Spanish Cedar

[bankerjoe]

I am kind of a newbie, so here it goes.

Is it really necessary for all of the interior of a humidor to be Spanish Cedar? If so, why?

Just curious, especially since I will be hopefully buying (another) one soon.

Thanks.

 

[Q_The_Cop]

From humidor building website:

Humidors are typically lined with Spanish cedar for a couple reasons. It's a very aromatic wood which enhances the flavor of cigars and helps the tobacco blends mellow as they age. It's also a great absorber and releaser of moisture which makes it a natural humidity regulator inside a humidor.

From Wiki:

1. It holds more moisture than most woods, so it helps maintain humidity.
2. It imparts its aroma to cigars if they are stored in it for long enough. For the same reason, some cigars are wrapped in Spanish-cedar sheets before they are sold.
3. Spanish-cedar wood can repel tobacco beetles. These pinhead-sized beetles can ruin entire stocks of cigars. They eat the tobacco and lay eggs, causing further infestation. They can also be discouraged by ensuring the humidor does not get hotter than 20 °C (68 °F).[1] The beetle eggs usually only hatch at around 25 °C (77 °F), although there are also instances where they will hatch at cooler temperatures if the humidity is too high.
4. The wood properties are not prone to "warping" or "cupping" in high humidity.

Or if I'm reading it wrong, what parts do you not want to be made of Cedar?

 

[bankerjoe]

Or if I'm reading it wrong, what parts do you not want to be made of Cedar?

No, you aren't. But I was looking at this one, which seemed kind of inexpensive: http://cgi.ebay.com/300-ct-LUXURY-CIGAR-HU...3DLVI%26ps%3D54

But then they had this to say: "In order to provide savings for our customers and get the same value, portions of our humidor interior are made of cedar wood. Once the humidor is closed everything inside is sealed. The cedar smell will remain in the box giving positive effect on the flavor of your cigars. Therefore there is no need to make the inside of the humidor completely of cedar. If you research cigar humidors, there is no 100% cedar humidor. All manufacturers use the same method to make their humidors. The reason our prices are much better than other sellers is because we have our own manufacturer and make our own products. We also sell our humidors to few of biggest retail chain stores in United States and Europe. That's why we get good items at lower prices. We do not buy our products from other middle men and we pass the saving on to our customers. We hope this helps and please feel free to email us with any other questions or concerns that you may have."

And any time I have heard someone talk about humidors, Spanish Cedar seems to come up in the discussion. I was just wondering if it really meant something or if it was just some stupid marketing gimmick.

 

[tmoney2007]

The entire humidor isn't made out of spanish cedar, but in well made humidors the lining (i.e. the part that touches the cigars) should be made out of spanish cedar.

It is generally kiln dried before it is used, so when you humidify the interior of the humidor, you also humidify the wood so it will try to balance out humidity fluctuations from when you open the humidor. So in addition to helping to keep away cigar beetles, it basically surrounds your cigars with a humidifier.

That sounds like they are trying to justify how little cedar they put into the humidor. I would suggest looking into one of the trusted humidor sellers that this board recommends. You can get something much nicer, for not much more. If you fill up that 300 count humidor you will have hundreds of dollars worth of cigars in there. Wouldn't it be worth it to spend a little extra on the humidor to protect that investment?

 

[bankerjoe]

If you fill up that 300 count humidor you will have hundreds of dollars worth of cigars in there. Wouldn't it be worth it to spend a little extra on the humidor to protect that investment?

I don't actually intend on buying the one in the link, I just happened to be looking at it while browsing. I was curious as to how it was so inexpensive, and if Spanish Cedar lining (yes, I did know it was not the ENTIRE humidor) was really necessary.

I don't think I need a 300 count humi, at least not yet. Of course, when I do buy it, I want to spend my money wisely. I am not looking to be cheap, but I don't want to spend a load of cash if it isn't necessary. Value is still important, after all.

 

[tmoney2007]

I think cheaphumidors.com is a good place to buy,... look around this forum and you will see the ones that people regularly recommend.

 

[NASTY]

PM Spivy, I hear he has been wanting to get rid of an old desktop humidor for quite some time. He may even throw in some Opus maduros

 

[DirtyDave]

I'll vouch for cheaphumidors as well. I got my 100ct desktop from them and it is great. Keeps humidity very well and had lots of room (at first).

 

[NullSmurf]

Threads on this are so common, even I could find em.

Throw out the reason that Spanish cedar buffers moisture. You no longer need it for that. All other reasons still apply - aromatic and esthetic. It isn't the most expensive wood, but we're working on that. Many manufacturers use it in their boxes, so the aromatic part is satisfied. That leaves esthetic. I chose to use it to make the shelves in my cabinet. It looks cool, and it is more than sufficient volume to contribute to the aroma.

 

[tmoney2007]

You may not need it to buffer humidity anymore, but it does it, and I'd rather have that feature than not.

 

[LarryH]

Be careful of the eBay vendors. I didn't actually see them use the word "Spanish" in their description, just cedar. Spanish cedar really isn't cedar at all or spanish but a type of mahogany and any other type of "cedar" is totally inappropriate.

Wikipedia Link

Or if I'm reading it wrong, what parts do you not want to be made of Cedar?

No, you aren't. But I was looking at this one, which seemed kind of inexpensive: http://cgi.ebay.com/300-ct-LUXURY-CIGAR-HU...3DLVI%26ps%3D54

But then they had this to say: "In order to provide savings for our customers and get the same value, portions of our humidor interior are made of cedar wood. Once the humidor is closed everything inside is sealed. The cedar smell will remain in the box giving positive effect on the flavor of your cigars. Therefore there is no need to make the inside of the humidor completely of cedar. If you research cigar humidors, there is no 100% cedar humidor. All manufacturers use the same method to make their humidors. The reason our prices are much better than other sellers is because we have our own manufacturer and make our own products. We also sell our humidors to few of biggest retail chain stores in United States and Europe. That's why we get good items at lower prices. We do not buy our products from other middle men and we pass the saving on to our customers. We hope this helps and please feel free to email us with any other questions or concerns that you may have."

And any time I have heard someone talk about humidors, Spanish Cedar seems to come up in the discussion. I was just wondering if it really meant something or if it was just some stupid marketing gimmick.

 

[Les Nessman]

Or if I'm reading it wrong, what parts do you not want to be made of Cedar?

No, you aren't. But I was looking at this one, which seemed kind of inexpensive: http://cgi.ebay.com/300-ct-LUXURY-CIGAR-HU...3DLVI%26ps%3D54

My buddy bought on of these a few weeks ago. Its a sharp looking humi. It works for him just fine.