Want your cigars to last in storage for a while and taste their best when you pull them out? The key is to keep them stored in a humid environment. Some people like to keep their cigars in a temperature regulated container called a humidor. If you don’t have one of these, it’s not a big deal–we’re here to go over a bunch of ways you can store your cigars and make sure they last without a humidor. 

How Do You Store Cigars Without a Humidor?

To the average cigar smoker, humidors are kind of extra. They’re more of a luxury than a necessity–ya know, like health care. Sarcasm aside, we really want you to be able to enjoy your cigars while they’re in their best condition so we wanted to go over a few of the basic burning questions on how to store your cigars without a humidor.

1) Is it OK to keep cigars in the refrigerator?

If you see someone heading to the fridge to store cigars, immediately run toward them and yell in slow motion, “nooooooo” while swatting the cigars out of their hand. The fridge is way too cold for tobacco leaves. 

Cigars will dry right out in cooler temperatures. When you smoke a dry cigar, all their flavor will have evaporated and it’ll burn super fast. Translation: It will not be the pleasant experience a cigar is supposed to provide. Try storing them in a sealable container or bag— but you only want to do this on a short term basis. 

2) How long will a cigar stay good in a Ziploc bag?

Even when conditions are decent, your cigars will only last around 3 days in a plastic bag. If you want any kind of success with this ziploc bag method, keep it in a relatively cool place and your sealed bag of cigars will provide enough insulation to maintain an okay level of humidity. It’s good to watch out for too much humidity too. Cigars will actually store fine in a ziplock bag or Tupperware container as long as you put a humidification pack in it to maintain the humidity. 

Say you keep the bag in your car on a warm day. This might make sense at first, but when it gets too toasty, your cigars will absorb too much moisture and become damp–your car would essentially turn into a cigar sauna. When cigars hold too much moisture they produce way more smoke than usual, and that’s going to overwhelm your palette. A little humidity is great, but if there’s too much, you can say goodbye to your stash. 

Ziplock bags should be more of a temporary solution, but a Tupperware container could be a permanent solution as long as it has a humidification pack.

cigars ready for storage
Image by Canva.com

3) How do I store cigars in Tupperware?

First and foremost, make sure the tupperware is clean; you wouldn’t want last week’s leftover salmon flavor to seep into your cigars! Also make sure the lid will seal nice and tight. Pack your cigars neatly, but loosely inside so they stay put and have a little breathing room. Remember to keep the tupperware at room temperature and you’ll be good to go. Some people even prefer the Tupperware containers because they hold humidity better, and the cedar doesn’t affect the taste of the cigars.

4) Why is cedar good for cigars?

Most high quality cigar boxes are made with cedar wood because:

  • When your cigar box gets too humid, the cedar will soak up the moisture, preventing your cigars from getting damp. 
  • Cedar wood acts as a natural bug repellent, which could come in handy if you take your cigars on camping trips or leave them outside. 
  • Cedar actually improves the flavor of your cigars. As your cigars age, oils in the tobacco will become enhanced by the wood. 

If you find yourself wanting to store your cigars for a longer time, like 6 weeks, you might want to look into one of our Spanish cedar lined humidors. You’ll definitely benefit from one of these if you’re keeping a decent amount of cigars around. One of our favorites is the cherry humidor that can store up to 50 cigars in optimum condition. 

5) Should cigars be stored wrapped or unwrapped?

There’s a bit of a debate on whether to keep cigars in cellophane wrap or take them out to let them breathe as they age. At the end of the day, the cello wrapping is mostly used to protect the outer layer of the cigar from getting damaged. It’s not really about preserving the cigar for a longer period of time. 

That said, when a cigar is left out on the counter with no wrapping, it will dry out faster than one inside a wrapper…but there’s not too much of a difference there. 

Just How Long Can a Cigar Last When Properly Stored?

Wondering how long a properly stored cigar will last? Longer than you might realize–about 6 weeks when you do all the right things:

  • Keep your cigars in the sealed box they came in until you’re ready to puff away.
  • Make sure your cigars don’t dry out too much. This is easy to avoid when you add in a cigar humidification packet–this will keep humidity at a specific level. 
  • Store them with cedar wood (it’s a cigar’s best friend). 

Will cigars last long without a humidor?

You can think of a cigar humidor like a temperature controlled wine cabinet–when it is stored in a cool environment it’ll stay in its prime for a longer period of time. If you keep wine in a cool basement and it rises a few degrees, do you toss it out? Hell no, it’ll be just as delicious. But, if it gets too warm it spoils and then you can’t drink it at all. 

Just like wine, cigars last longer when you know how to take care of them. Humidors are really helpful when it comes to keeping cigars in prime condition for long periods of time. But, if you’re storing cigars for around 6 weeks (or less) you can easily keep them in excellent condition by putting them neatly in a cigar box or sealed container.

When you know how to let your cigars age properly you’ll be able to enjoy them at their fullest potential. 

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