Prepare your humidor properly so your cigars are at their freshest.
The most common method for keeping your cigars fresh is to store them in a humidor. A humidor requires a small amount of regular maintenance, but it will keep your cigars in ideal shape for an extended period of time. If you don’t have a humidor, you can store a few cigars in a closed plastic bag until you’re ready to smoke. Keep the plastic bag closed with a slightly moist towel at the mouth of the bag, not touching the cigars and out of the sunlight.
Here are some tips to prepare and store your cigars.
First, you will want to choose a humidor. Choose something you like and would be happy to display. Consider how many cigars you want to store at one time; 10, 20, 50? The inside of the humidor should be made from cedar. This will help keep the cigars fresh.
Season the humidor by wiping it down with distilled water. You can use a sponge or a paper towel. Add distilled water inside the humidor and close it. To add the water, you can use a sponge, a small, open container of distilled water or jelly balls. Jelly balls are also known as humidity beads. These are small, gel filled beads that absorb the distilled water. They are used to increase and control the humidity in a humidor.
You should use a hydrometer to check the humification of the humidor. The temperature inside the humidor should range from 65% to 72% depending on how many cigars you put in your humidor. To increase the humifaction add distilled water. To reduce it leave the humidor open for a while. Continue to monitor the hydrometer until the desired range is achieved/
Keep your humidor away from direct sunlight, heaters and air conditioners.
Store your cigars so they aren’t touching the sides of the humidor. It is preferable to not let the cigars touch one another.
You could rotate your cigars once a month. Move the cigars on top to the bottom and move the cigars on bottom to the top. It is not necessary, but this can keep your cigars slightly fresher. It doesn’t matter if you store your cigars in a cellophane wrapper or not. They will stay fresh either way.
Lite ‘em up and enjoy them.