Long-Term Storage & Aging – What's Your Process?

[Pixel]

Hey everyone!

First post here. Been lurking for a bit and figured it’s time to jump in. Excited to be part of this awesome community of fellow cigar lovers.

I’ve been diving deeper into the world of long term storage and aging, both for Cuban and non Cuban cigars, and I’m really curious to hear how you all approach it.

Do you store your cigars at a lower RH (say, around 62%) for long term aging and then bring them up to 65–69% before smoking? If so, what’s your process for that transition? How long do you let them sit at the higher RH before lighting one up?

Also wondering if you’ve noticed any difference in how Cubans vs. non Cubans respond to that kind of RH cycling, or if you keep them completely separate. 

One more thing I’ve been wondering about, how important do you think aerating cigar boxes is for long term aging? Do you crack them open every now and then or just let them be?

Would love to hear what’s worked for you, whether you're running a dedicated aging humidor, coolidor, or even a full on cabinet setup. Any tips, observations, or lessons learned are welcome. Let’s nerd out a bit on the art of aging!

Cheers, and thanks in advance!

[mikejh]

For me 62% works great for aging or short term. 

[Chibearsv]

A variety of 30 or so boxes of cigars I’m smoking are at 62ish. I don’t fuss too much with precision. I dry box sometimes if I know a cigar I’ve smoked performs better dryer. I’ve never considered raising RH to smoke. I’m happier with lower RH for smoking. The 60ish boxes I’m aging are in tupperdors around 65ish. I don’t aerate anything except to simply add or remove full boxes. 

[MickVanWinkle]

 

[HenryMartin]

Don't forget this aging dilemma. Have Fun!

[BrightonCorgi]

I don't put too much thought into aging them. I have one Aristocrat to keep cigars and keep them around ~65% RH. Playing the middle ground. 

4-5 years ago, I started vacuum sealing boxes and store in a humidified basement. Have only tried a couple of cigars store in this method. The age very slowly and retain initial waft of aroma when opening. I would suggest this method if you don't have a proper cabinet. It's the safest method to avoid mold and beetles or keeping after the humidity levels. Drawback is the cigars will be mostly like you just bought them years later. Can also be a positive depending on how you see them.

I wonder how the market will react to a 20 year old box of Sir Winston's that have been vacuum sealed since delivery? Could make for its own thread.

[GVan]

Two storage methods, with both tracked on spreadsheets. Once a cigar is "Ready to Smoke", meaning it's reached an appropriate age (see many posts on FOH of what's the best smoking time for different CC's) it goes into the office humidor and my smoking rotation. I have a big office humidor that is currently holding ~ 50 different cigars that are "Ready Now". Prior to this I try one of the cigars as their getting close to the right time about once every 6 months out of long-term storage and when it's smoking well then, it's into the humidor at ~ 72 degrees and 62% (all cigars are frozen prior to being placed into long-term storage - again, many posts here on this practice). 62% is my sweet spot for CC's and I find this humidity works for NC's as well. Lastly, when transitioning between storage methods, I closely follow that when removed from long-term storage and put into the "Ready Now" section, I do not touch them until they have rested for 90 and sometimes 120 days - just like shipping, I find that it takes some time for the cigars to acclimate to the new conditions. Less than 90 days and the flavors tend to be muted and not at their prime.

I am lucky that I have a wine cellar facilitating long-term storage. All cigars that are aging are kept in air-tight "cooliders" at 58 degrees and ~ 74% humidity. All coolidors are monitored with Govee temperature and humidity sensors that have a high and low alarm function on my iPhone. I find that if I do not open them and do not touch them they are pretty good at keeping in the above temp and humidity range all by themselves. Whenever I put in a new box (CC or NC) it's interesting to watch the entire coolidor humidity rise well above 76% and then takes greater than a month to equalize showing just how wet new cigars are shipped. (Picture of long-term below.)

Whether in the Ready Now pile or in long-term storage all cigars (CC & NC) are stored together. I've found no issues and I joke with my friends that the NC's are benefiting from a little cuban exposure. I don't aerate boxes although I always open all new boxes, inspect and then freeze so that process takes about a week before they get introduced into long-term storage. I try to store all cigars in their original packaging - just remove any plastic or foam from shipping. Tubos go in as they are in their original packaging. I do go in and inspect the coolidors about once a year although I'm getting a little lazy on that process as time goes by. When I started, I was incredibly disciplined and a little worried if I was doing it right. Over the past 7 years, I've found that all cigars are incredibly robust and I really needn't worry so much. The only thing that I've learned I have to watch for -- is once, the wine cellar swamp cooler went out and I needed a new compressor. The wine cellar went to ~ 72 degrees, the same as the house temp. When I checked a coolidor about a week later, the entire collection had to come out and brush little white mold spots (plume - just joking) from many of the cigars. That was a real pain. The wife didn't like my entire collection spread out on every table and counter-top in the house (kinda funny now).  

[WestCoastSmokin]

6 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I don't put too much thought into aging them. I have one Aristocrat to keep cigars and keep them around ~65% RH. Playing the middle ground. 

4-5 years ago, I started vacuum sealing boxes and store in a humidified basement. Have only tried a couple of cigars store in this method. The age very slowly and retain initial waft of aroma when opening. I would suggest this method if you don't have a proper cabinet. It's the safest method to avoid mold and beetles or keeping after the humidity levels. Drawback is the cigars will be mostly like you just bought them years later. Can also be a positive depending on how you see them.

I wonder how the market will react to a 20 year old box of Sir Winston's that have been vacuum sealed since delivery? Could make for its own thread.

Where do you put your vacuum sealed boxes? Back in your humidor or do you separate them into another humidor? Also how is it the safest to avoid beetles? What RH are they at when you seal them up? Do you put a boveda back inside as well when you seal them up? I have a big Tupperware container that I use to store my cigar boxes(eventually I want to move to an electric humidor). I’ve been contemplating experimenting with a few boxes to seal them up for 5-10 years or maybe even more haha. I’m just nervous to mess it up. 

[BrightonCorgi]

1 hour ago, WestCoastSmokin said:

Where do you put your vacuum sealed boxes? Back in your humidor or do you separate them into another humidor? Also how is it the safest to avoid beetles? What RH are they at when you seal them up? Do you put a boveda back inside as well when you seal them up? I have a big Tupperware container that I use to store my cigar boxes (eventually I want to move to an electric humidor). I’ve been contemplating experimenting with a few boxes to seal them up for 5-10 years or maybe even more haha. I’m just nervous to mess it up. 

I put them in my cellar by themselves. I freeze them, bring them back to a humid state and then vacuum seal. Since each box is sealed, any beetle devastation is contained to that box.  My basement never gets above 70 degrees. If I have identical boxes, I may seal them together. Only because it could be a decade before I get to them and to save vacuum bags. No Boveda or additional humidification is needed. My cellar is a wine cellar and can get too humid at times. That is another reason for vacuum sealing.  

The only concerns with vacuum sealing are making sure the box is not too humid before sealing and not crushing the box when sealing. No need for a Tuperware container unless it's for consolidation. A couple of early boxes I unsealed after a year and two just to sanity check and they were fine. Not bothering with the others as I feel confident on them.

I wish I had started vacuum sealing 10-15 years ago when boxes were more affordable. I'd have quite stock if I did. I have a hunch, 10-15 years from now, the prices will be so high, I wish I had kept buying boxes today!