Is it necessary to store your cigars with the cellophane wrapper on them?  What purpose does the cellophane wrapper have?  How long should it stay on?  These are common questions that come up for not only the novice smoker but also for the most experienced smoker.  As with all things, there is no right or wrong answer, but depending on what you are looking to achieve there might be some better ways to do things than you’re currently doing them.  So we’re going to explore of few here.

Why do most cigars come with a cellophane wrapper?

The cellophane wrapper serves two basic functions.  One is help protect the integrity of the cigars – most importantly the outer wrapper of the cigar.  The cellophane helps prevent any small nicks or cuts that might happen while transporting your cigar.  The wrapper also helps keep in the moisture of the cigar.  It’s important to note that the wrapper alone cannot be relied on to keep the cigar completely moist and certainly doesn’t take the place of a humidor.  It does help to keep them fresher longer especially if they are going to be out of a humidor for a while.

Should you store your cigars with the cellophane wrapper?

This is really a personal choice and depends mostly on how long you plan on storing the cigars.  Arguments can be made for both keeping the wrappers on and taking them off for storage.  It is interesting to note, though, that cellophane is a plant based product and therefore it is porous.  In other words, there are tiny holes in the wrapper that allows the cigar to breath.  Having the wrapper on in the humidor is totally fine because the cigar is still going to retain its moisture. Some think that storing cigars with the wrapper will block the humidity in the humidor, but that is not the case. The other benefit to leaving the wrapper on is that if you wanted to take a few smokes out on the golf course or over to a BBQ they are already protected and ready to go.

One of the main reasons for taking off the wrapper is that some believe removing the wrapper helps accelerate the aging process.  Having the wrapper on the cigar preserves the freshness and delays the aging.  Everyone loves a well-aged cigar and if that is what you’re going for it might make sense to remove the wrapper and carefully store them in your humidor until they are ready.