So, you’ve been given a box of cigars and give one a try—delicious, flavorful, and expensive.
However, it’s one thing to experience this triple threat of qualities within the first few days of receiving your cigars. What happens when you need to keep them for longer than that?
You store them correctly, of course. Proper cigar storage ensures each and every whiff packs a punch and maintains that great smoking experience even years after the cigars are purchased.
Ideally, you’d want to store cigars in premium cigar coolers or humidors, but this isn’t always an option. Today, we’ll be walking you through some great humidor alternatives to help effectively preserve the quality and flavor of your cigars for an extended period of time.
Table of Contents
How to Store Cigars Without a Humidor
A humidor provides the ideal environment for cigar storage, but you don’t necessarily have to get one to keep your cigars fresh. There are alternative environments that can accomplish the same, provided they are sealed tight as soon as a humidification source is incorporated.
From mason jars and coolers to Tupperware and Ziploc bags, there are simple solutions to effectively preserving your pack of cigars.
In the absence of a humidor or any other relatively expensive piece of tobacco-preserving equipment, consider relying on the following:
Plastic Bag + Humidification Pack
One of the easiest ways to store cigars is to use a Ziploc-style bag in combination with a humidification pack. The bag itself should do the trick for the first few days, but you will need to integrate a humidity source to preserve cigars longer.
You may have noticed that cigars inside a box are typically packaged in individual cellophane sleeves. That’s because cellophane holds a host of benefits when it comes to cigar preservation.
Cellophane sleeves add an extra layer of protection to cigars, preventing potential damage during shipping or while they’re on display on store shelves.
That said, cellophane sleeves do not provide the humidity necessary for long-term freshness. Continual humidity is key to cigar storage, and the simplest way to get that is through a Ziploc bag and humidification pack combo.
Tupperware + Sponge
In this combination, you also get a simple air-tight seal and humidity source. Not to mention, it should be easy to find these or a version of these at home.
Not only is a Tupperware humidor affordable, but it’s also simple to put together. You only have to insert an unused sponge soaked in distilled water into a clean Tupperware with your cigars and seal the container shut with the lid.
Depending on the size of your Tupperware container, consider using only a portion of the sponge. Using a whole sponge on a smaller container may produce too much humidity, which may not be ideal for your cigars.
It may be more difficult to determine humidity levels without a hygrometer, but this method should put you on the right track more often than not. As an alternative to a sponge, you may use a humidity pouch as your humidity source.
The Coolerdor
Cigars have become your passion, and you can’t get enough of them. Your sample, purchase, collect and sort but find that there’s no longer any space for a new humidor.
What are you to do? Aside from the two previously mentioned simple storage options, there’s using a coolerdor or “coolidor” as some aficionados prefer to refer to it. In case you’re wondering, this is basically a run-of-mill cooler repurposed into a cigar cooler.
As effective as it is to use a cooler for storing cigars, you must remember that cigars absorb the essence of things close to them. So, if your cooler reeks of beer or last week’s leftovers, prepare to get whiffs of that on your next smoking session.
Before repurposing any cooler for cigar storage, the first step is to always ensure that it’s clean and is still air-tight. In that way, you seal in the humidity necessary for preserving the taste and flavor of your cigars.
As for humidification, ice cubes don’t count this time around. You would actually need to secure a humidification unit ideal for the number of cigars you’re planning to stockpile. A humidification device similar to those used in conventional humidors should be good for 40 cigars at most.
The more cigars you plan to collect, the bigger your investment should be. For instance, you’ll want to invest in a digital hygrometer to accurately monitor the humidity levels of the storage environment. This is an important addition to a bigger collection of cigars. Otherwise, you risk losing a chunk of your collection to time.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve only been recently introduced to the world of cigars, consider not going for a humidor just yet. It may provide the best storage environment for cigars, but it’s expensive, and there’s no returning it to the store in case you decide the venture is not for you.
Cooledors, Ziploc bags, and Tupperware containers, on the other hand, can likely be found at home and won’t take much to create. They’re right there and can be assembled quickly. Take advantage!
