Humidors - An Introduction

A Humidor is a device with the purpose of controlling humidity to create an environment that is stable for the storage and aging of cigars. If you want to keep and store cigars then you need a place to do that in a way that will keep them fresh. 

The goal is to keep the cigars in an environment that will prevent them from drying out without having them becoming too wet. If the cigars get too dry then they will be hard, start cracking, burn fast and have bitter taste to them. If they are too wet then they will not stay lit, have bad draw, bad burn and high chance of getting mold. 

So what temperature and humidity is ideal for cigars? Traditionally, people say that 70% humidity and 70F is the perfect spot. For temperature, I would say anything from 65F to 75F is just about right. As for humidity, this is something that people like to argue as to what is best. The range that most people are told is perfect is from 65% to 72%. Some people swear that 72% is best, while others feel strongly that 65% is the only correct answer. Truth is, it depends on what you like and your experience. 

When I first started with cigars I kept it at 72%, but I did start having burn issues and the wrapper expanding and cracking while smoking. Then I reduced it to 69%, which produced much better results for me and I continued with this for many years. Currently, my preference is 66% to 67%. I feel that for me it does the best for keeping things properly humidified without being too wet or dry.

There are many different types of humidors. The kind of humidor that most people think about is a desktop wooden humidor. The desktop humidor is a wooden box that is lined with Spanish cedar. Typically, that have designs on the outside. The be plus of this kind of humidor is they look very nice and have an elegant look to it. However, the big issue with them is there are a lot of cheaper ones that do not hold the humidity very well. They also tend to be made from cheap particle board with a very thin Spanish cedar veneer on the inside. Quality desktop humidors are very expensive.

Another type of humidor that has become very popular is tupperdor. This is just tupperware. Pretty much any tupperware can be used, but the best ones for this have a gasket around the lid, which gives an air tight seal. Getting this nice seal makes it really easy to keep the humidity consistent. The biggest issue is that it has no protection for temperature so the internal temperature will change very rapidly and the external environment changes. Best part of this system is that it is very inexpensive and as more space is needed all that has to be done is purchase more containers.

These humidors work well but the one that is missing is humidors that are big enough to hold full boxes of cigars. There are basically two options for this. The first is a cabinet humidor, which is a very elegant solution. This is more like a piece of furniture for the house. The cheaper option is the coolidor. A coolidor is just an ice cooler that is used to hold the cigars. The plus here is that coolers do a great job at holding in humidity and insulate well so the internal temperature will change slowly. 

There is a new kind of humidor that is becoming popular and that is the thermoelectric humidor. These humidors look like mini fridges and they control the temperature and humidity automatically. The important thing is they regulate the temperature without removing air to cool as a regular refrigerator do. They tend to be a little pricy but it is an option for people.

First Wow Cigar

My first cigar was ok. It was not bad but certainly was not great. I knew that I did not enjoy it as much as expected but I wanted to try a couple more times. As I did it more I enjoyed it more. I started trying different cigars, especially after discovering online bidding sites. As for local cigar shops there were two I went to. The one close to the house was called Tobacco Leaf. It was a decent shop that had ok prices and a good lounge. The second one and the one that I did a lot of shopping is Paiute Tribal Cigar Shop. It is on a reservation in Las Vegas and the nice thing is everything is tax free. The walk in humidor is pretty big and prices are very good.

Eventually I purchased a 2008 Camacho Liberty cigar. It is a special cigar that comes out every year from Camacho company. It is in celebration of the 4th of July. The size is 11/18 and had a unique shape. The cigar comes in a wooden coffin. The whole presentation is really something. Anyway, this was really my first wow cigar experience. The flavor was so good and complex, changing throughout the smoke. It made me really excited to smoke it and the overall experience was just really great. To this day I compare the complexity of cigars that I smoke to that cigar.

After having that cigar I went back to the cigar shop and bought what they had left. This really inspired me to want to experience even more things with cigars. I am not sure if Camacho does a Liberty cigar anymore but it was a cool thing to look forward to each year since it was different every year.

Growing My Interest In Cigars

After trying my first cigar, I started going back to the cigar shop and buying more. I was not going crazy over cigars at that point, but I was really enjoying it. I wanted to keep trying it and continue with it.

Fast forward to my brother's wedding. I went back to Churchill Cigar Lounge to pick up several cigars to take with me to the wedding. At this point I did not even have a proper cutter or lighter. For the cutter I did have one of the cheap cutters that cigar shops give you when you buy several cigars. For the light, honestly I do not even remember what I had.

I do not remember much about that trip but I do remember being at the wedding and my brother called all the groomsmen to come outside, where he gave us all the cigars. The Maker's Mark cigar comes in a glass tubo and has red wax sealing the top, just like the well known finish to their bourbon bottles. From what I do remember about the cigar, it was very smooth. A fairly mild cigar but with pretty good flavor. I did like it a lot, it was a good experience.

While at his wedding I was talking with one of his friends from San Diego and they are a cigar smoker. He had a proper cutter, a Xikar, and a good lighter too. He that told me about Cigar Bid and Cigars International. They told me just go on the bidding site and you can get cigars and stuff much cheaper. The bidding site is run by Cigars International so all you have to do is check prices of the items on the main site and it tells you if it is a good deal or not. He also said just be careful because people tend to start bidding too much and the prices will go too high, which does not make it worth it.

When I got home I started using the bidding site and eventually I got my first humidor, which is a CAO 100 count, which I still use as my main desktop humidor. Honestly, starting to get cigars from Cigar Bid really pushed me into getting a lot more into the hobby. I did not make a lot of money at that point so it was also the only way to afford it.

Getting My First Cigar

Going back many years ago, I first started smoking cigars in 2007. I will say that cigars always kind of interested me but I was never a smoker of any kind so I never really pushed myself to try it. That was until my brother was going to get married. He wanted to have Maker's Mark Cigars for each of his groomsmen. Knowing this I wanted to at least try some cigars before the wedding. I did not want to be the idiot guy there that was a complete noob and coughing up a lung from never smoking before.

I ended up talking to my mom about it and that I was interested in trying it. Surprisingly, she was incredibly supportive of this and she suggested that I talk to my Aunt Debbie about taking me to a cigar shop to learn and give it a try. Honestly, looking back now I am very fortunate that mom suggested that cause I probably would have just went to a cheap store, bought bad stuff and made myself sick. 

So my Aunt Debbie took me to Churchill Cigar Lounge in Old Town San Diego. Walking in there it was very welcoming and intimidating but I was glad to have someone there to help me. The guy working there, which I assume is the owner, helped us and picked a Rocky Patel Vintage 1999 for my first cigar. He explained some stuff for me about smoking cigars and cut the end for me. We took that cigar and went to tea and boba place in Clairemont to enjoy it.

We lit it up and both enjoyed it. The cigar was good with smooth flavor. Cedar with little to no spice. I think the RP Vintage 1999 is an excellent choice for someone's first ever cigar. Now I see that as a very mild cigar but back then as my first cigar I started feeling the nicotine by the end. I was not feeling sick but I was getting the affects. 

Overall, my first cigar experience went very well. I liked it and wanted to try more. I did go back and started trying more before going to the wedding. 

First Post For New Cigar Blog

It has been a while since I have enjoyed many cigars and even longer since I have run a cigar blog. I am starting to get back into the hobby and just wanted to start a new blog to record my experience. 

Back at around 2009 I was very involved with cigars. I started a blog where I reviewed cigars and had posts about general cigar education. I also was involved with a cigar group on Facebook and I enjoyed it. Eventually, I started getting tired of all the work with review the cigars and making posts. It is fun but it is a lot of work. The cigar group on Facebook started having more drama so I eventually got rid of that too. 

Over the summer we moved and now I getting back into the smoking and collecting of cigars. I already have ideas of some things I want to do next with this hobby but that will have to wait for a future post.