Mixing Cigars / Storage

[DavidSeattleWA]

Newbie cigar smoker here with a question. I have a small humidor with one separator inside.

Question #1 - Should I leave the plastic wrappers on my cigars or take them off during storage? Was told that you could have issues with mold if you don't take the wrappers off for storage .... ?

Question #2 - I don't have any cigars that would be categorized as "flavored", but regardless of that, I should be seperating my light-colored cigars with my darker cigars .... ? Supposedly the darker and lighter wrappers shouldn't be sitting right next to each other in the box?

Thanks

 

[Riff Raff]

David, I don't think it really matters. That being said, the OCD in me makes sure I have all of my stogies layed out by brand and type. But that is because it is more asethically pleasing to my eye. No other reason than that.

 

[DavidSeattleWA]

David, I don't think it really matters. That being said, the OCD in me makes sure I have all of my stogies layed out by brand and type. But that is because it is more asethically pleasing to my eye. No other reason than that.

Well, if you're OCD, and not worried about either of those things, then I won't worry about it either . You've probably been doing this longer than I have!

 

[Graybeard57]

I don't think it matters, either. I keep mine in their wrappers. When you think about it, tobacconists' walk-in humidors leave cigars in wrappers, and display brands alongside one another. Enjoy!

 

[doofus]

I leave wrappers on because I like to date them so I can see how long I've aged it. I only seperate flavored ones, I have a separate humidor for those.

 

[alpster]

The only cigars that have ever molded on me were without a cello wrapper. I keep mine in the wrapper and work to control temp and RH.

 

[TexLaw]

If you have your humidity working as it should, mold should not be a problem.

I leave the wrapper on because I've never understood it to be a problem, removing it could lead to some "marrying," and I just don't want to fiddle with it any more than I have to.

 

[DavidSeattleWA]

I don't think it matters, either. I keep mine in their wrappers. When you think about it, tobacconists' walk-in humidors leave cigars in wrappers, and display brands alongside one another. Enjoy!

Excellent point! Thanks

 

[DavidSeattleWA]

If you have your humidity working as it should, mold should not be a problem.

I leave the wrapper on because I've never understood it to be a problem, removing it could lead to some "marrying," and I just don't want to fiddle with it any more than I have to.

Exactly. I like to keep this process as simple as possible. I check my humidifier regularly, add distilled water as needed, and periodically add the glycol solution to keep it stable.

 

[DavidSeattleWA]

The only cigars that have ever molded on me were without a cello wrapper. I keep mine in the wrapper and work to control temp and RH.

This is excatly what I'm doing as well. Thanks!

 

[OkieStubble]

Newbie cigar smoker here with a question. I have a small humidor with one separator inside.

Question #1 - Should I leave the plastic wrappers on my cigars or take them off during storage? Was told that you could have issues with mold if you don't take the wrappers off for storage .... ?

Question #2 - I don't have any cigars that would be categorized as "flavored", but regardless of that, I should be seperating my light-colored cigars with my darker cigars .... ? Supposedly the darker and lighter wrappers shouldn't be sitting right next to each other in the box?

Thanks

With a smaller humidor such as yours, if mixing cigars, leave the cellophane wrappers on. The wrappers are breathable, so the humidity can reach them. However, the wrapper is not so porous that oils from a darker cigar will transfer to a lighter cigar.

If and when you get a bigger humidor, if you say, buy a bundle of your favorite cigars, it's ok to unwrap the bundle and lay them together without a wrapper so that they can breathe and age properly.

 

[captp]

Cello on or off makes little difference. If I have a box or two of the same cigar that will all go into one humi, I Sometimes takes the cello off, sometimes leave it on. One thing the cello does is help keep cigar bugs from travelling from cigar to cigar because the bugs don't move through the cello so easily (they CAN chew their way through, but it's rare, I think).

If you have a LOT of different brands, and keep them all in one humi, it's probably better to leave the cello on so there's little chance of flavors travelling from one to another.

 

[73mountaineer]

Cello isn't even close to being air tight so it won't cause you any issues. As for mixing and matching lighter vs darker cigars, I have never even heard of such a thing being an issue. Likewise, unless we are talking about infused/flavored cigars, cigar flavors aren't going to mysteriously creep from one cigar to another in the dark of night.

What cello will do, especially if you are like me and frequently root around through a larger humidor for just the right cigar for that day's mood, is offer some protection from damage to the wrapper. A fairly common compromise to any concerns about air flow is to unfold the cello at the foot of the cigar and snip it off with a pair of scissors. It still keeps the wrapper protected, but opens up additional air movement and humidity equalization around the tobacco. Could be beneficial, maybe nonsense, but it doesn't hurt anything either way.

 

[Gibson_es]

The choice to leave the cello on or off it person preference nothing more. Leave then on and they age slower, but it keeps then from mixing flavors with other cigars over the years. Never put flavored stogies in with regular sticks. I personal keep cubans and non cubans seperate as well. But thats mostly considered going overboard. I live in an environment that lends its self to mold. Yet i have never founf the cello to make a difference. I personally keep the cello on when i purchase cigsrs that come that way. Many of my favorites dont have them anyway so its not a huge bother.

 

[diehardmason]

Cello on or off has no bearing. Personal preference. I do agree that if you have a full humidor and are looking for something specific in the bottom it does offer some protection. If it comes in one I normally leave it in that cello until I smoke it.

I can say I don't fight with sponges anymore. I use the Boveda humidification packs and for me it takes the guess work out of humidification. Don't have to worry about being too high or too low. And they last a few months at a time. I am from Louisiana and now live in texas. Humidity always runs high. Easier to have sure humidity than taking a guess at it. Most hygrometers aren't right anyway.

 

[Bk124tt]

I've always kept my Acid (and similar) cigars in a separate humidor than the non flavored. Light and dark mixing imo doesn't make a difference.
I have had cellophane on my cigars in my humidor literally for years with mo ill effect.

That being said, now that I recently picked up a winador, they are all in the big box!