If you are a regular cigar smoker you probably know that the best cigars in the world come from a handful of countries such as Cuba, Indonesia, Honduras etc. But have you ever wondered what keeps the art of cigar making confined to these places alone? Well, nothing else but the weather! That’s right, all the cigar-making countries of the world have a tropical climate and thanks to the sticky humidity in their air your cigar is kept nice and moist and allowed to mature after being rolled.

However, once the cigar finally leaves its birthplace its quality deteriorates immediately owing to the shift in the humidity level.

Cigars need proper levels of humidity in the air to stay warm and moist. If the humidity drops so does the cigars taste and texture. So now you know why all cigar smokers tend to be so hung up about keeping their smokes in a temperature-controlled environment.

A cigar humidor is one of the best ways you can possibly provide your cigars the sort of humidity it needs to stay in good shape. A humidor usually comes in the form of a wooden box that maintains a certain level of humidity inside itself at all times. The right level of humidity allows the cigar to stay moist and thereby maintain its world famous flavor.

If you have just purchased your very first humidor chances are that you’ll be needing some help learning how to use it correctly. A number of people make the crucial mistake of placing a large number of their treasured cigars into a newly bought humidor. Soon however they find out that a brand new humidor is hardly the right place for cigars! This is because a brand new humidor never has the right level of humidity required for maintaining cigars. In fact if you put your cigars into a newly purchased humidor you are most likely to find them thoroughly dehydrated and tasteless. In order to save your cigars from such catastrophe re-humidify the wood and adjust it at the right level of humidity immediately after you buy your humidor.

Your cigar humidor is fitted in with a humidifier that helps the box maintain a specific level of humidity inside itself. In order to ensure that the humidifier maintains the right level of humidity inside the box sprinkle a little bit of distilled water or a mixture of distilled water and propylene glycol (popularly known as humidification solution) into the box on a regular basis. Its best to do the squirting every once a month or so. Do not drown your humidor! Simply spray it with the abovementioned liquids gently. Keep a tab on the hygrometer inside the humidor to make sure that the box maintains the right level of humidity at all times.

Your cigar needs the right temperature to mature, just like a bottle of wine. The longer they’ll stay in the right temperature the better they’ll taste when you finally smoke them. To ensure that they stay moist enough set your humidor at a temperature between 68 to 72 degrees. Make sure your humidor comes fitted with a hygrometer as well as a humidifier since both of them come handy for finding out the exact level of humidity inside the box.

Take good care of your humidor. Keep it in a cool, dry place away from the direct rays of the sun. Also, ensure nothing is ever put directly on it. Dust the insides of the humidor regularly to keep tobacco beetles from nesting inside.