Storing cigars correctly has twofold importance: one, it keeps your premium investment from going bad, and second, it ages your cigars for a more robust, pleasing experience. 

When experts talk about proper storage, they mainly mean dialing in the humidity. Humidity plays a critical role in cigar storage. Because cigars are hygroscopic (meaning they take and retain environmental moisture), too much or too little humidity can cause problems. However, maintaining a sweet spot allows you to enjoy fresh-tasting cigars regardless of age. 

This article illustrates the importance of cigar storage by exploring the effects of incorrect humidity levels, before finishing with a section on achieving ideal relative humidity (RH). 

Low Humidity and Drying 

In arid environments, a cigar sitting on the counter will eventually desiccate, or dry up. Whether you’re in Las Vegas in the summer, New York in the winter, or any of these American cities, the low-RH settingsdraw moisture from the cigar and leave behind a brittle product. 

When this happens, the cigar becomes tough to smoke. The fragile wrappers are prone to cracking, and the fragile filler is liable todislodge. Most consequentially, this dried cigar will taste bad; the smoke it produces will be acrid, losing all of those complex notes it once featured. 

You can tell a cigar is under-humidified by giving it a gentle squeeze. If the wrapper makes a cracking sound or feels brittle, the cigar is too dry for a pleasant smoking experience. 

High Humidity and Mold

On the other end of the spectrum are high-humidity environments like Florida, Seattle, much of the tropical and subtropical world, etc. In these environments, an entirely new threat rears its head: mold. 

Cigars are plant matter like any other. When they present enough moisture, hungry and opportunistic mold spores will take advantage. With more than enough to eat, they will multiply, eventually rendering your cigar unusable. Unlike dry cigars, you cannot reverse mold damage on a cigar. You have to grit your teeth and throw it out. 

If the cigar feels spongy when pinched or you notice dull white patches on the surface, your cigar is over-humidified and potentially moldy. For more information on investigating your stogie for problems, read this article on how to tell if your cigar is too dry or moist.

What Is the Ideal RH, and How Do You Achieve It? 

The ideal RH depends on what you’re storing (premium cigars, Cubans, etc.). It also depends on whether you’re aging the cigar, and how airtight your storage container is. However, for a rough estimate of ideal RH, you could do worse than to say between 65% and 70%. 

How does one achieve this precise goal? Start with an airtight humidor, preferably lined with Spanish cedar, seasoned with an 84% 2-way humidity control pack. Seasoning a humidor creates a tighter seal and primes the wood to reach equilibrium with your cigars. Next, insert a calibrated hygrometer to track RH fluctuations. To stop fluctuations, insert another Boveda 2-way humidity control pack for cigars – which range from 65% for Cubans to 75% for leaky humidors. 

If you want a rich-tasting, silky-smooth smoke, you need to take humidity seriously. Follow the steps above to determine the status of your cigar, and to store it correctly in the future.