One of the joys of cigar appreciation is trying a wide variety. You learn the subtle nuances of flavor profiles, tastes, styles, and the way different cigars made in different countries can differ so greatly.
Once you get really into the hobby and have more than a couple cigars on hand at a time, you’ll want a humidor to keep them in prime smoking shape. But that raises a question: can you store different types of cigars in the same humidor?
Turns out, this question is much more loaded than it might seem, so there’s a lot to consider. Let’s look at a few of the elements that are at play before you store all of your cigars together.
How a Humidor Works
If you don’t already have a humidor and know the inner workings, it’s simple. A humidor is a box that’s lined with a special wood called Spanish cedar. This lining is particularly absorbent, and allows for the interior of the box to be humidified to a certain level. When the interior is “seasoned,” it means the humidor has absorbed enough moisture to maintain an environment inside the box that is perfect for storing cigars.
Cigars need a space that’s a very specific humidity (between 67 and 72%) in order to keep them in pristine smoking condition. Store them in a space that’s too dry, and they dry out—their precious oils that lend to their fragrance and superb smoking enjoyment evaporating along the way. Store them too moist, and cigars (being organic after all) will mold and may even become infested with tobacco beetles. Neither of these make for good smoking sessions, so keeping your cigars in an optimal environment is obviously the ideal situation. This is especially true when you’ve got more than a handful at a time.
Many humidors come equipped with a hygrometer, which is a device that measures humidity. It may be built in or separate and intended to be placed inside the humidor, but either way, it’s a valuable piece of equipment that helps make sure your humidor is working appropriately.
If you have a humidor already and want to make sure it’s properly seasoned, you can follow our guide to seasoning—or join the Klaro Membership to get everything you need to keep your humidor in perfect condition for a full year.
Choosing the Right Humidor to Store Your Cigars
When you’re selecting a humidor, there are many options at your disposal. The style you choose is ultimately up to you, but many higher end versions—including many of our Klaro Humidors—offer nice perks like a viewing window, built-in hygrometers, and full Spanish cedar lining and trays.
As you’re choosing yours, and determining how you’ll store your cigar collection, the main thing to consider is its size. Some humidors are small and practical—like desktop or even travel humidors. Others are much larger.
When looking at sizes, keep in mind that when you read the number of cigars the humidor fits, it’s usually referring to Corona or Corona Gordo cigar sizes. If you’re storing those that are much larger or smaller, you’ll have to account for that one way or another. Many of these larger humidors come with trays that sit perched above the lowest level, effectively doubling the amount a humidor can hold.
Keep in mind, it’s not advisable to pack your humidor entirely full. They work best when air can circulate around the stogies, and that’s much more difficult when filled to the brim.
Different Types of Cigars
Cigars obviously come in a wide variety of different shapes, sizes, and colors. All of these elements in some way affect the way they should be stored in your humidor.
All in all, there are roughly 14 different sizes of cigars in the two types of styles: parejos and figurados. There are also seven different color wrappers that are most common among these sizes.
These different elements create different flavor profiles and preserving these flavors is easy inside a properly seasoned humidor.
Storing Different Types of Cigars
Once you’ve got your humidor lined out, just how many cigars can you store together inside? In general, it’s fine to store cigars of different types and varieties together inside a humidor, especially a larger humidor.
That said, it’s usually ideal to keep them grouped by type. Cigars stored next to one another can “rub off” one each other. That is, the flavors and nuances of a particular type of stogie can actually impact those of a different kind when they’re stored next to them.
So just tossing a handful of cigars together into your humidor can actually muddle the flavors over time, making it increasingly difficult to pick out the ones you like most.
Thankfully, most shelves that come inside humidors have dividers inside of them to help you keep similar cigars grouped together.
If you must store two dissimilar cigars together, just try to keep a little bit of room between them for air circulation. Every little bit counts, that small amount of distance can help keep your unique stogies as their producers intended them.
