You want your cigars to be the same quality whether you smoke them right away or weeks after buying them. To make sure quality is maintained, read on to learn how to store cigars and how to maintain them properly.

Collecting cigars is a classy and classic hobby. Doing it teaches you about different corners of the world and introduces you to like-minded people.

However, cigars are finicky. They have to be well taken care of and well-stored to be well-smoked. Keep your investments in top condition by following this how to store cigars guide.

Find a Space

What's your cigar collection goal? Do you want to always have enough to smoke with the boys? Or maybe you're looking to start a whole-room type collection.

Whichever it is, you'll need to find space for it. Some cigar collectors create rooms in their homes, others rent out storage spaces.

The space needs to be climate controlled. Cigar climate control can be simple (a sponge) to complicated, with a  humidor.

You want to find a space where you can control the temperature and the humidity. Some storage units are climate controlled, which means all you have to worry about is the moisture.

If you're searching for a  storage unit, tell the company you plan on storing cigars. It's not the first time hearing this and they can clarify if their location is a good fit.

Control the Temperature

For a healthy and happy cigar, you want to follow the 70-70 rule. Seventy degrees and seventy percent humidity keep cigars the perfect texture.

If you keep the room too warm, the moisture in the air will increase. Too humid and hot rooms lead to spongy cigars.

If the room is too cold, the air will be too dry. The dry air will suck the moisture out the cigars, leaving them dry and brittle.

In order to control the temperature you need to take some precautions. Some times is better to be safe than sorry. Xikar offers a Xikar PuroTemp Digital Hygrometer that is an excellent way to prevent temperature fluctuations.  

Xikar PuroTemp Digital Hygrometers are excellent device to keep your cigars fresh in the humidor for long. These hygrometers have both humidor temperature and humidity display. It can monitor up to 3 humidors in the 60ft range. It has the feature to give alerts for both high and low temperature and humidity. It displays temperature either in Fahrenheit or Celsius and the range is 25 to 60 Celsius or 13 to 140 Fahrenheit. It has four function keys, namely, Ch, Select, Up and Down. Both 12 and 24 hour clock can be set in it. 

Humidity

Like we talked about before, your cigars want to live at 70% humidity. You can achieve this with a Humidor.

A humidor is a fancy humidifier. It can tell when the air needs more moisture and when it needs less. It then gives or takes moisture to bring the humidity level back to its normal setting.

These run for about $100 online, but you can spend up to a thousand. Don't let a salesperson or online reviews talk you into a fancier model than you need, the $100 model works great!

If you're starting out and don't want to buy a $100 machine, you can use a regular dish sponge. Take a large, gallon-sized plastic bag and place your cigars inside.

Then, place a wet (not dripping) kitchen sponge in a quart sized bag. Put the quart size bag in the cigar bag standing up, so no water spills.

Then close the bag and check in on it every few weeks. Re-dampen the sponge as-needed and try to keep the cigars in a room that's close to 70 degrees.

Sponge are sometimes object of criticism. Some cigars aficionados claim that they can also provoke mold and do more damage than good. I truly believe sponges are okey as long as the room temperature and humidity stays stable all the time. And that is where everything fails. Who has time in this modern times to be totally in charge of the humidity control? That is where Boveda Humidifications come into play. 

Boveda Humidity Technology is one of the most trusted name when it comes to quality tobacco storage. Boveda is a 2-way humidity control that are revolutionary in the fields of cigar packaging and storage. Boveda Humidity is available in multiple sizes and humidity levels. The technology consist of to absorb the excess humidity when needed or to increase the humidity levels. In general it adds or removes mist based on temperature factors. They do not require any activation or maintenance. Boveda Humidity Technology are a top one choice of cigar maker's factory boxes as their proximity or direct contact does not harm the cigars in anyway. They never over humidify and emit only purified water vapor. To buy a  Boveda for your favorite cigars just place an order here and get yours at an attractive price. 

How to Store Cigars

The rules when it comes to cigars are simple: 70-70 and keep them safe.

Those are the basics any cigar enthusiast needs to remember. Keep the temperature mild, the humidity medium, and your babies safe. 

Now that you know how to store cigars, it's time to start your collection. Browse our hand-picked selection here.