# How long can you keep cigars?



## TheGuyIsBack

without a humidor available..


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## smujd

Depends on the relative temperature and humidity, but not very long (you should be fine for one week, but I doubt they will do well beyond a month). A plastic zip-lock bag will extend the time somewhat. Some poeple try putting damp paper towels in said zip-locks, but this can lead to all sorts of other problems. Even a cheap humidor will drastically extend how long you can keep cigars.


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## TMMKC

smujd said:


> Depends on the relative temperature and humidity, but not very long (you should be fine for one week, but I doubt they will do well beyond a month). A plastic zip-lock bag will extend the time somewhat. Some poeple try putting damp paper towels in said zip-locks, but this can lead to all sorts of other problems. Even a cheap humidor will drastically extend how long you can keep cigars.


^Very sound advice. If you don't own a humidor, I really would keep more than a small handful of cigars around the house. The plastic zip-lock bag trick does work. I have added a piece of barely-damp sponge to the bag and have had reasonable results. Smujd is correct, however. Any excessive moisture can cause mold, etc.

Look into buying a humidor, because there are all kinds at all price points. You could probably get by with a makeshift model by finding a simple wooden box and adding a couple of those glycerin jell-filled jars you can buy at any cigar store. All you have to do is add distilled water on occasion to rehydrate the jell.


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## Penang Lawyer

With a humidor I have kept them up to two years. At Dunhill's Fifth and 50th store. The Humidor kept them for years. At the Seventh Regiment Amory there was an auction for Cuban Cigars which at that time were 20 years old. If you don't have a humidor you an put them in the refrigerator. Don't be so cheap if you enjoy cigars buy a humidor.


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## Andy

TheGuyIsBack said:


> without a humidor available..


I have some that good friend and Forum Member Mano gave me several years ago, but I have a do-it-yourself humidor.

Go to a tobacco shop and get a small device that you fill with water. Then put that and the cigars into a zip lock bag!!


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## TheGuyIsBack

thanks for the advice people


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## Truely

with a home made humidor you can successfully preserve them for a good while, but not the same as the real thing. i have a friend that just bought a plastic container and lined the bottom with damp paper towels and placed his cigars on a platform slightly elevated from the paper towels. we had a couple of his cigars while out playing golf last month and they seemed to be preserved just fine, but i am not sure how long he had been keeping them.


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## TheGuyIsBack

I suppose I shouldn't keep them in the fridge huh

lol


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## TMMKC

Penang Lawyer said:


> At Dunhill's Fifth and 50th store. The Humidor kept them for years. At the Seventh Regiment Amory there was an auction for Cuban Cigars which at that time were 20 years old.


That reminds of a news piece I saw several years ago....

My facts may be a bit fuzzy, but I believe that when Sotheby's auctioned off many of the items that previously belonged to JFK, several boxes of Cuban cigars were along the offerings. I understand they were still in very good condition. The funny thing was that many of the cigars were purchased (at JFK's request) by Pierre Salinger just hours before the former POTUS signed the embargo into law. Nothing like a little insider information!:icon_smile_wink:


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## Penang Lawyer

TMMKC said:


> That reminds of a news piece I saw several years ago....
> 
> My facts may be a bit fuzzy, but I believe that when Sotheby's auctioned off many of the items that previously belonged to JFK, several boxes of Cuban cigars were along the offerings. I understand they were still in very good condition. The funny thing was that many of the cigars were purchased (at JFK's request) by Pierre Salinger just hours before the former POTUS signed the embargo into law. Nothing like a little insider information!:icon_smile_wink:


I was at Dunhill's the day before the embargo and Dunhill bought in my name $3000 worth of cigars they then repurchased them from me the next day. The humidor room was packed that day and the telephone was ringing off the hook. Thanks for the memory,


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## Tatnall

In the early 90s, a friend called to tell me that his uncle had recently received a call from the cigar store he had patronized when he was doing his residency in the city in the 1950s. The store was closing and he still had cigars in his locker that he had forgotten about. We buzzed up to rescue them out of curiosity and found five boxes of pre-Castro Havanas waiting for us. They were in excellent condition and the best cigars I have ever smoked.

Unfortunately, they did not transition well to the home humidor and dried very quickly. I did stash a box in my locker at another place and they kept well there until they were no more.

Humidors are great, but are at the mercy of the home environment and the memory of the owner. Get a locker if you have some that you want to keep for a long time. They can do well for decades.


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## Miket61

TheGuyIsBack said:


> I suppose I shouldn't keep them in the fridge huh


You want to keep them humid, not cold. Keeping them in the refrigerator, then taking them out to smoke, then lighting them, will cause such fluctuations in the moisture content that they're likely to explode if the inside remains damp and swelled while the wrapper dries out.

Pre-embargo Cubans are still being sold, at about $100 each. So it's possible to store cigars for fifty or sixty years and have them still turn out well.

The Pierre Salinger story about JFK ordering Upmann Corona Minors prior to signing the embargo was related by Mr. Salinger himself in one of the first couple issues of _Cigar Aficionado_.

Sadly, when Dunhill moved to a new location, their humidor lost its grandfather status under the new smoking bank and they ended up shutting it down entirely. Last time I was there they didn't use the second floor at all.


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## subourbonite

My local tobacconist sells humidipouches, which are basically ziplock bags with a built-in source of moisture. They keep the cigars in good condition for up to a month, and cost $2 or thereabouts.

I did have an inexpensive humidor, but could never, ever, ever get it to hold its humidity. I broke the damn thing in with the wet sponge trick, tried purchasing a new humidifier since the cheap one that came with it sucked, and even tried using TWO humidifiers. It still dried the cigars out faster than anything; perhaps I should have broken-in the cedar a few more times, but I got sick of it and gave up. I smoke less than 1 cigar per month, so I typically purchase on an as-needed basis.

When I do smoke a cigar, I like Padron, La Gloria Cubana and Romeo y Julietta. A good cigar with a good port, bourbon or scotch is as close as I think I'll ever come to heaven.


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## eyedoc2180

TheGuyIsBack said:


> without a humidor available..


I do a tight plastic bag and keep my Punches on top of a cabinet in my master bathroom. One month is as far as I push this method. A good cigar store is close by, so there is no need to stock up. Some Cubans are on the way, but I dispense them as gifts so quickly, that storage is not an issue. Bill:devil:


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## stewartu

I have collected and smoked cigars for almost two decades now. I own and have previously owned very expensive and very cheap humidors.

By far the best that I have found is an Igloo cooler with a small container for water. I simply keep a small shot glass in the cooler with a paper towel wadded up in it and then keep the towel moist. My electronic temperature and humidity sensor holds steady at 70 degrees and 70% relative humidity, ideal for aging cigars.

I have several of these and several thousand dollars in fine cigars stored away and maturing nicely. You will find those that fiercely debate whether cigars improve with age or not. In my experience, none become worse and almost all become better. I have some cigars that are a decade old and have only gotten better. I take the opportunity when I can to cherry pick excellent cigars and put them away for as long as possible. I have a couple of boxes that I bought two or three years ago which are earmarked for my son's wedding. He turned 14 last month.


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