Do you have to use Spanish Cedar in humidors?
Spanish Cedar is widely known as the material of choice in humidor construction. But is Spanish Cedar the best material, or absolutely necessary?
Well, let’s discuss it a bit.
Spanish Cedar is actually not cedar at all. It comes from the Mahogany family. It is a very nice, salmony red tight-grained wood with a very spicy aroma when smelled. In fact, if you sand or plane Spanish Cedar down, the dust can really irritate your nasal passages, and can leave you sneezing and coughing more-so than other woods. Spanish Cedar is a wood that is commonly found all over Central America and is used in building materials, and for wood siding.
Hundreds of years ago, tobacco curing barns were constructed or lined with Spanish Cedar, probably because it was easy to get a hold of, and at the time wasn’t intended on for imparting any flavours or nuances to the tobacco.
However, inadvertently these flavours may have been naturally and subtly imparted into the tobacco, encouraging some of the woody flavour sometimes associated with certain tobaccos.
Being a wood that naturally grows in the humid conditions of Central America, the wood is naturally mold resistant, and in fact also resistant to the dreaded tobacco beetle. Something in the scent makes these beetles go away. Maybe it makes them sneeze, just like humans.
Furthermore, Spanish Cedar has a natural tendency to absorb, and desorb moisture, which can be very beneficial in helping supply humidity back into your humidor if the humidor is frequently opened or closed.
So it wasnt by accident that early humidor creators, like Davidoff, decided to use Spanish Cedar for the lining of the inside of their humidors.
Today, modern technology, electronics and plastics have made a way to treat cigars without the requirement of Spanish Cedar. Modified silica gel beads, crystals and electronics now do a fine job of supplying humidity back into the humidor. Plastics do a great job of sealing the humidor, and the necessity on Spanish Cedar is far less than it was in the past.
Now, this is not to say that any old wood will suffice to line the inside of your humidor. Try making a humidor from aromatic cedar, or some other wood and you will soon find your cigars will taste like your grandmother’s closet.
I personally still love to make humidors using genuine Spanish Cedar, simply because of the tradition, appearance and natural characteristics that make Spanish Cedar a perfect wood for lining my humidors. There is something about opening a fine handcrafted humidor, and being greeted by the scent of well aged cigars, and spicy spanish cedar lining. It looks great, it has great characteristics, and I will most likely always use it whether it is required or not.
Eddie
da best. Keep it going! Thank you