If you’re new to the cigar world, you might be wondering how you’re going to rotate your cigars in a humidor. Then you might be wondering how often you should be doing this. The answers are a bit tricky because there’s no methodology for rotating them in a humidor. Still, many cigar pros agree that moving them around the humidor can give each one an equal shot to sustain their freshness.
When cigars are processed, the tobacco leaves are rotated. This helps to ensure an even fermentation. The humidor’s purpose is to keep your cigars at the right level of humidity. If you fill your humidor to max capacity, you won’t be able to rotate the cigars properly, as there would be no room to rotate or move them from the upper levels to the lower levels and vice versa. So, by not filling the humidor to max capacity, you give your cigars an equal opportunity for the best spots in the humidor.
How often you rotate your cigars again is a matter of opinion. For the most part, all levels of cigar smokers agree that rotating their collections every 1 to 3 months seems to be about right. This allows you to fully inspect them as well as the humidor itself. The best way to do all of this is the following:
Step 1: Take out each cigar and lay it on a layer of wax paper. The reason you place them on wax paper is so their kept clean, sanitary, and clear of any lint.
Step 2: Make rows of the cigars that were on top.
Step 3: When the cigars that were on bottom have also been removed, add them to the bottom of the humidor.
Final Step: You can line them up with different sizes as this will allow the greatest air circulation.
Finally, if you prefer not to rotate them by hand, there are some humidors that boast never having to rotate. They’re designed to make the best of the circulation of air so that all the cigars inside get a balanced sum of humidity. They’ve unique trays with ventilation areas built-in, as well as openings along the walls and bottom. This allows the humid air to circulate evenly.
So there you have it. These are just some of the ways for which you can rotate your cigars, either by hand or automatically.