You got a cigar for a birthday and decided to put it away for a special occasion. The day finally arrives and you pull out the draw – shock horror! The cigar is now as dry as a crisp! Before you throw the cigar out, here are several steps you can implement for rehydrating your cigar.
A Humidor retains the moisture of cigars, while a humidifier adds moisture to an environment – in this case, a cigar container.
You should get yourself a humidifier, but we understand that not everyone is going to get one, especially for the smoker who only partakes every once in a while.
- Place the cigar in a ziplock bag or a sealed container.
- Put your water in a small dish and place this within the bag/container. (add some humidor solution to protect your cigar from mould)
- Place the bag in a stable environment – not too hot and not too cold.
- Depending on the dryness of a cigar, humidifying and rehydrating can take up to a few weeks.
When you think it is rehydrated, check by gently squeezing the open end of a cigar, if it is soft and bouncy then you know it is rehydrated. If it is not, place it back in your make-shift humidifier for a little longer.
Do this until the rehydration process is as described above.
In an ideal world, you will want to keep your cigars in an actual humidor and use a humidor solution. You can get this at tobacco stores, either online or in-store just make sure you have the right cigar guide. Make sure you get yourself a quality humidor that is up to the task of keeping your cigars moist and in a good state. A cigar will keep for a good few days with no humidifier. I am pleased to inform you, however, if it needs to be out of a humidor for longer than that then it is strongly suggested that you invest in a cigar caddy with a humidification device.
While leather cigar cases look fantastic and are a sturdy way of carrying cigars, the leather does have a real tendency to absorb moisture from a cigar, and this dries them out. It can be good to use a leather cigar case if you know that you are going to smoke that same day – if not it is a good idea to look at other kinds of cases.
Finally, you should know that you have the right humidor solution for humidification. Water or distilled water runs the real risk of putting the mould in your cigars. However, propylene glycol on the other hand, in real humidor solution, stops this sort of thing from taking place completely.
For the price of a cigar humidor and the proper solution, you will save on all the spoilage of expensive high-quality cigars that will surely be ruined by father time otherwise. If you are planning on being a proper cigar aficionado, then it is highly recommended that you invest in the right equipment – for a happy and secure experience.
