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you intend to keep, to minimize flux. One should take note that what retailers call a "fifty-cigar" humidor will, when packed, hold about fifty 6" x 42 ring gauge (corona size) cigars, and so will in actuality have a somewhat smaller capacity if you have nothing but churchills or toros in there.
Essentially, any container you can construct to fulfill these criteria should be adequate. Some of us are quite content to use an old picnic cooler with a couple of bricks (unglazed) or a hunk of florist's clay, both of which hold water superbly well. The less intrepid, and more well-heeled, will be inclined to purchase a real honest-to-gosh wooden humidor, complete with a tiny sponge that you can add distilled water to with a tiny, little dropper. This will provide hours of fun for many but does not actually work any better. Many would also insist on using distilled water rather than tap water. Using Evian or other non-distilled waters won't lead to any significant mold or bacterial "contamination" unless you use sea water or water from a nearby fresh water lake, but the more obsessive-compulsive among you may be distressed by the eventual "hard-water" build up on your humidification device (caused by the trace minerals present in all but steam-distilled water), at which time you have my permission to go out and buy a new sponge. If you dearly love your shiny metal-plated humidification system, then distilled water is a must. Others would argue that the cedar wood interior of the costly, wooden humidor is a superior aging environment. (I won't spoil the fun by saying that I just go down to Woolworth's, get some cedar wood anti-moth blocks and drop 'em in the picnic cooler.) The case for cedar is a valid one. The oils and volatile compounds of the cigars are |
constantly mixing and evaporating during the aging process, leading to a blending of flavors. Any compounds added to the environment by the substance of the container itself can also react or act in a catalytic way. Metal and glass tend to be relatively inert. Plastic and wood both have adsorptive properties and, over time, acquire a tacky buildup of evaporative oils and aromatics. Ideally, these compounds should stay in the cigars. Otherwise, we would have to smoke the humidor to get any flavor, a less than ideal situation. Cedar wood, however, is a highly aromatic wood, full of its own oils which also evaporate and result in a state of homeostasis, minimizing the loss of oils (and flavor) from cigars. With the passage of time, the interaction of these tobacco oils amongst themselves and with the cedar oil of the wood leads to a mellowing and blending of flavors resulting in the subtle complexity which many associate with "pre-Revolutionary" flavor.
By following these simple guidelines, you should be able to effectively age your cigars for many future generations to come. But what do you do when you're ready to smoke those cigars? Well, in the same ways you probably wouldn't want to be in a small, pitch dark, humid box when you're getting ready to light up, neither do your cigars (are you surprised?). The environment ideally suited to smoking has about as little to do with the ideal aging environment as your New Year's resolutions have to do with what will actually transpire in the coming year. Understanding these differences can mean the difference between heaven and hell in your smoking experience. And, as always, the answers are not necessarily what you think. Learn how to maximize your smoking pleasure and more next time in Components of Fire. |
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