Knowing how to store cigars decides whether you get a smooth, even burn or a cracked, bitter one. Premium cigars are made from natural tobacco leaf that keeps taking in and giving off moisture long after it leaves the factory. Kept well, a cigar can get better for years. Kept badly, it can dry out in a few days. Here’s how to keep yours in good shape, whether you bought one cigar or a full box of premium cigars.
Why storage matters
A hand-rolled cigar is filler, binder and wrapper leaves, and each one holds a little natural oil and moisture. If the air is too dry, the oils evaporate, the wrapper gets brittle and the cigar burns hot and fast. If it’s too wet, the cigar swells, draws badly and can even grow mold. Good storage keeps the leaf in balance so the cigar tastes the way the blender meant it to.
The right humidity and temperature
Most cigar makers recommend what collectors call the “70/70 rule”: about 70% relative humidity and about 70°F (21°C). In practice, a lot of smokers go a little lower on humidity, between 62% and 69%, because the draw is firmer and the burn more even. Keeping conditions steady matters more than hitting an exact number.
- Keep humidity at 62 to 70% RH. Go lower for full-bodied maduros and a little higher for delicate Connecticut wrappers.
- Keep the temperature at 62 to 70°F (17 to 21°C). Above 75°F, tobacco beetle eggs can hatch.
- Keep cigars out of direct sunlight, which dries out wrappers and fades their color.
- Let a little air move around them, and rotate them every few weeks.
How to store cigars in a humidor
A humidor is the most reliable way to keep cigars long term. Traditional ones are lined with Spanish cedar, which takes in and gives off moisture slowly, keeps insects away and adds a light cedar smell. Have a look at our cigar humidors to find one that fits your collection. A good rule is to buy one about twice as big as you think you need.
Seasoning a new humidor
Before you put cigars in, wipe the cedar lightly with distilled water, put a dish of distilled water or a fresh humidity pack inside, and close the lid for two to three days. Once the hygrometer stays steady in the mid-60s, it’s ready.
Keeping the humidity right
Use distilled water or two-way humidity packs. Tap water leaves minerals behind and encourages mold. A digital hygrometer is much more accurate than most analog dials, and checking it once a week only takes a few seconds.
Storing cigars without a humidor
If you don’t have a humidor yet, a sealed plastic container or zip bag with a two-way humidity pack will keep cigars fresh for several weeks. Cigars in cellophane can stay wrapped for a short while, and cigars in tubes travel well. Machine-made cigars and cigarillos in foil pouches stay fresh until you open them, so smoke them within a few days after that.
Mistakes to avoid
- Keeping cigars in the fridge. It’s too dry and full of food smells.
- Storing strongly flavored cigarillos with premium cigars. The smell rubs off.
- Putting a humidor near a window, heater or air vent.
- Packing a humidor so full that air can’t move.
- Forgetting to check the hygrometer for months.
Buy cigars online and keep them fresh
Get a humidor and a good cigar cutter, then try some hand-rolled cigars from Oliva, Romeo y Julieta or Macanudo. If you have questions, check our cigar FAQ or contact us. Wikipedia’s humidor article has more background.
For adults 21 and older only. Tobacco products contain nicotine.