A humidor is a place to store your cigars and keep them fresh. Humidors come in many shapes and sizes. Some are cheap; some cost a fortune. Some guys try to build their own humidors or convert household containers like Tupperware and ice coolers into humidors. We've seen plenty of novices assume the refrigerator or a desk drawer is a safe place to store their cigars ' wrong. A lot of folks believe cigars will stay fresh in the box they're packaged in, especially if the cellophane is still on. That's also wrong. You need a humidor. Cigars should be stored at roughly 70 degrees and 70% RH (relative humidity). That's what a humidor is for.
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What does a humidor do? A humidor is a box designed to store your cigars at a consistent temperature and humidity. What makes a humidor different from a plain old wooden box is its materials and construction. Many humidors are made of Spanish cedar. Cedar absorbs moisture and encourages your cigars to age well. Humidors can also be made of alternative materials like heavy duty plastic, ideal for traveling. All humidors are manufactured with a seal to keep the humidity inside the box and most come with a reservoir to hold the water.
Before you decide on the best humidor to meet your needs, let's take a moment to consider the function of a humidor. The ideal conditions for storing cigars are 70 degrees and 70% humidity, but a general range of 65-72 degrees and 65-72% humidity is acceptable. Most humidors are equipped with a humidification device, or reservoir, which serves as the humidity source, and a hygrometer, which measures the humidity. Digital hygrometers measure both temperature and humidity.
All humidors need to be prepped (humidified) before you can store your cigars inside. The process may vary a bit from one humidor to the next, but it's pretty straightforward. For most traditional models, you simply need to fill the humidification unit (using distilled water only) and gently wipe the interior of the box down with a moist cloth. Close the box up and let it acclimate for a day or so until the humidity level on the inside reaches approximately 70% humidity. Larger humidors may take a bit longer to achieve a 70% equilibrium.
Once your box is in the vicinity of 70% humidity, you can start arranging your cigars inside. If your box doesn't come with a traditional reservoir, there are many alternative humidification technologies to consider, including beads, crystals, and humidity pouches. Regardless of the method you choose, monitor your humidity regularly (at least once a week) by checking the hygrometer to ensure your humidor is maintaining a consistent humidity.
If you're shopping for your first humidor, here are some things to consider. How much does a good humidor cost? What's the best brand for the money? Can I get a good humidor for under $50? Are all humidors the same? Let's take a look.
Most humidors are available in 25, 50, 75, and 100-cigar capacities. They can go up to several hundred, though. If you've only got a handful of cigars to store, you don't need a gargantuan 300-cigar humidor. A humidor's capacity will vary based on the size of your cigars, too. Many humidors are rated based on how many Toro-sized cigars you can fit inside. The classic Toro is 6 inches with a 52 ring gauge. That's a touch larger than the typical 5 x 50 Robusto, but shorter than a 7 x 48 Churchill.
Choose a size that's a little bigger than what you think you'll need. It's good to leave approximately 20% of the space on the inside of your humidor free. This gives the air and the humidity a better chance to circulate. Leaving some breathing room around your cigars is a good thing.
Most humidors are made of hardwood or a composite wood lined with a cedar veneer on the inside. Hardwood, especially solid cedar, is best, although it can be more expensive than a box made from composite woods. Premium Spanish cedar is found inside the best humidors, such as the Savoy Executive series or an ultra-high-end brand like Elie Bleu. The advantage solid cedar offers is that it absorbs moisture more aggressively and will facilitate the aging of your cigars in the best way ' especially if you plan to age your cigars for years. Many premium models also feature interlocking or dovetail joints for the soundest possible construction.
There are plenty of affordable options to consider, too, like the classic Savoy line or the Artisan Series. Sturdy brass hinges, durable walls, and a reliable humidification system guarantee your humidor will perform reliably and for a long time to come.
The exterior of a humidor is important too, but for aesthetic reasons. The exterior wood is often a veneer. Choose a finish that you enjoy looking at, one that matches your man cave or office. Finishes range from traditional mahogany or walnut veneers to exotic, rare, and ornate works of art. A glass top humidor versus a solid wood box may be of interest, but you'll want to store it away from light.
The most important quality in a well-made humidor is the seal. The seal is where the lid meets the box. Often, a short wooden lip encompasses the interior edge of the box, either inside the lid or running along the interior walls. When the lid closes, you should hear a slight 'whoosh' from air escaping as opposed to a 'clunk' ' a sign the box may not be constructed as tightly as it should be. Also keep in mind, the wood will swell after the box has been set up and humidified. Checking the seal after you've seasoned your humidor is essential. A quick visual inspection is critical. If you notice any gaps, interruptions, or unevenness where the lid meets the box, your humidor has a leaky seal and the humidity will escape. When the lid closes and reflects a tight fit, your humidor is going to keep the humidity on the inside.
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Most humidors come with a humidification unit, or a reservoir, but not all do. If your box is not equipped with a reservoir, there are plenty of humidification options to choose from. Traditional foam units, beads, crystals, or humidity pouches like Boveda are available. Remember to use only distilled water or propylene glycol solution when filling your humidification unit. Review our tips for preparing a new humidor if this is your first box.
After you've set up your humidor, pay close attention to your hygrometer. That's how you know your humidor is maintaining moisture and working correctly. A hygrometer measures the humidity on the inside of the box. Most digital models will also include a temperature gauge. In addition to monitoring your hygrometer, occasionally squeeze your cigars. They should exhibit a soft firmness, but won't be overly spongy or too stiff. Your cigars should reflect the same condition you would expect them to be in at the time of purchase from a premium retail cigar shop.
A basic Artisan humidor goes for $29.95. That's about as affordable as it gets for a humidor. It's a simple box that can hold roughly 25 cigars and is available in a handful of stylish colors. You may not keep it for ten years, but it's a great starter box that doesn't cost a fortune.
Savoy is a superb brand. Standard models range from around $80 to a few hundred dollars, depending on the size. They are well-made in a large variety of sizes and finishes. Smaller desktop and travel sizes are available, as well, if you only need to store a dozen cigars or fewer.
The Savoy Executive series is the best bang for your buck. Manufactured exclusively from premium hardwoods, Savoy Executive humidors are designed to last a lifetime. Choose from a handful of stunning finishes and sizes that range from just over $250 to around $450, depending on the size. They are designed to age your cigar collection and perform just as effectively as the exclusive Elie Bleu brand, which is handmade in Paris. While Elie Bleu humidors are breathtaking inside and out, prepare to spend north of $ on a box. The company is known for making elite, heirloom-quality humidors. Elie Bleu is considered the Rolls-Royce of humidor manufacturers because their boxes are made exclusively from kiln-fired Spanish cedar finished in intricate detail.
Picking out the perfect humidor is easy when you know what to look for. A quality humidor is a great gift when you've got a cigar lover on your gift list. And if this is your first box, remember your cigars are an investment. They will stay fresh indefinitely and improve in flavor if you have a safe place to store them.
Hi, and welcome to another episode of Mondays with Mardos. I'm Gerard and this week we're going to talk about cooler humidors versus wood humidors. But before I get going, I need you to click on that subscribe button, click on the bell to be notified every single week of new episodes on Mondays with Mardos.
All right, so if you're new to smoking cigars and you're starting to collect more and more cigars, and you're buying them by the box and you're running out room out of your wooden humidor that is probably in your office or in your living room, and usually newer cigar smokers usually always buy a wooden humidor because aesthetically that's what the market always offers. That's what is always being pushed on you because aesthetically it looks beautiful, and that is what is to be used when it comes to loose sticks that need to be stored in a humidified environment. Now, you're probably asking, why would I need a cooler humidor versus my wood humidor? Again, if you're running out of room, you need a big space and to invest in a wooden cabinet humidor, it can be very, very costly, but a cooler can run you anywhere between 40 to $50, which is going to be very airtight and can serve you a lot of room, so you can store those boxes that you're buying and collecting, and so therefore you don't damage your cigars.
Now, one point that you do have to keep in mind is the humidity levels are going to be completely different in a cooler humidor versus a wood humidor. A cooler humidor that's going to be airtight is going to utilize 69% RH and a wooden humidor is going to have high levels of RH in environment, which is going to be 72 RH. Boveda has you set up. All you got to do is go to boveda.com or go to mardocigars.com. On our website, click the Boveda tab, where we have everything selected for you, so all you got to do is just click what it is you're using it for. So, if you're going to use an air tight humidor, click on that function, and that will tell you how much you need to buy according to the amount of cigars you're going to be storing within that space.
Now, let's get back to the other point, is that wooden humidors are yes, beautiful. Humidity has to be 72% because it's wood. So, therefore it's going to have a higher relative humidity content inside the environment. Wooden humidors are going to be much more expensive because they get a lot more elaborate depending on the size and the kind of wood it's using. So, that's going to be the biggest differentiation is the cost. A cooler humidor is going to be much larger. Again, 50, $60 for something that's going to be very large, that can allow you to store multiple boxes of cigars. Now, what you can do is you can have both. You can have the wooden humidor in your living room, your office, store your daily cigars, whatever you're going to be smoking at all times, and then whenever you run out, you can go to your cooler humidor, get what cigars you want, and then transfer them into the wood humidor.
Now remember, when you're making this differentiation of shift in humidity, you got to let this cigar sit a little while and acclimate to the humidity environment within your wood humidor before you start lighting up and passing around and wondering why it's not burning correct. So, that is the biggest differentiation that I see is the climate change to your cigars, not so much the money or what looks good or what doesn't look good, it's the treatment about the cigar. That's the point of this video. So, let us know in the comments how this video has served you informatively or not, or if you have any input, please let us know in the comments. Anyways, happy Thanksgiving. Thank you very much from Mardo Cigars and staff. Remember to follow us on Instagram, like us on Facebook, and tell you friends to subscribe to our YouTube channel. See you guys next week.
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