Cigar Tip: Beyond the Basics of Humidity
24 Apr 2014
There was a time when I stressed over keeping my cigars at a perfect humidity. These days, I’m not so fussy about monitoring my humidors on a day-to-day basis.
When you first get into cigars, you read often that 70/70 (humidity/temperature) is the ideal way to store your cigars. Soon, though, you probably realize that a slightly lower humidity (62-65%) is better, especially if you are storing cigars for long-term aging.
We’ve covered the fundamentals of proper humidity before, but as the outside temperature gets hotter it’s a good time to recap. Anywhere from 62-70% is generally fine. (You can even go all out and build your own temperature-controlled humidor.)
It’s often a matter of personal preference if you like your cigars a little drier. On the low end of that range, your cigars are certain to burn easily, but possibly a bit quick and hot.
Of course, the first step in proper humidity is making sure your hygrometer is properly calibrated, especially for the inexpensive spring-loaded hygrometers that come with most humidors. For that you want to to use the salt calibration test.
Eventually, though, you might get to the stage where you don’t even need a hygrometer. I now keep most of my cigars in humidors without one, since I can tell by feel, and by how my cigars are smoking, when it’s time to add a little more distilled water or humidor solution.
I’ve gotten to the point where I’m really only concerned about keeping a select few cigars at their ideal humidity. Over time I’ve found certain cigars smoke better at slightly higher or lower humidity levels. Thick broadleaf wrappers, in particular, tend to benefit from a slightly higher humidity. This is especially true of Liga Privada, which will produce smoke like a chimney at almost any humidity. (Sometimes I’ll leave a 70% or 72% Boveda pack in a box with these cigars within my larger humidor.)
Other cigars, I may pull out of the humidor a few hours before smoking to let the humidity drop a bit before lighting it up. Cigars with a closed foot, which is becoming more common, tend to hold moisture more easily than a traditional foot so they may benefit from this. The same goes for cigars with a particularly firm draw.
Ultimately, it’s a case of trial and error, and you may want to experiment a bit. Tweaking the humidity won’t make a bad cigar good, but it might just make a favorite of yours a little bit better, so give it a try.
photo credit: Stogie Guys
Patrick Ashby
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I would be interested to hear how most readers are managing their humidity levels. I recently switched from adding distilled water to only using Boveda packs in my humidors. I'm interested to see how reliably they work.
I have been using Boveda packs for about a year now in my 150 ct humidor. Works great and holds steady at 65%, never have to worry about the RH even if I am away. The only issue is that I plan on building a wineador soon to hold around 400 cigars and I think the Boveda packs might be a bit expensive in the long run constantly changing them, so I may try heartfelt beads. I have heard although you can recharge the Boveda packs! Have to give that a shot
Nart, I have been using Heartfelt beads in my coolerdor (insulated plastic cooler) for about 6 months with no problem. If you check your beads about once a month and make sure that they are not either dried out or totally saturated, you should be OK. Every time I check my RH meter, I find it dead on 70%. As I mentioned above, I think that 69% and 70% is a bit too damp, especially for where I live (central Florida). The ambient air here is normally quite humid and I think that I will back off to about 64% or maybe even 63% just to see if I can get rid of my plugging problem. It's intermittent, but I HATE throwing a cigar away. Give the Heartfelt beads a try. I think you will find that they work just fine.
Patrick, I have used Boveda for almost 2 years and I have gotten rid of all of my RH meters !!! They are totally unnecessary !!! When I first started using them, I checked RH meters in all of my humidors several times per day for about 3 months. Over time, I noticed NO variation in the humidity, so I just chucked the meters and that made life a lot easier. When I put them into my humidor, on the bag, I write the date I put it in the humidor then forget it for about three months, then I start checking them every other day or so. I don't check them all, just one or two because what one is doing, the rest are doing. Soon after the three month mark, they will begin to feel like they have granules some form of granules in them. Then, it is time to replace them. I have NEVER had a problem and I heartily recommend them. If you watch the Cigar Monster, you can get them on the cheap some times. Buy the cases of 12 and you can get by cheaper. I'm not sure that I could keep a large display humidified with them because of the cost, but at the level I use them, it's not a big deal. Don't hesitate to use them. They are the most reliable humidifier that I've ever run across and they are maintenance free. Good luck.
Your recommendation for a higher humidity for Liga I think is off the mark, T-52 may tend to burst at that humidity and #9 can have burn issues. 65% or lower is better, and if you want to really taste these sticks at their best you should drybox anywhere between 3 & 5 days, it really makes a difference as the flavors really open up after the dryboxing. 5 day drybox sounds crazy? I though so too until I tried it, there is a world of goodness waiting there.
I've tried Liga 9s at higher and lower humidity, and I've always enjoyed them at slightly higher. Smoking slow but steady, I haven't experienced burn issues. But as the article says, it's a matter of personal preference so if you like it lower, then more power to you.
Any other cigars you think benefit from extended dry-boxing?
Anything that feels heavy for it's size (like the CAO Brazilia) is due for some dryboxing.
Foo, I'm curious about what you call "dry boxing". I'm assuming that you are just putting a selection of cigars in an empty cedar cigar box and letting the humidity equilibrate to ambient levels. The outcome would, logically, depend on what the humidity is where you live (or where you store the cigars). Personally, I live in Florida where during the summer, the RH is quite high (sometimes not getting below 85% for days). I have a friend in Phoenix where it rarely gets above 10%. Dry boxing would obviously have different effects on cigars. I guess what I'm asking is what part of the county/world you live. That would help me understand what is happening to your cigars.
On a different topic, you've likely heard about the FDA proposal released today on regulating other tobacco products, including cigars. If you want to read the proposal, you'll find it here: http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/ucm38…
I have used Boveda packs for more than a year now. I tend to use jar humidors to "quarantine" my newly received shipments in and keep them at 69% while looking for problems like bugs, etc. Lately, and particularly with some CAO products, I've had terrible plugging issues and exploding wrappers, classic symptoms of over humidification. I've had to return two shipments for refunds. As for the Boveda packs themselves, I find them to be dead-on. I've quit using RH meters. They are unnecessary. I will say, however, that I am tempted to go from 69% to 65% since I live in a relatively high-humidity climate here in Florida. I will also try dry boxing to see if it improves the quality of the burn. Thanks for the information.
I'm another Liga lover and definitely endorse higher humidity. I keep mine at 80%.