Climate in a Humidor

Could you imagine yourself enjoying a dry cigar? I really doubt it, since everyone is always seeking for a decent stick that won't cause any issue with the draw, won't need any touch ups and relights. Have you ever been in a situation like this? We, at my-cuban-cigars.com, decided to carry out an investigation and find out who was the one to offer the world one of the greatest storing solutions - the humidor.

Before the first humidor appeared, all cigars that came to Europe were dry. Now, even a cigar dummy knows that cigars need to be stored in proper conditions while travelling from one destination to another; otherwise, they would get dry and could cause lots of issues to a smoker. At that time, cigars rolled in the humid Caribbean climate, became drying immediately after they left the tropics. The first person who observed the difference between climates and their impact on cigars was Alfred Dunhill. This famous cigar manufacturer was often heard saying "A cigar should be smoked under the same conditions it was created." Could we ever put his words into question?

Obviously, you could smoke your cigars even in Europe, with its diverse weather factors. However, you should always pay particular attention to the storing conditions. If you didn't know that, let us prevent you that a cigar is able to keep its original characteristics at a humidity lever of circa 70%. If you try to raise the humidity, your cigars could get moldy, though it's a rare case. Otherwise, when the humidity is too low, less than 65%, any cigars could easily get dry, since tobacco leaves become fragile and lose their aroma. Ultimately, such cigars burn faster and hotter, resulting in a less evident taste. And you have to put some efforts to breathe life into it after all.

Did you know that, though cigars are usually manufactured in hot climates, they cannot stand high temperature? On the other hand, they would hardly survive in a cold climate, as well. If someone advises that you store your cigars in the fridge, don't you ever listen to them! It could be very dangerous, and you wouldn't want damaging your beauties this way! However, this could be a temporary storage place, just for one day, if you decided to season your humidor, or something else happened to it. If you put them in the fridge, make sure you vacuum pack them and put in a Tupperware container - they are very sensible to other flavors, and could easily absorb any outside smell.

The ideal temperature for the majority of cigars is 20-23 °C. Luckily, such temperature is preserved in many houses. However, humidity is something we should be aware of, since it rarely climbs above 35-40% in most European countries. That's why we need a humidor.

The first humidor was supposedly invented by the famous Alfred Dunhill. In 1907 he built in a special cabinet in order to store his cigars at his London shop. The cabinet was equipped with thick wooden walls and had a special water reservoir. That reservoir was designed to provide cigars with necessary humidity, while the thick walls and the door didn't let humid air go outside. Unfortunately, his device didn't gain popularity at that time, since most cigar smokers, as well as suppliers, would rather keep their cigars in a basement that was warm enough, but still very humid. However, this option has been rejected in the fifties, since Europe introduced the central heating.

With these changes, Zino Davidoff did his best to bring back Dunhill's invention. This time, it worked. The first humidor he made was very similar to the one Dunhill created in 1907. However, Davidoff has also invented a small wooden box, with a piece of damp cloth inside. Such humidors could be easily used at home. In a short time, such humidors could be bought at all tobacco shops that sold Davidoff cigars. The first mass market humidor was introduced in 1968. Until that year, a few smokers would buy humidors, since they quite pricey.

By Sonya Rendall