Check Your Humidor Before Edmonton’s Winter Arrives

Winter Is Coming…

When we think winter, we think snow, holidays, more snow…and the havoc cold can wreak on our precious cigars.

Cigars Can Be Fragile.

We don’t mean emotionally…but physically.

As you know, cigars like to be in an environment of about 65 to 71 degrees F.

They also prefer humidity at 62% – 70%.

Sure, you can play with those numbers a bit depending on your aging goals, but let’s just stick with that range for now.

Enter Winter….

The winter months mess with everything.

Humidity levels will fluctuate based on the changing temperature.

You have probably heard the term, “Relative Humidity (RH).”

Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor present in the air expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature.

Cigars Are Hygroscopic.

That means they will ADJUST to their surrounding environment. Cigars will absorb moisture or dry out until they, as closely as possible, match their surrounding environment.

Damp cigars will be difficult to keep lit. The smoke will be denser (not in a good way), and the draw will be tough.

Dry cigars on the other hand will burn hot. Their natural oils will evaporate…thus losing a lot of really good flavor.

With winter, it is easy for cigars to dry out, so here are a couple of quick tips:

1. Winter is not the time to leave any cigars in your car. An overnight stay in a car will not only mess with the RH level…but it can cause cigar wrappers to split.

2. Once you get the cigars home, it’s time to store them in a humidor or controlled environment. There are some great products that can help you maintain a constant RH. Check out Boveda packs for starters. They can both absorb and let out moisture as needed…perfect for both desktop and travel humidors.

3. For larger humidors, an electronic humidifier can keep cigars stored at the ideal humidity. Cigar Oasis, Hydra, Moiste-N-Aire, and Le Veil are all good options that are stocked in our shop.

4. Shorter cigars are great for winter. Not only do they hold up a bit better, who wants to stand in zero degrees for an hour or more?

5. If you have cigars shipped to you…do not immediately throw them in the humidor. Chances are, they have been exposed to some pretty cold weather in route (on the truck for example). Let them sit in your house an extra day before moving them to the humidor. This will help them slowly adjust.

6. This is a good time to check the seal of your humidor. If you are losing air, you are losing humidity. Sometimes just wiping down the seal area with some distilled water will cause the wood to swell just a little…and get that seal back to 100%. Don’t go crazy here…just a little water will work.

That should do it!

There is no reason you cannot enjoy cigar smoking well into the winter months.

Sure, you might want a heated smoking jacket to keep yourself in total comfort, but there is no reason your cigars can’t be top notch these coming winter months.

Have some more great winter tips? Give us a shout at Nottingham Cigars…we would love to hear what you have to say!