Resting
What accepted practice says about resting a cigar, from the moment it leaves the roller to the moment you light it. These are ranges, not rules: a cigar meets them or not depending on where it came from and how far it travelled.
At the factory, during production
What happens before the cigar reaches anyone. You do not control it, but it explains why two boxes of the same brand can smoke differently.
- Aging room stabilisation
- A mandatory 30 to 90 day rest immediately after rolling.
- Controlled environment
- Strict storage in sealed rooms lined with Spanish cedar.
- Critical parameters
- Thermal stability of 18 °C to 20 °C and relative humidity fixed at 65 %.
- Chemical goal
- Evaporation of excess spray water, dissipation of residual ammonia and unification of oils.
- Release rule
- No packing or shipping of «fresh» batches before the minimum homogenisation cycle is complete.
In your humidor, after buying it
This part is yours. The clock that matters starts when the cigar reaches your hands, not when you paid for it.
- Post-transit acclimatisation
- A mandatory minimum of 14 days in a home humidor for cigars received by mail or air.
- Physical goal
- To offset thermal shock and decompression, evening out the moisture inside the tobacco.
- The 3-month rule for Habanos
- An extra 90 day rest for Cuban cigars with very recent box codes (outgassing).
- Dry boxing
- Moving the cigar to an empty cedar box with no humidification for 24 to 48 hours before smoking.
- Dry boxing parameters
- A controlled drop in surface humidity to 62 %-65 % to improve draw and burn.
- General resting conditions
- Continuous long-term storage between 18 °C and 21 °C and 65 % to 69 % relative humidity.
