Guide to Cigar Humidor Material Types

Your cigar humidor is much more than a good looking box that protects your cigars. It’s a tool that prevents degradation of your precious stogies. In addition to promoting the right aesthetic to complement your style the construction of the cigar humidor is essential to the task at hand. The material, inside and out, is every bit as functional as it is fashionable.

When you choose your humidor you’ll look at all the different features including the size and how many cigars your humidor can accommodate, the manner of maintaining the humidity and temperature, the style and of course, the wood.

While all of those factors weigh on the ability of your cigar humidor to keep your smokes in perfect condition the wood used to make your humidor is essential to all of it-how long you can keep your favorite cigars, preventing things like mold, mildew and the dreaded tobacco beetle, and even the flavor of your treasured cigars.

What Makes a Humidor

Now a humidor may come in a variety of exteriors; The modern Colibri Heritagewith its cubic design, the signature acrylic that allows you to showcase your beautiful collection, the Daniel Marshall made of precious burl wood or even the kitschy yet coveted Elie Bleu Alba collection, for example. And the style and exterior materials matter plenty but the real value of your humidor comes from the interior wood used to store your cigars.

The three types of wood used in the interior of your humidor are, traditionally, Spanish Cedar, American Cedar and Honduran Mahogany. Each of these woods brings advantages and a few disadvantages to the table. Before you decide on the ultimate cigar humidor material you want let’s take a look at these woods and compare them, shall we?

Traditional Humidor Interior Materials

Spanish Cedar has long been the preferred wood for cigar humidors. It’s also the most expensive. But, as with most things you get what you pay for. Humidors can be either Spanish cedar lined or constructed of Spanish Cedar completely with maybe a wood veneer or something similar.

Spanish Cedar

The Latin Cedrela Odorata, or fragrant cedar, is sourced from Brazil. Spanish Cedar is not cedar at all but is in the same family as the mahogany. Mahogany is a very strong wood, practically impervious to decay and excellent at deterring pests. It loses its leaves in the winter and as such is considered deciduous. Actual cedar, on the other hand, is an evergreen tree which means it does not shed its leaves.

Spanish cedars grow up to nearly 100 feet and the gray bark is unique. This type of mahogany is called Spanish Cedar as it was favored among the Spanish conquistadors for building A cigar humidor made entirely of Spanish Cedar is an absolute investment. It will be on the high end of the price spectrum but will protect your cigars in style and not impart any unfavorable flavor. Spanish Cedar humidors of the highest quality are considered heirloom pieces that will certainly be handed down for generations.

The strength of this wood means it won't crack, warp, weaken or rot even when exposed to temperature and humidity fluctuations. Your Spanish Cedar humidor, whether lined or made entirely of Spanish Cedar, can absorb a remarkable amount of moisture and not be affected, nor affect the quality of your collection. In fact, once you season your humidor the cedar maintains the humidity far better than any other cigar humidor material type.

Spanish Cedar mingles with the oils in the tobacco to preserve the flavors of your cigar collection and even encourages positive development of flavors over time. And finally, Spanish Cedar is a failsafe deterrent (providing the correct temperature and humidity are maintained) for preventing the highly destructive tobacco beetle from ruining your treasured collection.

Honduran Mahogany

While this Mahogany is night quite as desirable as its Brazilian cousin, Spanish Cedar, It does perform similarly in many areas. It retains and maintains humidity levels inside your cigar humidor nearly as well as Spanish Cedar. It’s mild aroma helps your cigar collection taste as natural as when you first acquired them.

Some people prefer the lack of aromatics emitted by Spanish Cedar. However, that lack of distinctive scent keeps your cigar humidor from completely deterring pests such as termites or tobacco beetles. Of course as long as you keep a close watch on your cigars and maintain temperature and humidity levels appropriately Honduran Mahogany should perform well. Especially if you find a cigar humidor crafted from this wood but perhaps lined with Spanish Cedar.

American Red Cedar

This type of wood is perhaps the least desirable of the material types for cigar humidors. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its attributes and, as such, its fans. The American Red Cedar is a strong wood and is highly aromatic. The strong cedar aroma is highly deterring to pests, including the tobacco beetle.

Unfortunately this is also a deterrent for many a cigar aficionado. The strong, though not necessarily unpleasant, cedar perfume tends to penetrate the wrapper of your stogie and alter the flavor of your cigars. Again, some cigar humidors are crafted of American Red Cedar but lined with Spanish Cedar, though they may still emit a cedar aroma that affects your cigars.

Exterior Cigar Humidor Material Types

The main purpose of the exterior material is, as we mentioned above, purely aesthetic. Both wood and carbon fiber make up the exterior options. Some of the more traditional cigar humidors use a hardwood like walnut or cherry. The main concern with the exterior cigar humidor material types is that of durability.

Finding the Right Humidor for You

The type of wood used inside and out will have a bearing on the price of your humidor but when you consider the task at hand you will see why the investment is worth the payoff. With that in mind Northwoods Humidors is pleased to offer a wide variety of stylish and quality humidors. We have humidors for the budget-minded as well as those of heirloom quality which you’ll invest in for future generations. And we have the know-how to help you decide. Contact Northwoods Humidors for all of your humidor and cigar accessories needs.