Humidity & Storage on-site
We store all our cigars in walk in humidors, which are monitored daily to assure temperature is at between 68-70 degrees and humidity is at 68-72%. This allows the perfect environment for proper aging and storage of all our cigars.
We ship cigars in original sealed boxes when purchasing full box sizes.
Shipping Humidity Control
Your order is shipped with complimentary Boveda humidity packs to help control humidity while in transit to your delivery address.
However we cannot control how long your cigars may take to arrive and the environment in which they are stored once they leave our facility.
Because of this we highly recommend reacclimating your cigars once they’ve arrived for a bare minimum of 48-72 hours. For best results wait 2-4 weeks.
When you order cigars online, you want to make sure they are delivered to you in perfect condition. Of course, during the shipping process, cigars are taken out of their ideally humidified environment for the purposes of transport, and this is fine for a short period of time when the weather is warmer. The exception is during very hot months where the blazing heat can cook the cigars in the truck.
However, when it’s colder outside, there are other challenges that stand in the way of maintaining the integrity of your cigar. This is exacerbated by increased shipping demands which means packages can be sitting on trucks and in sorting facilities for weeks.
The good news is these challenges are easy enough to overcome, with a little foresight and information. We’re here to give you both.
Here’s what you need to know about shipping cigars in cold climates—specifically, what we do to preserve your cigar’s quality—and what you need to do to acclimatize your cigar once it arrives at your door.
Shipping Cigars in Cold Climates: What You Need to Know
Understand the shipping process. Every cigar retailer has different shipping practices and we can only speak to our own. In more temperate months, cigars can sit in delivery trucks for weeks, and this isn’t an issue. The packaging is airtight and the cigar’s humidity is not compromised.
In colder months, however, no matter how air tight the packaging is, the temperature is cold and dry and the moisture content in the cigar can freeze, causing the cigar to crack.
So, how to prevent this?
Never ship dry cigars. That’s why all our cigars are stored in walk-in humidors and factory boxes: so that our cigars are prepared for their journey to you.
Reacclimatize Your Cigars
We also strongly advise all our customers to reacclimatize their cigars once they’ve arrived for a bare minimum of 48-72 hours and, for best results, 2-4 weeks.
Yes, this may mean you have to delay enjoying your favorite smoke, but we assure you, it will be worth the wait.
How to Rehydrate Your Cigars
1. Assess Condition.
If the wrappers are already showing signs of cracking then it may not be worth the effort to rehydrate. If, however, the crack is near the foot (the end you light) of the cigar, then most of the cigar will be unaffected: you just have to get past the crack. If the cigar is badly cracked though, it can be difficult to smoke even a hydrated cigar.
If your cigar is crack free, pinch the cigar at the foot. If there’s a little give, then you’re good to rehydrate your stick.
2. Rehydrate slowly!
Again, this could take weeks. We recommend using a factory cigar box, which will give your cigar an amazing aging room bouquet.
You also need two Boveda Humidity packs: one 69% and one 65%, as well as a digital hydrometer.
3. Place the cigars in the box.
Along with the 65% humidity pack and the digital hydrometer. You’re starting with the 65% to avoid over saturating the cigars all at once, which will cause cracking.
4. Close the box.
It doesn’t need to be air tight, and check the cigars daily. Over the course of a week or so, it should start to become a little more pliable. Once the cigar does begin to give a little more, switch in the 69% humidity pack and wait another week or two, or until the cigars reach their ideal hydration level, which is anywhere between 62% to 72% humidity.
It’s that easy, but again, you’re going to have to be patient.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What humidity should I store my cigars at?
This is a question discussed, debated, and misunderstood by many. Some who swear by a specific humidity can’t even explain why. This brief guide is not going to be exhaustive, but rather, is meant to give you some guidance about ideal cigar humidity.
Why should you keep cigars humid?
The answer is fairly simple: if the leaves dry they will crack and your cigar will fall apart. But even if it doesn’t fall apart, a dry cigar will burn unevenly and too hot and ruin the flavour.
What if they’re too humid?
If the cigar is too humid, you can also get uneven burning which will affect the flavour. We’ve seen people say “my cigars are not dry but they’re still cracking!” What people don’t realize is that when the tobacco inside of your cigar gets too humid it will expand and can crack the binder and wrapper.
So at what humidity should I store my cigars?
The generally safe relative humidity is somewhere in the range of 62% to 72%. Some prefer a higher (or lower) humidity in general while others prefer a lower humidity (62-65%) for Cubans and a higher humidity (67%-72%) for non-Cubans.
If your humidity is fluctuating due to temperature changes, you need to keep in mind that your hygrometer displays “relative humidity”. There’s a really interesting chart below that shows how ambient temperature will affect the relative humidity. The circled column shows 65% RH. This chart was shared on the Canada Cigar Forum and was taken from the US Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Handbook.
Relative Humidity
So, the question to address in this brief blog is not necessarily “what is the best humidity to store a cigar?”, but what is the best temperature for me, in that ideal range of 62% to 72%.
