Capacity Matters

- Have you tried Cohiba's newly released Limited Edition?

- Yes, Davidoff's new Churchill series is out too.

- It tastes really nice, while I bought RyJ Short Churchill, I bought a can of his Petit Corona too. Now we have to collect boxes from the main Anejados.

- That's right, our summer stock is okay. Okay so your humidor didn't hold around 50-60 cigars? And what's happening for ...

- No, when I bought it, I bought it for 100….

I'm sure you have had a conversation like this, or you had to make a similar calculation in your mind while buying a cigar, depending on the capacity of your humidor. Unless you are in the habit of buying a new humidor every time with cigars. Well, can humidors really hold cigars up to the capacity given by the producer? Or would it be correct to fill up to the given capacity?

There are a few things to consider first. First, manufacturers give the capacities of their humidor over a single type of cigar, and the second is that mostly this cigar has a relatively small Corona (about 5 inches x 42 rings). If we think the contrary, you can think for a long time why you cannot fit 100 double corona in a humidor that is given a capacity of 100 cigars and can only be filled with 100 Corona.

Besides, the other question is; Whether its capacity is given as 50 or 100, it doesn't matter, according to this given capacity, is it correct to fill your humidor completely?

I would like to share a point or two that they should pay attention to with those who want to put their mind to it. As you know, the main reason of humidor is to create and store a balanced and suitable environment for our precious cigars. One of the most important values for this is moisture and moisture, something that is contained in the air. Guess how long the air to contain moisture stays in a humidor even if the lid is closed. And consider the capacity of that remaining air to circulate through the humidor and distribute moisture to each cigar. It goes without saying how difficult or even impossible this was, especially if we remember that humid air rose up and gathered at the top of the humidor.

Unfortunately, if there is still air left in a humidor that you fill in this way, it will only be able to keep your cigars in the upper rows slightly moist. For those in the lower ranks or those who are in between, the most correct expression is to get the life of the lower one. I guess it is a situation that I love very much during my high school years, and those who play long donkeys know very well.

When I evaluate the three examples I shared above in my own way;

The humidor in picture 1 is both sloppy and stuffed. Keeping a humidor so untidy will not be satisfying both for the health of your cigars and for the pleasure you get from this job. In such cases, the best thing is to take in an amount that will not exceed the capacity of your humidor.

When we look at the humidors numbered 2 and 3, we see that the interior is very full, even though the cover is closed. Especially even if the cigars in the last picture are lined up like a pencil, they must be rotated frequently in order for each cigar to be exposed to moisture.

That's why , as I mentioned in my article How to Keep Your Cigar Shaped earlier, I recommend that you use at most 2/3 of your humidor. Of course, this number will definitely vary according to the size of your humidor and the vitola you put in it, but when you look at it in terms of volume, it will be useful to reach almost this ratio. The two important points here are that there is enough air in the humidor to keep the humidity and a volumetric space to allow the circulation of that air. You may also need to adjust this amount for hot and cold weather, as warm air will hold more moisture while cold air will have less moisture retention.

In the two pictures I shared as an example below, compared to the above, moisture will reach your cigars more easily and you will not need to rotate too much. As seen in both pictures, cigar floors are small and there are volumetric voids that allow air to circulate.

When you open the cover from a humidor adjusted in this way, both the smell you smell and the cigar you smoke after will be different.

Enjoyable smoking ...