Anyone who has purchased cigars from a tobacconist’s shop will know that they are usually stored in specialized cabinets that maintain a balanced temperature and steady level of humidity. Basically, such a cabinet or container is just a commercially sized humidor which operates in many of the same ways that the smaller, cedar boxes do. These individually sized containers often provide remarkably efficient ways to age and maintain cigars under optimal conditions, but they do require some regular effort and care.

Why do cigars need humidity at all? Well, all cigars are made of cut tobacco and full tobacco leaves (which serve as their wrappers) and these are just like all dried plants – they are susceptible to the conditions around them. Drop a dried leaf in a puddle of water and it will absorb the moisture, leave the same leaf in the sun and it will shrivel up and crumble to dust. Tobacco operates in the same ways, and for a cigar to be enjoyable it must receive balanced humidity and a steady amount of heat or cold.

Interestingly enough the humidors are the same because they are made from soft, cedar woods that can lose their moisture if not taken care of properly. This means that there are some challenges to creating the right conditions for storing cigars in their special containers. The first thing to do, before adding cigars to long-term storage containers, is to ensure that they are fully seasoned or humidified. This is a very simple process that involves the boxes, a device known as a hygrometer, and a small humidifier for each.

The owner must put the boxes where they will be stored permanently, which should be in a somewhat controlled area out of direct sunlight. They should then close the box and put the hygrometer inside of it. This should be left alone for several hours to get an accurate reading. Anything less than 70% humidity means that the box itself will need to be re-humidified before cigars can be safely added. This is done by adding the humidifier and leaving the box alone until the right levels are obtained.

It is important to note that many boxes will need upwards of a full week to become fully restored, and a cigar owner is going to have to become quite proficient at managing their humidifying devices. This is because they will need to balance the distilled water and the Propylene Glycol formula (or PG) that allows water to escape at a much slower rate of evaporation, thus humidifying the environment properly.