DG. I've seen both methods used in various grow blogs. Chicken shreds his and packs it super tight in gallon glass jars. Boboro stores his leaf whole in beer boxes. Storage space may be the deciding factor for both guys, but I'm just guessing. Boboro has an entire closet set aside for his boxes. Shredded or whole, you just mist the tobacco with water and seal in plastic for a little while and case is brought back up. I've read that dry, dry tobacco stops aging, but Boboro stores his really dry and says it continues mellowing out so it's hard to say who's right , who's wrong, is ther a best way? I think it will all come down to what way works best for your particular situation. You can leave it hanging in your shed if it's out of the way. If your tight for space, shredding and storing takes up less room. Of course your cigar varieties will stay whole but you could destem them first if you wanted.The main thing to avoid is too much moisture and mold.