water stains or even wood rot.
Step 2: Bowl of Water
Once you’ve got the wood wiped down, the next step is to get a bowl, cup, tuperware, etc filled with distilled water and place it in the humidor. The larger the surface area of exposed water the better. I prefer to use a low profile bowl over a cup. Fill the bowl 3/4 of the way and place it inside the humidor. Close the lid nice and tight.
Step 3: Wait 24 - 48 Hours
This is where the real magic happens. You’re looking to infuse water back into the wood. This will help stabilize the humidor and ensure that you can achieve that perfect 70% humidity. On my first humidor, I skipped this step and the thing never reached 70% humidity. No matter what I did, the wood was so dry that it always absorbed what I threw at it. Try to wait the full 48 hours for maximum results.
Step 4: Test it Out
Once the 24-48 hours has passed, open the humidor and remove the bowl water. It’s likely at this point that the humidor is actually >70% humility. The only way to find out is to put your trusty hygrometer and get a reading. I personally use digital units that you can calibrate. Cigar International sells a great little hygrometer for $23 that is adjustable. My humidor read 77%. If you’re anywhere north of 74%, I recommend that you let the humidor rest with the lid closed. Check the reading a few times a day. When you’re below 74%, you can move on to the final step. Mine took about 12 hours to stabilize to 69%.
Step 5: Add Humidification
At this point, you’re ready to add your on going humidification device. After years of using water pillows, I’ve decided to start using the humidification gel jars. They seemed more convenient. I steer away from the old school sponge and propylene glycol mix. I picked a few up jars from CI. Remember to use distilled water and don’t over fill.
Step 6: Add Your Cigars!
At this point, it’s time to add your cigars and you’re done! Keep an eye on the hygrometer to make sure things don’t get out of control. With the humidification jars, things should stay pretty stable.
A Few Final Tips
If the humidity is to too high, you might be using t o o b i g of a humidification device. Look for something smaller. If the problem persists, try leaving the humidor lid open for a few hours.
If the humidity is too low try more humidification or go through the prep steps again and let the bowl sit longer. Try 72 hours or longer.
Distilled Water is key. Whenever we’re talking about cigars and humidity, forget tap water period. A bottle of distilled water cost $.99 and will keep you’re humidor free of impurities for at least a year. Tap water contains too many minerals and God knows what else to risk ruining your nice humidor or your fine cigars.
I hope these tips help you get the most out of your humidor. As always, please feel free to leave us some comments if you’ve got some other tips or questions.
-Dicksbain
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I recently got into “the Sopranos.” After dismissing it as dated and lame for five years, I caught one or two episodes on A&E this year. I decided to purchase the whole first season to avoid the extremely annoying (and long) commecial breaks. By the end of the fifth or six episode, I was hooked, and I bought all six seasons on DVD. During my mo-mega vacation this year, I watched every episode, cigar in hand. Every time Tony Soprano lit up his “macanudo” — which was quite frequently — I would smile, if only because the idea that a mob boss would smoke Macanudos, as opposed to illegally-smuggled Cubans, always seemed laughable to me.
There’s an obvious connection between cigars and the underworld that “the Sopranos” personifies beautifully. Cigar Aficianado recognized this earlier this year when they put the cast from the show on the cover of the June edition. And CAO, with its ever-savvy marketing department, recognized it too when they put out a “Sopranos”-themed cigar. To my knowledge, it’s the only TV-themed cigar ever made, which makes it a novelty, to say the least.
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