In an ideal world, every cigar would be stored just right. In the optimal conditions for smoking, that allows you to grab one out of the humidor, light it up, and smoke it right away. Unfortunately, we don’t live in such a world or a reality.
When you buy a cigar from a lounge, shop, or cigar retailer’s warehouse, there are a lot of things happening that affect the condition of your cigars. Even with optimal warehouse maintenance, which is not always the case, mailing can dry out the cigars. If you buy and take out of a shop’s humidor, there’s always a chance the cigar is over-humidified or, worst case, under-humidified.
I won’t name names, but there’s a shop near me that seriously over-humidifies their shit. To the point where I have to let cigars I buy from them dry out a little before smoking.
This raises a question I’ve seen others pose and have even been asked myself. Is it better to smoke a cigar that’s under-humidified or over-humidified, when you can’t help it?
Under or over-humidified cigars, that is the question?
The correct answer is neither, but that’s obvious. I like to keep my RH (relative humidity) in the range of 62 to 68, ideally right around 65. The temperatures in my house stay around 75. Frankly, temps don’t matter as much as long as they’re not too high — anything above 78 is suspect for beetles.
But, and I’m including the disclaimer here that this is my opinion, if you have to smoke a cigar that’s been kept in sub-optimal conditions, I would say under-humidified is better provided the cigar is not so dry it’s cracking or breaking.
Why dry, guy?
A cigar that’s too wet or too humid is going to burn hotter. Yes, so will a dry cigar, but allow me to explain. I live in Florida where it’s hot and humid, sometimes way too humid. When I take cigars out of my humidor and go outside, you wouldn’t think so, but some will immediately soak up that humidity to the point where they expand, have burn issues, or even crack and break. Realistically, it’s probably the sudden change in temperature and humidity that does the most damage. The heat from the cherry can be a bit of a shock depending on the tobacco blend. Especially if I light up the cigar too soon after bringing it out. Down here, they need a little time to acclimate.
But every single time I’ve dealt with a dry cigar, the issues are far less troubling and cumbersome. They don’t crack as much, expand, or have burn issues, at least not to the extent that a wet cigar does. Moreover, even if you’re not in Florida with an abundance of humidity, in most places, that cigar will soak up some humidity when you go outside. And, in my experience, even when I’ve traveled elsewhere in the country, a dry cigar doesn’t take as long to soak up some humidity and become acceptable — as long as it hasn’t dried out completely.
It likely depends on where you are
Here’s the thing, though. That experience is likely going to depend on where you live. If you live out west in Arizona where it’s super dry, I’d bet dry cigars will give you more issues.
That’s why it’s important to keep your cigars in a humidor, under the right conditions, and as I always recommend, to let them rest when you first get them. More often than not, after a mail call, if I light my cigars up right away, even in humid Florida, I run into burn issues. They need time to rest and settle in those humidity conditions you prefer.
It’s an odd thing to explain to people who have never visited Florida, but when it rains, usually every mid-afternoon for an hour or two, it gets crazy humid. Even when it’s not raining and those rain clouds are just hanging out, it’s so humid you can feel it. It’s a palpable moisture on your skin, and it breeds swamp ass like there’s no tomorrow. Trying to smoke an already over-humidified cigar under those conditions is absolutely miserable.
While both dry and wet cigars take away from the flavors and experience, cigars that are too humid ruin it more. The flavors become so incredibly muted the smoke mellows out to where it’s almost tasteless, and the burn on your lips is far hotter than when a cigar is dry. Don’t get me wrong, both experiences suck. But that’s where I stand on under versus over-humidified cigars.
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
Source: Boveda Inc
