Aged NC's

[Matty_Vegas]

I noticed today (Who knows how long they have actually been doing it) that good ole' J.R. is selling "Aged" or "Vintage" domestics. I know alot of cigars do pretty well after a year or so on them, but I have been seeing some that are 5-10 years old. I have only smoked one domestic with some serious age on it (A 94 Flor D' Allones) and it was a pretty wierd smoke. Actually I did not care much for them smoke at all.
Has anyone else had experience with domestics with any age (longer than a couple years)??? And are these older smokes worth seeking out? A very respected smoker I hang out with told me that domestics do not age well at all. Opinions???

You may fire when ready, Ginseng.

 

[LOCAL669]

I have a few boxes that have a few years on em and seem to smoke just fine. Some like the VSG in my opinion got better with age, they were great to begin with but seemed to be a little more relaxed as they aged. I think 6-12 mths is a good time for me.

Good Luck

 

[tsmckenney]

Opus, Anejos, Connies, Padrons, Tat Browns... I would say many NCs improve with age, to me anyway.

While in KC at the 2008 Padron event, Jorge Padron told us that they have some tobacco that has been aged 20 years. They are saving those leaves for some real special shit. They also had a cigar at this event that was only available to attendees. It was called the Padron Familia Reserva 44. The tobacco used for that cigar had been aged at least 10 years. Go ahead and do a quick search on that cigar and see what people thought of it.

 

[PuroEsq]

I noticed today (Who knows how long they have actually been doing it) that good ole' J.R. is selling "Aged" or "Vintage" domestics. I know alot of cigars do pretty well after a year or so on them, but I have been seeing some that are 5-10 years old. I have only smoked one domestic with some serious age on it (A 94 Flor D' Allones) and it was a pretty wierd smoke. Actually I did not care much for them smoke at all.
Has anyone else had experience with domestics with any age (longer than a couple years)??? And are these older smokes worth seeking out? A very respected smoker I hang out with told me that domestics do not age well at all. Opinions???

You may fire when ready, Ginseng.

By "domestics" I am sure you mean Non-Cuban cigars as the title suggests. My question then to everyone (as I do not know the answer) would be this: "Why would Non-Cuban cigars age poorly and Cuban cigars get better with age?" While I understand that diffeerent regions of the world produce tobacco with diferent smoking characteristics and flavors why would only Cuba produce tobacco that ages well?

My .02

- Jason

p.s. - I also saw the "aged" or "vintage" smokes in J.R.'s catalog (or online I do not recall) and was curious as well.

 

[LilBastage]

I've had an Opus or two with more than 4 years age and they are VERY good.

I've had Padron 2K maduros with about 6 years on them and they're not much better than the 4 year old Padron 2k maduros I've had, but they were VERY tasty.

I think some will age well and others will not get much better. I believe every tobacco blend has potential to age well, but each blend peaks at a different time. Some may peak after 2 years and some may peak after 10.

 

[KeyserSoze]

I think some will age well and others will not get much better. I believe every tobacco blend has potential to age well, but each blend peaks at a different time. Some may peak after 2 years and some may peak after 10.

My thoughts mirror Alan's. IMO the Flor D' Allones is not that great a smoke to begin with. I don't see how a crappy cigar can get better with age.

 

[Keystone_Raider]

You may fire when ready, Ginseng.

:laugh:

BTW Matty nice meeting you in Vegas - thanks for putting up with my wife!

 

[Ginseng]

You may fire when ready, Ginseng.

Alrighty. Let's start with punctuation, shall we?



I've smoked NCs with between 2-10 years of age and I have to say that the results have been widely varying. I should qualify that by saying that the sum total of "aged" NCs I've ever smoked is under 25-30. Solid, strong, or rich cigars tend to do better than milder or cheaper smokes, in general. 10-year old Padron regular line turned out to be mellow, soft images of their original character, with a bit of paperiness. I've had 7/8-YO OpusX that were pretty good and others that were real letdowns.

Overall, I'd say that there is not a tradition of aging NC cigars and so the data are sparse at best.

Wilkey

 

[MadMonk]

I've had a mixed bag. Some were great aged, and some were much better fresh. I tend to like ALL cigars fresh. I think it is something that we do to judge for ourselves, and our tastes. For the past two or so years, I've tried to save at least 5 out of boxes to age at least a year.

 

[ilcchef2]

My stash is 98% non-Cuban and they ALL age...by default...I have cigars with 12-14 years age on them that are smoking GREAT! Take care of them and they will take care of you someday.

 

[Ginseng]

My stash is 98% non-Cuban and they ALL age...by default...I have cigars with 12-14 years age on them that are smoking GREAT! Take care of them and they will take care of you someday.

Sir,

If you are ever in the mood for a trade, please let me know. I'd love to explore aged NCs in a bit more detail.

Wilkey

 

[TugBoat]

I have a number of non Cubans sitting in my humidor with anywhere between a year to 13 years of age. I have only smoked three though that had more than 2-3 years of age on it. Two where VSG's from 2002 and one was a small Davidoff from around the same time. They were all real good, the Davidoff was real tasty but wasn't very complex because of it's real small ring gauge. The VSG's were both incredible. VSG's are really good fresh but do real well with age. The spice is still there but is toned down a bit and many new flavors come out.

 

[gunsandcigars88]

Many domestics that age nicely have been mentioned, except for one of my favs. HDM Excalibur. They age amazingly well, and don't have a massive price tag.
B

 

[bpj87]

I haven't had any aged NC experience yet, but I picked up an AF 858 natty from 2001 in a pass for the educational opportunity. I'll make sure to post a review if it shows any interesting characteristics when I get around to smoking it.

Could the CC vs NC aging performance difference simply be due to the fact that Cuba has a tradition of blending smokes to age, whereas NC manufacturers typically blend their products such that they are ready to smoke when they reach the market? The latter strategy makes more business sense, while the former may be a function of the character of long standing blends which, of course, retain their aging curve.

It seems unlikely that only Cuban terroir allows for fruitful aging. In winemaking, ageworthiness of premium wine is typically a choice of the vintner. With high quality grapes, 50 year wines can be made from grapes usually reserved for wines meant for short term consumption, and vice versa.

 

[moki]

Has anyone else had experience with domestics with any age (longer than a couple years)??? And are these older smokes worth seeking out? A very respected smoker I hang out with told me that domestics do not age well at all. Opinions???

Your "respected smoker" doesn't know what he's talking about.

Tobacco is tobacco. Good tobacco that has been grown, harvested, cured, and blended well will age well. Tobacco that is missing a link in that chain may not. The country of origin is irrelevant.

And yes, I have smoked quite a few very old cigars of a number of origins. Some good, some bad, some sublime. Consistent storage year over year is key there.

 

[Mike33]

Could the CC vs NC aging performance difference simply be due to the fact that Cuba has a tradition of blending smokes to age, whereas NC manufacturers typically blend their products such that they are ready to smoke when they reach the market?

You would think that this is their strategy, but most Cubans that control the blending don't care if a cigar ages gracefully or not. They like their cigars fresh and can't fathom why anyone would want a cigar that has 5-10 years on it over a fresh one. The Spanish market is the same way; they like fresh, "punchy" cigars. I remember reading somewhere that most Cubans think the ideal time to enjoy their cigars is between 1-3 years.

As far as NCs, I have had some really good Anejos, VSGs, Opus, and Padrons with several years on them. If it is quality tobacco, it will age well.

 

[Nimrod]

My stash is 98% non-Cuban and they ALL age...by default...I have cigars with 12-14 years age on them that are smoking GREAT! Take care of them and they will take care of you someday.

Do you have any idea what can of worms you opened?

There are so many questions that I would like to get answered by you.
What cigars are smoking great? And the opposite? 12-14 years?;Do they not expire after time? I thought cigars over 10 years stop getting better and start getting worse.
What is you method of storage? RH%? Favorites?

Anyways, I do not expect you to answer, but if you did.......Thanks

 

[Matty_Vegas]

I think the answer comes back to what anyone worth thier salt has said all along. If you like it then it is good.

 

[moki]

I think the answer comes back to what anyone worth thier salt has said all along. If you like it then it is good.

Agreed. And because everyone gets caught up in the fervor of their particular hobby, I think it's sometimes useful to rewrite questions like this in an alternate universe. Consider your answer to this question posited:

.....

I know alot of wines do pretty well after a year or so on them, but I have been seeing some that are 5-10 years old. I have only drunk one non-French wine with some serious age on it and it was a pretty wierd wine. Actually I did not care much for the wine at all.

Has anyone else had experience with non-French wine with any age (longer than a couple years) And are these older wines worth seeking out? A very respected drinker I hang out with told me that non-French wines do not age well at all. Opinions???

 

[Matty_Vegas]

I think the answer comes back to what anyone worth thier salt has said all along. If you like it then it is good.

Agreed. And because everyone gets caught up in the fervor of their particular hobby, I think it's sometimes useful to rewrite questions like this in an alternate universe. Consider your answer to this question posited:

.....

I know alot of wines do pretty well after a year or so on them, but I have been seeing some that are 5-10 years old. I have only drunk one non-French wine with some serious age on it and it was a pretty wierd wine. Actually I did not care much for the wine at all.

Has anyone else had experience with non-French wine with any age (longer than a couple years) And are these older wines worth seeking out? A very respected drinker I hang out with told me that non-French wines do not age well at all. Opinions???

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!
thank you