How to Organize Your Cigar Humidor?

Have you finally found the cigar humidor that meets your expectations and are you ready to store your precious vitolas? Before you get started, it is important to know certain basic rules that are essential to properly preserving your cigars. Buying an humidor is indeed only the first step in ensuring that the aromas and flavors of your modules are preserved over time.

Steps not to overlook before filling your humidor

Once you have purchased your humidor, you need to prepare it so it can welcome your cigars in the best possible conditions. Humidors are mainly made from hygroscopic wood species. This means that their walls will absorb the moisture released by your humidifier and thus hinder the proper humidification of your cigars. It is therefore essential to prepare the wood of your humidor before placing your cigars inside.

For this step, you will need distilled water or a mixture of distilled water and propylene glycol (50/50 ratio), a new sponge, and a plastic bag. Start by soaking your sponge in a bowl of distilled water until it is completely saturated. Then place a plastic bag inside your humidor and put in your sponge after wringing it out. Next, soak your humidifier in the same solution used for the sponge. Once it is fully saturated, place it on an absorbent towel, face down, for about 30 minutes to drain off the excess water. After this time, you can place it in your humidor without any risk of leaking.

Once these steps are complete, calibrate your hygrometer to 75% and place it inside your cigar humidor. If your humidor contains trays, make sure to leave them inside as well so they can be prepared. Then close your cigar humidor and wait 48 hours. Once this time has passed, your sponge should be completely drained of water. Remove it from your humidor, then refill your humidifier. Put it back inside your humidor and wait another 24 hours. Your humidor is ready to receive your cigars when the humidity level is between 70% and 74%. If it is above this level, wait another 24 hours.

Why organize your cigar humidor?

Once your cigar humidor has been prepared, you can begin storing your precious cigars in it. However, your cigars should not be stored randomly. It is in fact recommended that you follow certain organizational rules to help ensure your cigars are well preserved over time.

The layout of your humidor should therefore promote good humidity circulation, preserve the aromas and flavors of your cigars, and help you find them easily. Also keep in mind that, to function properly, your humidor should always be filled to at least 2/3 of its capacity. Below that, it will not be able to stabilize the humidity level over time and you will have to refill your humidifier regularly.

How should you organize your humidor?

Not all humidors are the same. Some cigar humidors have dividers, tasting trays, or even drawers, while other models offer only a single storage space. Some aficionados also own humidors that they dedicate exclusively to aging their cigars, while others use the same humidor for all of their cigars. Depending on the configuration of your humidor and how you intend to use it, you won't be able to organize it in the same way.

A. Sort your cigars based on when you plan to smoke them

Most cigar humidors come with divider trays that let you separate cigars you want to age from cigars that are ready to enjoy. You can place the cigars you want to keep at the back of your humidor and keep the ones you want to smoke soon within easy reach by placing them on the tasting tray. It is also advisable to place the head of your cigars facing the humidifier so as to protect the foot from excess moisture.

B. Separate your cigars by terroir

Cigars breathe. Once placed in your humidor, they will share the same environment and may exchange their oils and aromas if they are placed too close together. To preserve their distinctive aromatic characteristics, it is therefore important to separate them according to their terroir.

If your humidor has divider walls, you simply need to place them between each terroir to create separation. If your cigar humidor does not offer multiple storage spaces, you will need to find alternatives to separate your cigars. For example, you can use a piece of cedar sheet or a match as a divider. It is also possible to use a tubed cigar or a cigar wrapped in cellophane as a separator. In that case, make sure to remove the cap from your tube or open the cellophane at both ends to allow your cigars to be humidified.

C. Perform regular rotations

Organizing your humidor makes it easy to find your vitolas and preserve their aromas over time. It is also an excellent way to help ensure even humidification of your cigars. Proper humidification indeed depends on regularly rotating your cigars (about once a month). Once your cigars are sorted, all you need to do is move them one position over on the same level to perform a rotation. If your cigar humidor contains several trays, you can also rotate your cigars from one level to another, while making sure to keep the cigars you want to enjoy soon on the top trays.

To go further

To avoid losing track of your collection, it is recommended that you keep a log containing the identifying information for your vitolas. Very practical, this inventory will let you know the date on which your cigars were placed in your humidor, so that you do not let them age beyond their potential. Each time you place a new cigar in your storage humidor, note its “vitole de salida” (commercial name), the date, and, if you know it, its manufacturing date. You can now fully enjoy your cigar humidor!