Why You Need to Avoid Summer Humidor Hazards

So, now that the majority of the nation is experiencing temperatures in excess of one hundred degrees, there are certain hazards that one should avoid in order to protect your prize cigars. With the increased temperatures comes an increased risk to the infestation and growth of the damned Lasioderma Serricone, otherwise known as the cigar beetle. These little critters have devastating effects on cigars in particular as they feed on dried tobacco leaf only. They were notorious for ruining many cigarettes and cheap cigars before these products became infused with different chemicals which these cigar beetles, similar to cigar aficionados, find unpalatable; therefore, the biggest risk now is to premium cigars. The cigar beetle consumes leaf through all four stages of its life from egg, larva, pupa, to adult; however, the largest amount of damage comes not from consumption, but from its byproducts such as dust, its corpse, and its "refuse," or what you might call crap. Right now you're glancing at your cigar aren't you? So, how can you tell if these little bastards have infested your humidor?


Symptoms of the cigar beetle include:

• A hard draw
• An uneven burn
• Dust in your mouth when you first draw
• Brown dust on the floor of your humidor
• Little brown bugs flying out of your humidor
• And a rumored "popping" sound as the cigar cherry hits the larva

The cigar beetle really enjoys compacted leaf or completed cigars, it makes no difference, however, it does most of its damage to the wrapper leaf. The tiny eggs, which are impossible to see as they are 1/50 of an inch, are laid and when hatched let loose a worm-like larva. This larva is what wreaks the most havoc on a cigar turning your robusto into its restaurant. After several weeks of chowing on your Churchills, it surrounds itself in a cocoon of it's own food and crap and is cemented into place by its own secretions. Glancing at your cigar again right? At this point it goes into hibernation while it morphs into a pupa and becomes harmless. The final stage is the adult cigar beetle which doesn't consume the leaf as much as it tunnels its way through your prized cigars until it escapes to fly away. However, this cigar beetle can burrow its way through adjacent cigars going from stick to stick or, once freed from the cigars, fly from one box of cigars to another...awesome right?


Now, lets say you have an infestation, how do you deal with it? It's a safe assumption that if you suspect one cigar is infected, all cigars in your humidor are infected, that's just how it goes. It is not recommend that you use something like an insecticide based on pyrethrum which must be fogged and leaves a sickeningly sweet smell on your cigars. To add insult to injury, the cigar beetle not only enjoys tobacco, dog food, book binding paste but also pyrethrum. Great. Pheromone traps are another popular remedy but these only get the flying adults. So what do you do? Simple. Immediately remove all of your cigars from your humidor and seal them in a vapor lock plastic with a similar vapor lock and stick them in your freezer. This ensure that the temperature gets low enough to kill them, while at the same time, the vapor lock seal keeps the moisture in your cigars. You also want to place your humidor into the freezer separately. Set the temperature as low as possible. You want to keep both in the freezer at the lowest temperature for at least two to three days. After the two or three days, bring the ambient temperature to zero degrees and, leaving the cigars sealed and in the freezer, pull the humidor out. While your cigars take a freezer nap, take your humidor and scrub it down, removing all dust and I recommend using canned air and, being careful not to turn the can on its side or upside-down, blow out cracks, nooks, and crannies to ensure all dust and refuse is gone. Then, make a strong ammonia-water solutions and wipe down around all areas of the humidor, again, ensuring you get all cracks, nooks, crannies. The benefits of the ammonia solution is that it is particularly hard on cigar beetles, and your sinuses, however, it will not scent or flavor your cigars once dried. Once your humidor has been sterilized, and the cigars have spent about two days at zero degrees, ever so slowly return the cigars to ambient temperature in order to prevent cracking and thermal shock. Then take the cigars out of the freezer and make sure to do it on a day with low humidity to prevent the moisture in the air from collecting on the wrappers which can mottle or pucker your cigars. Before returning your cigars back into the humidor, visually inspect each one to ensure any infected cigars aren't returned to the humidor.


With these few steps in mind, should you ever find yourself fending off the hordes of the Lasioderma Serricone, the sinister cigar beetle, you'll have the means to hold those beetles at their beachhead and exterminate them.

Try Aging Your Cuban Cigars

When Cuban cigars were first made available, they have exploded on to the scene. Yes their were times when things were a little slow, but they have always been steady. In 2008, we are seeing another era of the new generation discovering Cuban cigars. Why not? It's a good alternative to smoking as you never inhale and with Cuban cigars, you will always enjoy the best kind of tobacco available today. The complexity of the flavors involved and the pure dexterity of the Cuban cigar just can't be matched.

I think this is where they discovered the art of aging a Cuban cigar. No one really knows, but most good things are discovered by accident. So is the case here, especially when it comes to an aged fine Cuban cigar. Cuban cigars taste great fresh from their case, but if you store them for a few years (Just like wine), you will have something incredible on your hands. This is why the Cuban cigar brand Cohiba is considered the top of the line cigar in the world. Before the actual construction of the cigar, the tobacco leaves used are aged for sometime.

The great thing here is once you let them sit for a few years, they get better with age. The complex flavors are truly a treat to anyone's palette. The best way to age your Cuban cigar is by getting a humidor. It is basically a box that controls the temperature within, which is a must if you want to preserve your cigars. You see, Cuban has been blessed with some perfect climate to grow the best tobacco in the world. No other country even comes close. Combine perfect temperature with an art that goes back centuries, and you have something truly worthy on your hands.

However, don't be disheartened because Cuban cigar humidors vary when it comes to prices and today they are very affordable. It all depends on what your needs are and how many Cuban cigars you smoke. If you smoke a few a month, get a portable humidor. This way your cigar travel with you and you can easily carry like 3 - 5 sticks. If you are looking for a humidor and a nice piece of furniture, than why not try a table humidor? Some of them are truly art pieces and will bring your existing living room to life. Plus with a table humidor, your Cuban cigars will always be ready for people who you want to show to like your friends and family.

If I were you, I would invest in a humidor immediately and store those precious stogies in them. Than I would leave that humidor somewhere safe, clean, away from water and in a cool place and let it do it's thing. It is recommended that you check up on it every once in a while just to make sure everything is working fine. I usually do it every two weeks or so. After that, or should I say after a few years, waiting for you will be some amazing Cuban cigars.

By: Trevor Wallace..

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How to Keep Your Cigar in Perfect Condition

For people who smoke cigars, it can become something of an obsession. Over time, cigar smokers often develop precise rituals that they adhere to every time they smoke a cigar, and can be quite pedantic about how they store their cigars. If you're not privy to this obsession of smoking the 'perfect' cigar, then you also probably don't understand the need for a cigar humidor.

The basic purpose of a cigar humidor is to both store and protect cigars. Many cigar enthusiasts believe that cigars need to be stored at a precise temperature in order to maintain their peak flavor. That's exactly what the cigar humidor does - maintains a constant temperature. Opinions vary, but it's generally believed that the range between 68 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit is perfect for cigars. The humidity also needs to be controlled, and kept at a level around 70-72% humidity.

Cigar aficionados have long debated about the ideal temperature required for the storing of cigars. Some insist that even a slight fluctuation in temperature can prove detrimental to the flavor of their cigars, and insist on a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Others are a little more flexible and allow a slight amount of temperature fluctuation. Generally they all agree that the lower the temperature, the quicker the cigar will age, which will then cause a reduction in flavor. If you want to maintain the flavor, integrity and color of your favorite cigars, then a cigar humidor is essential.

What features should you look for when purchasing a cigar humidor? The one essential feature is that it must be completely closed once the lid is shut. If the lid isn't snug and secure, then it's possible that the temperature or humidity inside will fluctuate. A lid that's tight also prevents any other outside elements contaminating the cigars, and prevents any moisture exchange. It's helpful if the inside of the cigar humidor is smooth and seamless, to prevent snagging of cigars (or fingers!). It's also useful to have fittings inside the humidor to assist in the storing of the cigars.

You can choose from a variety of interior linings, but cedar is generally preferred. The best is Spanish cedar. Finally, make sure you know the exact size of your favorite cigars before you go shopping for a cigar humidor. Otherwise you might get home and find you can't fit them in! This is very important, because both cigars and humidors come in a wide variety of sizes. As soon as you get your cigar humidor home, start using it, so that your cigars will have a long life, minimal aging and the best flavor possible.

Steve Dolan enjoys the finer things in life, like a good bottle of wine, an excellent port and a fine cigar. Click Cigar Humidors to find out more

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Inexpensive Humidor Solution

Hi everyone. I know its been a while since I've been back on here. But I'm happy to be back. Today I'm going to be talking about cheap and effective solutions to not having a humidor. Using my Facebook profile Cigar Czar, I've seen a trend lately where people were having a problem procuring a good humidor. This led me to creating today's blog. This will also be helpful for those who are trying to start smoking and keeping cigars of there own.
What you need to do first is go to your local tobacconist's and ask if they have any high quality cigar boxes they can either part with free, or at a low cost. When I started I managed to get a very elegant looking Monte Cristo cigar box with a painted mural of a city on the lid, the rest of the box was silver and black, which conveniently matched my furnishing in that room. When they offer you some of these cigar boxes, make sure that they are large enough to house all your cigars, with enough circulation and enough space for the humidifier and the gauge. You will also need to make sure that when you get the cigar box, that it has a good, tight seal. This is very important for obvious reasons.
Once that's done and you've taken your make-shift humidor home, you will then need to 'prime' the humidor. The way you do that is take a clean cotton cloth and apply a small amount of distilled water to the cloth and wipe the entire inside of the make-shift humidor. this will help the wood absorb the moisture without waiting a long time with just the humidifier alone. But make sure not to use too much water as this can warp the humidor and cause an improper seal or a potential for mold.
This kind of humidor will require a bit more upkeep than a standard humidor, as it is a cigar box, and not a true humidor. However the upkeep is still relatively simple, make sure if you use a silica style tube humidifier (which is what I recommend for this kind of humidor) the silica is always moist, never let it dry out, and keep your levels at that perfect 70%. Another means to keep them moist was discovered by a friend of mine. He took the silica beads you find occasionally in clothes (in those little bags they tell you not to eat), found a retailer who sold the beads bulk and applies an ample amount into a flat bowl and just adds water occasionally. This to my experience for personal humidors has been the most reliable and stable form of keeping a humidor at an even 70%. However this method is best applied in larger humidors given the space needed for the bowl. Hope this helps and happy smoking!