How to Store Cigars in a Storage Unit

For cigar enthusiasts, a fine stogie is more than just a smoke; it’s an experience, a ritual, and often, a cherished part of a curated collection. The beauty of a cigar lies not only in its flavor and aroma but also in its aesthetic appeal as part of a display.

The journey a cigar takes from seedling to smoke stick can span three to five years. A single cigar may touch 200 crafty hands before it reaches your collection.

So it’s no wonder that there’s no greater disappointment for a cigar lover than to grab a cigar and find out it’s gone stale. 

The intricate cigar fermentation process allows the tobacco to evolve into the ever-maturing cigars that enthusiasts seek. With proper care and cigar storage temperature, a cigar has no significant shelf life. In fact, long-term storage can actually cause a positive change, akin to the aging process of wine.

But if you store your cigars incorrectly, they can go stale, losing their flavor and smokability.

This article covers the basics of how to store a cigar. ensuring every smoke is as intended, from the moment of purchase to its eventual enjoyment. We’ll also reveal how to use Storage.com’s signature search tool to find a climate-controlled cigar storage space near you. 

Storing Cigars in a Humidor

When it comes to how to store your cigar collection while extending its life and maturing its flavor, nothing beats a humidor. This specialized container is designed to replicate the ideal environmental conditions that cigar manufacturers strive to achieve during cigar production and the initial aging process.

The ideal humidor offers your cigar collection two critical features: an airtight seal and a lining of Spanish cedar. A thoroughly sealed and well-seasoned humidor lined with Spanish cedar wood strips or Spanish cedar planks acts as the primary defense against moisture, mold growth, and temperature fluctuations.

• When setting up a new humidor, seasoning the Spanish cedar lining is the first step. 
• Wipe the Spanish cedar planks with a clean cloth dampened with distilled water.
• Avoid using paper towels, as they will leave traces behind on your Spanish cedar lining that can impact the aromas.

Cigar storage experts suggest using a hygrometer to monitor your humidor’s relative humidity levels. The optimal humidity range is typically between 65% and 70%. Exceeding 75% can, unfortunately, lead to mold growth. But humidity levels lower than 60% can cause cigars to dry out, burn too hot, and develop harsh flavors.

You can store cigars inside your humidor loose or in the cigar boxes they came in, as long as the inside of the box doesn’t hold at a different humidity range. You may want to leave your cigar boxes open.

If a humidor seems too pricey for cigars you’re moving to storage, you can make your own DIY humidor out of a cooler. “You can essentially create a cooler-dor out of any container that’s dark when closed, clean, unscented, and provides a seal to the outside environment,” says Bryan Ott, Merchandising Manager at Cigar.com. “This concept is great for storage units because [coolers] are easily stackable, and there’s no need to worry about damaging the finish of the more aesthetically pleasing traditional Spanish cedar humidor.”

Both a DIY humidor “cooler-dor” and a humidor can slide right into a climate-controlled storage unit, giving you two layers of humidity control and cigar protection. Let’s take a look at why a climate-controlled storage space is so important to long-term cigar storage. 

Cigar Storage Temperatures: Climate-Controlled Cigar Storage

Aumidor is essential for regulating relative humidity. But it’s only one part of the equation when it comes to how to store cigars without them going stale. When you’re putting your cigar collection in long-term storage, a stable temperature is equally as important as humidity control.

Climate-controlled storage units add an extra layer to cigar protection, working in tandem with your humidor to regulate the air humidity levels before it even enters the humidor.

Climate-controlled storage units also utilize temperature control systems to maintain a consistent unit temperature year-round.

“Temperature goes hand in hand with humidity for creating the correct environment for cigars,” notes Ott. 

• Temperature swings offer very real dangers to your cigar collection, substantial.
• Fluctuations can cause the tobacco to expand and contract, leading to cracking and drying out.
• If temperatures get too high, they can accelerate the cigar’s maturation processand encourage the hatching of tobacco beetles.
• And low temperatures can slow down the natural aging process.

Even if a unit with climate control is maintained at a steady 70°F year-round, an internal humidor remains indispensable.

If your humidor maintains a stable temperature somewhere around 70°F and the ideal humidity range within your humidor and keeps your humidor in a climate-controlled storage space, you’re preserving the cigars’ molecular oils. This leads to naturally maturing cigars that develop complex flavors over time.

Ott also suggests a storage facility with advanced security measures if your collection is particularly large or valuable. “There are cigars out there worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Phillips says. “[A collection] isn’t something you can go to your insurance to get replaced. No amount of money could replace it.”

Enhanced storage unit security features can include 24/7 security cameras, alarms, electronic gates requiring coded entry, and on-site managers and security personnel. We’ll cover how to rent a storage unit with security features in the last section. First, let’s take a look at how proper cigar storage can aid maturation as well as preservation. 

Long-Term Storage for Cigars: Preservation and Maturation

Storing cigars improperly can ruin your stock, but putting a little thought into storage can be extremely rewarding. “I liken the cigar-making process to the wine-making process,” Phillips says, detailing a three to five-year journey in which more than 200 hands touch a cigar from tobacco seedling to finished product.

This analogy underscores the fact that cigars, much like fine wines, undergo a transformation over time. The tobacco itself changes, evolving and maturing with proper care. Understanding how to store cigars long-term means more than just focusing on cigar preservation. 

Cigar collectors also need to foster a positive change that enhances the cigar’s complexity and flavor profile.

This extended aging, often recommended for a minimum of 2 years for many premium cigars, allows the fermentation process to continue subtly, smoothing out any harsh notes and integrating the various tobacco flavors.

Again, the goal is to maintain the humidity range (65-70% RH) and stable temperatures in the ballpark of 70°F. storingcigars correctly not only preserves their molecular oils but also enhances the cigar flavor. A well-aged cigar is an investment that can last for decades, offering a deep, complex, and rewarding cigar-smoking experience.

Additional tips for the cigar aficionado in the making:

• Buy a humidity pack for your humidor and use that instead of a damp towel or sponge.
• Always use distilled water in your humidor, unless the manufacturer specifically tells you to use tap water.
• When you’re traveling, keep your cigar fresh by putting it in a Ziploc bag or a Tupperware container and shaking it around. Add a damp paper towel to the container, and you’ve got a temporary humidor.

How To Store Cigars Using Storage.com

By now, you should have a pretty good idea of how to store cigars in a way that honors the meticulous work of cigar manufacturers. The ideal cigar storage temperature and humidity range is more than just preservation, but also encourages the ongoing evolution of a cigar’s flavor and aroma.

For short-term storage, creative solutions like a DIY humidor using Spanish cedar wood strips or planks can be effective. For on-the-go needs, a travel humidor or cigar case ensures your cigars remain in prime condition.

The best place to set up your cigar storage humidor is away from any direct sunlight or potential drafts, such as air conditioning vents or heating units, which can cause drastic temperature swings.

But what if we have windows in every room of the home? And are we seriously supposed to keep our house’s resting temperature as low as 70 degrees even in the wintertime? 

How do we find a space with no heating or air conditioning vents? And how much control do we really have over the humidity levels, and how are we supposed to monitor them, never mind control them?

Don’t worry, Storage.com is here to help.

Maybe you’re just looking for a small 5×5 storage unit that can fit your humidor and cigar accessories, like your cigar cutter. Or maybe you need a larger storage unit size so you can store your whiskey in the same place as your cigars. 

Either way, Storage.com lets you browse and compare self-storage units using amenity and size filters that isolate the storage facilities in your area with all the ideal cigar storage features.

Just punch your zip code into our handy Storage.com search tool, and you’ll see what we mean. We’ll filter through the thousands of local storage facilities for you, making it easy to find the storage unit that best fits your specific cigar storage needs. 

Again, for cigar storage, we suggest a storage unit with climate control, which also controls humidity monitoring and management. But you decide if features like electricity, alarms, 24-hour access, drive-up access, or security cameras are also important. 

Once you know what you want, Storage.com makes the process quick and painless. All you have to do is choose a storage unit and your move-in date, and we’ll take care of the rest. 

And if you have any questions this cigar storage guide didn’t answer, feel free to ask. Our storage representatives are just a phone call away!