How to Ship & Mail Cigars
Knowing how to ship and mail cigars is essential when you’ve got a cigar lover on your gift list. Because a lot of folks who don’t smoke buy cigars as gifts, they are not familiar with how to store and ship cigars properly. When you’re buying cigars for your boss or a family member who doesn’t live nearby, you want to ship them safely and know that they’ll be fresh upon arrival. Here are a few simple tips for the best way to ship cigars to ensure they arrive at their destination fresh and in perfect condition.
Cigars Need to Be Humidified
The ideal conditions for storing cigars are 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 percent humidity. If you just bought some cigars and you’re sending them to a friend or relative, they will be fine with the cellophane on in a Ziploc bag for a few days while they’re traveling. You can store cigars in the original box during shipping, too. The box will protect them, but it won’t keep them humidified for a long period of time. If you are buying cigars to ship at a later date, you will need to keep them humidified.
If cigars are going to be out of a humidor for more than four days, it’s not a bad idea to buy a humidity pack and place it in a Ziploc bag with your cigars. Humidity packs automatically regulate the moisture in a sealed environment and will keep your cigars fresh and humidified for several months. Humidity pouches are effective at keeping cigars fresh when you’re shipping them through cold or dry climates. Using a humidity pack is also a great idea when you’re shipping cigars to someone who may not own a humidor.
Leave the Cellophane On
Rule number one: cigars are fragile. If you’re buying single cigars to ship versus a full box, leave the cellophane on the cigars. Cellophane sleeves protect individual cigars from unwanted damage if the box they’re in is jostled around in the shipping process. A cigar’s wrapper leaf is especially susceptible to tearing and cracking without the cellophane. All cigar lovers will tell you a cigar with a cracked wrapper is unpleasant, if not impossible, to smoke.
Never Ship Cigars Loose
When you’re shipping singles or an assortment of different cigars, secure them (with the cellophane on) in a Ziploc bag or a sealed environment, and pack them firmly, so they can’t bounce around. Don’t squish or squeeze them into a space that is too tight (you can crack the wrappers). But, you can gently wrap your cigars together so they aren’t susceptible to damage if the package shakes.
The best way to pack cigars for shipping is to pack them like glassware. If you’re buying a handful of cigars in a shop to mail to someone later, ask the retailer for an empty cigar box. Seal any single cigars you’re buying in a Ziploc bag and place the bag inside an empty cigar box. An empty cigar box is often the best environment for shipping cigars because most are made of wood and will adequately protect your cigars, especially if you’re shipping them in a box with other items. Treat your cigars like wine glasses when you’re packing them up.
Ship Cigars Directly from an Online Retailer
The fastest, easiest, and freshest way to ship cigars to someone is to order them directly from your pals at Holt’s. As one of the biggest online cigar retailers in the world, we have plenty of experience shipping cigars to every corner of the country. We’ve been mailing cigars out for over 120 years and our palatial humidified warehouse is a pure marvel of climate-controlled perfection. Give us a call or cruise through the checkout on your smartphone when you need to ship cigars to someone. We have dozens of cigar experts on hand who can make recommendations and answer any cigar-related questions you have. We also offer free shipping in our weekly email specials, as well as on all orders over $150 year-round.
