Storing Cigars (Machine Made) In Jars

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Dec 6, 2019
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Has anyone stored cigars in Mason jars without Boveda packs? I don't own any of these, and I'm wondering if they're necessary. Also, any other advice about keeping cigars in jars is appreciated.
 
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Dec 6, 2019
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Why don't you just throw in a Boveda pack? There's little to no value to aging machine made cigars so doing something simple to keep them from drying out too much would make sense I suppose. For that matter, you could moisten a small piece of napkin and put it in the jar.

It's only for the purposes of storage. I was just wondering if the Boveda packs were needed in a sealed jar, that's left undisturbed.
 
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danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
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San Francisco Bay Area, USA
I would humidify any cigar except for those I know to be dry-cured like Toscanos*... Like, I keep Partagas Chicos in my tupperdor. That said, if it's just for the short-term (<1 year), I suspect a jar is fine, especially if the cigar is in a sealed cello or foil pack like most machine made cigars.

Hell, I would probably even humidify the Toscanos if I expected them to be stored more than 6 months or so.
 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
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A good Tupperware container and a 69% boveda pack is absolutely the best cheap way to store cigars. Also, with this set up, you won’t have to worry or feel bad that you might ruin a couple nicer sticks if you decide to pick yourself up a few for a special occasion - lots of great cigars below $10, and plenty for maybe $6 or $7. Just be sure to get an extra boveda pack or two, as they only last a matter of months. If you are only keeping a few cigars, then the smaller the Tupperware the better. As a general rule, the more full your “humidor” is of cigars, the easier it is to keep up and stabilize the humidity.

All that said, a mason jar would probably be just fine for short or medium term storage.
 

64alex

Part of the Furniture Now
May 10, 2016
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First of all I am not an expert in cigars at all so forgive me if I say an eresy. But if it could be ok storing cigars in a tupperware or jar with a boveda pack, could also be possible to store them in a mylar bag with a boveda pack?
 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
First of all I am not an expert in cigars at all so forgive me if I say an eresy. But if it could be ok storing cigars in a tupperware or jar with a boveda pack, could also be possible to store them in a mylar bag with a boveda pack?

Yes. There are actually little gift bag “humidors” that are more or less what you’re describing that you can buy online from cigar vendors. I sent one to a friend for his bday with around 5-10 good cigars in there. Any Mylar or other heavy plastic type bag that seals well should do the trick.
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
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Terra Firma
You want to get the cigars to your desired RH before jarring, otherwise you risk mold if too wet or inadequate aging if too dry. At that point, assuming a fairly good seal, you wouldn't need a humidifier. Problem with adding Bovedas to a jar vs a humidor is the humidor still breathes while the jar doesn't (or does to a negligible extent).
 
Dec 6, 2019
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You want to get the cigars to your desired RH before jarring, otherwise you risk mold if too wet or inadequate aging if too dry. At that point, assuming a fairly good seal, you wouldn't need a humidifier. Problem with adding Bovedas to a jar vs a humidor is the humidor still breathes while the jar doesn't (or does to a negligible extent).

This was my concern.. a humidor breathes, and a jar mostly doesn't.


Why don't we use Boveda packs in our pipe tobacco jars?
 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
This was my concern.. a humidor breathes, and a jar mostly doesn't.


Why don't we use Boveda packs in our pipe tobacco jars?

Because we don’t need them. It’s easy to store pipe tobacco at a little higher moisture content than is ideal for smoking, and then dry some out to smoke. Can’t do that with a cigar though - it’s a big old hunk of tobacco, so if it’s over humidified, then you try to dry it out, you’re only gonna dry out the wrapper. Gotta keep them stored at ideal humidity so it equalizes throughout.
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,132
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Terra Firma
This was my concern.. a humidor breathes, and a jar mostly doesn't.


Why don't we use Boveda packs in our pipe tobacco jars?

Same theory. If it's at ideal RH, jar and forget. If it gets a little dry (perhaps dipping into the jar a little too often over the course of time in an air-conditioned house, for example), you can add a Boveda in the jar, fluff it up to where you like it & then remove Boveda. I've brought back some tobacco that way that was dried out. Doesn't always work, depending on how dry the same was, but it works wonders.

As soon as the covid mess has run through and supply opens back up, I was thinking of getting a bundle or 2 of some nice fresh cigars, taking them down to mid 60s RH or so, then jarring them up, checking maybe once a year to see whether they had dried out.
 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
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San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Same theory. If it's at ideal RH, jar and forget. If it gets a little dry (perhaps dipping into the jar a little too often over the course of time in an air-conditioned house, for example), you can add a Boveda in the jar, fluff it up to where you like it & then remove Boveda. I've brought back some tobacco that way that was dried out. Doesn't always work, depending on how dry the same was, but it works wonders.

As soon as the covid mess has run through and supply opens back up, I was thinking of getting a bundle or 2 of some nice fresh cigars, taking them down to mid 60s RH or so, then jarring them up, checking maybe once a year to see whether they had dried out.
I'd be curious to know how that works out. Keep us updated if you do it.
 
Why don't we use Boveda packs in our pipe tobacco jars?
First, tightening the lid ring on a jar doesn't seal the jar. They are designed to merely hold the lid in place during the violent process of canning. With pipe tobacco we count on either heating the jar first or for those with patience, wait for the tobaccos to eat up some of the oxygen to pull the lid down tight.
This is one of many reason to not open a mason jar while your tobacco is still aging.

But also, we don't use Boveda packs on pipe tobacco because once sealed, it doesn't need them. But, if you are going to be unscrewing the jar over and over to get cigars out, you'll need the packs to keep them moist.
I'm not sure if cigars eat up oxygen like pipe tobacco does, especially cheap ones.

One of my uncles used to store his cheap cigars tucked up onto the driver's side visor. FWIW
 

trubka2

Lifer
Feb 27, 2019
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21,640
This was my concern.. a humidor breathes, and a jar mostly doesn't.
Oh yeah, you don't need anything if the jar isn't your active stash. I get a cigar out of mine 2-3 times a day, and the RH in our house in winter hovers around 12-15%, so I need Bovedas.

Why don't we use Boveda packs in our pipe tobacco jars?

I use Bovedas in most my D&R jars, and really with anything that's too dry for my tastes. If I lived someplace more humid, I probably wouldn't bother.
 
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