Unattended Cigar Storage (2-4 years)

[siepattu]

My friend who travels a lot is going away for a few years.
He asked me is there any way to store cigars unattended for over 2 years?

He can find a place with constant temperature.

Vacuum sealed bags?

Any of the new stuff (Beads, Boveda) that can help?

I told him of course that I can take care of them, but he still wants to find a solution for himself. Like I would smoke them or something! :innocent:

 

[Jwrussell]

What kind of quantities are we talking? I would suggest large tupperdors as they tend to have the best seal. Something along the lines of the containers you can find at a Target or Walmart. Any big plastic tub so long as the top truly seals. The one I have from when I started is still the best "humidor" I've ever had for keeping a constant RH. With a strong seal anything along the lines of beads or Boveda packs will do the trick. If the RH can't escape then either of those should work indefinately.

All that being said, it would still be a heck of a lot better if someone was able to check on them every 3-6 months just to avoid disasters.

 

[Moglman]

Does he have boxes or singles? While I wouldn't want to try, a sealed environment and constant temps (~60 deg) should work. My coolidors are dead constant at 65 or 66 %Rh with beads. Rather than seal individual boxes, I'd be tempted to seal the coolidors themselves to ensure more so the constant temps, after loading up with more beads still.

Another option would be to find a B&M that rents humidified lockers.

 

[TexaSmoke]

If he really wants to store them and make sure they are still good after the 2-4 years away, he needs to rent a locker at a local B&M. This is the only real solution to his problem.

I would also suggest him providing someone with a spare key to the locker so they can rotate the cigars every couple months.

 

[aleam_38]

If he really wants to store them and make sure they are still good after the 2-4 years away, he needs to rent a locker at a local B&M. This is the only real solution to his problem.

I would also suggest him providing someone with a spare key to the locker so they can rotate the cigars every couple months.

I agree, this seems to be the best solution for the situation

 

[rpb67]

Two - Four years...You need to find a very trustworthy B&M.

Or some good friend or family member to watch over a coolador with beads in it.

Whatever you do, you will have some cigars with some age on them when you get back.

 

[tubaman]

There really is no 100% solution to his problem. Too many things can happen in a few years that would ruin the cigars. If this is a collection that has a value that is great, he really needs to find a B & M with lockers and a high quality humidification system. There is no way I would trust my cigars to sit for 2 to 4 years without any monitoring whatsoever.

 

[vperlman]

There really is no 100% solution to his problem. Too many things can happen in a few years that would ruin the cigars. If this is a collection that has a value that is great, he really needs to find a B & M with lockers and a high quality humidification system. There is no way I would trust my cigars to sit for 2 to 4 years without any monitoring whatsoever.

Damned right! :nono:

 

[Altercall]

There really is no way to do it. Your storage system needs to be "burped" so that you can get fresh air in there. Once the air goes stagnant it starts to be a breeding ground for mold. One of the local B&Ms has a very good system on their lockers, but in talking with one of the guys up there, you still have to check it. He was telling me of guys who would leave their best stuff (think Anejos, Opus, ISOMs) in there and not check it for 2 years. When they got back the top layer of the box was nothing but mold. My suggestion would be to have a caretaker for they so the air does not stagnate.

Even if he got a system that changes the air, it would cause him to lose humidity and even with the best systems he would run out of humidity.

 

[tedski]

What about all those unattended bales of pre-embargo tobacco that were sitting in a warehouse for 40+ years. They were perfectly good after they were found ...

:innocent:

 

[Cigar_Jack]

I'd go with the trusted friend route.

 

[Altercall]

Ya, well the REAL ones were in a climate where they continually got fresh air that was naturally humidified.

I'm just amazed that a major manufacturer (Gurkha) is trying to pass that stuff off right now.

 

[Jwrussell]

There really is no way to do it. Your storage system needs to be "burped" so that you can get fresh air in there. Once the air goes stagnant it starts to be a breeding ground for mold. One of the local B&Ms has a very good system on their lockers, but in talking with one of the guys up there, you still have to check it. He was telling me of guys who would leave their best stuff (think Anejos, Opus, ISOMs) in there and not check it for 2 years. When they got back the top layer of the box was nothing but mold. My suggestion would be to have a caretaker for they so the air does not stagnate.

I have to question this strongly. Mold growth has to do with mold spores and the right environment. The right environment is a high enough humidity. If your smokes are fine at x% RH for 6 months in a sealed environment, they are going to stay fine at that indefinately. The biggest problem is loss of humidity, which is just about impossible to avoid. Mold isn't going to start growing after a certain period of time just because the air hasn't changed. This definately effects aging, but I can't see how it would affect mold.

 

[caudio51]

I'll take care of it :grin:

 

[CWS]

The problem is in defining a "controlled" environment. We have all had coolidors, humis etc that we thought were controlled. Then the power goes out. A one day spike in temp will definitely bring out the mold in a nice humid environment. Someone really needs to watch them.

 

[tedski]

Is your friend giving up smoking for 2 years? If not - then whey doesn't he just take the cigars with him?

Or if he has such an extensive / large collection - then maybe he should check to see if there are local wine storage places near him. These places will rent various sized lockers that have regulated environments of 55F / 55% humidity. He could then seal his cigars using a Food Saver-type vacuum sealer (but without removing all the air) and stick them in a cooler. He could also purchase rental insurance here to cover him in case something happened.

I suggest this instead of a cigar shop locker as I've heard mixed opinions of these places (theft, mold due to improper humidity, high storage costs).

 

[cvm4]

Why doesn't he check on a temperature controlled mini-storage or something of that nature? He can put all of the cigars in a coolerdor with a cigar oasis, but he'd still need someone to check on them. There's just no way around the fact that he needs someone to check on his cigars, bottom line.

 

[siepattu]

Thanks for all the answers!

It's impossible to tkae them with him.

He has singles and some boxes. About 150-300 cigars.

Unfortunately there are no B&Ms in Finland
Neither are there any wine cellars etc.

I was thinking that he could box the cigars, but one boveda in every box.
Then put a couple of boxes in a FoodSaver bag along with a tube of beads.
And finally put them in some tupperware like containers, possible with even more beads.

Then store them somewhere with a temp around 55-60F.
This should keep the mold away?

 

[tubaman]

The size of this stash is not that big, why doesn't he want someone like you to watch over them? Does he think you are going to smoke them all? He should either sell them or give them to you or some other friend to take care of them. Take an inventory of them for crying out loud if he doesn't trust anyone.

Now, if it's 150 to 300 Sir Wintons, Dunhill's and Davidoff's, give him my number!!

 

[Jwrussell]

It's going to be a crapshoot one way or the other. THat's not that big of a stash so yeah, I would go the Boveda in each box route and then seal the boxes completely with a FoodSaver bag or the like. So long as he can keep them somewhere that the temps will be STEADY at between 55-65 degrees he should be ok. You just don't want a ton of variation in temp either.

Best of luck.