Cigar Q&A: Storing Tubos in Your Humidor

Q. I have a humidor which holds 100 – 125 cigars. I always like to let my cigars stay in the humidor for a month or so before I smoke them since I think they mellow nicely this way. My question is regarding cellophane wrappers and tubes. I take the cigars out of the wrappers and tubes before putting them into my humidor but wondered if this is necessary or even discouraged. The Partagas Black Label Maximo Tubos definitely smoked different after being in the humidor for some time compared to right out of the tube. I’m not sure they were better. They seemed a bit drier and less flavorful. What’s your recommendation?

– Chris Lareau

A. Just like the cello outer wrappers, tubes are primarily for protecting the cigars. When I get a tubo, I almost always remove the cigar from the tube. It does help improve the home aging process, and I just keep the empty tube aside in case I decide to take it “on the road.”

If it’s a cigar that has a very fine wrapper, or if it’s an expensive cigar that you don’t want to get mangled when digging through your box, sometimes it’s better to just remove the cap and let air flow in from the foot.