How To Age A Cigar Using A Humidor
People can pay lots of money for a fine quality cigar. Quality cigars are usually aged over time, but you too can enjoy a quality aged cigar by doing it yourself at home using a cigar humidor. A cigar that has been aged well displays complex but subtle distinctions in flavour and texture. Like wine, an aged cigar is simply the best kind of cigar that you can enjoy.
Start with a quality cigar if you are going to age them yourself. If you use a cheap cigar, you will probably be disappointed with the end result and the time will have been wasted. It takes about a year for the ageing process to complete. This is probably the minimum time you should allow. A rule of thumb when choosing is to find one that you find too strong or odourous, and this will probably be a good candidate.
A quality cigar humidor is what you use to age your chosen cigars. There is a requirement for a stable envronment during this process, and experts use a 70-70 rule, which states that the cigar humidor should be at 70 degrees farenheit and 70% humidity during this ageing process.
Buy a good quality cigar humidor that will keep your ageing cigars in a stable environment. If you don’t and the cigar humidor doesn’t maintain temperature and humidity, it can cause the contents to dry out or become moldy, thus destroying it. Either way you will lose the contents over time and be very disappointed.
When buying your cigar humidor, try to buy one with a cedar lining. The oils in the wood are aromatic and these mix with the oils in the tobacco over time. Ideally the space in the humidor should be about twice the volume of the cigars that it holds. Getting the mix right will help the ageing of your cigar will result in a quality cigar once the process is finished, one that you can enjoy, and one that won’t cost you the earth.