Dave
Padilla Lanceros, yum yum!!
First some reading.
Dan and I have been discussing this matter at length, however neither of us are chemists, or bio-chem majors, or even biology majors, so we weren't able to come up with a conclusive answer that satisfied the question.
This all started when we were talking about aged cigars. In both of our experiences, as a cigar ages, it reaches it's peak flavor at some point, and then steadily declines, not too dissimilar to wines. I've smoked a few 7 year old cigars, and a few 6 year old cigars, I must say the latter had more flavor. I haven't smoked them too often, so my research is limited. The bible states that a lot of the aged cigars require a fine palatte, and probably because there is no varying flavorful food in Britain, and Hong Kong being a British colony, the adoption of this methodology was easily accepted. There is an article on a vendor's site, which I will not disclose, that talks about aged cigars, and even mentions that the Spanish Market, and Cuba, even Zino Davidoff never understood aging cigars for a long term. They agreed that the flavors peak within 3 to 5 years and start to lose their flavors after 5 to 7 years. This was off the article, I **** you not.
Maybe there is a reason why the Bible usually mentions that cigar XXX should be aged 3/5 years minimum. Very coincidental with the proposed question, why do aged cigars lose their flavor?
My theory - The leaves once cured and prepared for rolling, have x amount of oils. That's it, it doesn't produce any more oils, what's there is there. There is the idea of water content, how the porous leaf allows for osmosis of humidity and oils thus contributing to the debatable idea of marrying which I will not get into because I don't believe in it. There are certain temperatures that oil and water can mix, however I don't think it is anywhere near 70F. That being said, I think as a cigar ages, it absorbs water content from it's humid environment, and the water slowly pushes out the oils inside the leaf. Over time, the oils would have gathered enough on the surface of the wrapper, and if lucky, will crystalize and plume happens, yet another debatable topic that I don't want to get into. Just bear with me.
In this theory though, as the cigar ages, over the long period of time, almost all of the oil will be pushed out of the leaves, and even out of the cigar totally, since as we all know oil and water don't mix. Oil floats on top, so when that outside wrapper leaf is saturated in water through the natural process of maturation and proper storage, the oils have no more contact with the leaf itself, and thus any other form of contact with another surface will immediately attach itself, I don't want to use the word bond, not chemistry, mechanics. As we know, the fat is where the flavor is, and with the profuse excretion of oils, the cigar loses it's flavor.
Just a side note touching on plume, I will refer to the pork chop or a nice steak. For me, the tastiest steaks are usually the ones with that nice trim of fat around the edges. I believe cigars are the same way, the wrapper is the direct point of contact with your lips, so the flavor is saturated there, even when smoking the wrapper is the dash of spice on top that makes everything great, and I believe my theory partially explains this phenoma, unless someone else came up with this theory prior, I didn't search but that damn post should be stickied (if it exists) so I wouldn't have lost so many brain cells trying to think up a plausible explanation of why cigars taste bland after x amount of years.
Other things that might come up in discussion. As per the above link that refers to storage and humidification, I think the range is more like 55rh to 75rh. Another site where a few more experienced international club members were discussing the storage of certain cigars from a certain Island, have stated for long term aging, 55% is good. I don't believe the oils dry at that low humidity, maybe in the lower than 50% is where the oils are lost, and maybe higher than 75% is where the organic compositions of the oils are broken down. Again, I am not an expert, nor even knowledgeable in the are of mechanics and chemistry, just some more questions and ideas that could use some responses. The lower humidity would slow the process of the tobacco oils being pushed out projected by my theory, and thus allow for a nice long slow maturation. But in the end, I don't know.
Ok, I'm tired, and I know if any of you guys even managed to read all this, must be feeling what I am feeling. I completely understand, and would have rather smoked a cigar instead. Time for a young tannic Fonseca.
Dan and I have been discussing this matter at length, however neither of us are chemists, or bio-chem majors, or even biology majors, so we weren't able to come up with a conclusive answer that satisfied the question.
This all started when we were talking about aged cigars. In both of our experiences, as a cigar ages, it reaches it's peak flavor at some point, and then steadily declines, not too dissimilar to wines. I've smoked a few 7 year old cigars, and a few 6 year old cigars, I must say the latter had more flavor. I haven't smoked them too often, so my research is limited. The bible states that a lot of the aged cigars require a fine palatte, and probably because there is no varying flavorful food in Britain, and Hong Kong being a British colony, the adoption of this methodology was easily accepted. There is an article on a vendor's site, which I will not disclose, that talks about aged cigars, and even mentions that the Spanish Market, and Cuba, even Zino Davidoff never understood aging cigars for a long term. They agreed that the flavors peak within 3 to 5 years and start to lose their flavors after 5 to 7 years. This was off the article, I **** you not.
Maybe there is a reason why the Bible usually mentions that cigar XXX should be aged 3/5 years minimum. Very coincidental with the proposed question, why do aged cigars lose their flavor?
My theory - The leaves once cured and prepared for rolling, have x amount of oils. That's it, it doesn't produce any more oils, what's there is there. There is the idea of water content, how the porous leaf allows for osmosis of humidity and oils thus contributing to the debatable idea of marrying which I will not get into because I don't believe in it. There are certain temperatures that oil and water can mix, however I don't think it is anywhere near 70F. That being said, I think as a cigar ages, it absorbs water content from it's humid environment, and the water slowly pushes out the oils inside the leaf. Over time, the oils would have gathered enough on the surface of the wrapper, and if lucky, will crystalize and plume happens, yet another debatable topic that I don't want to get into. Just bear with me.
In this theory though, as the cigar ages, over the long period of time, almost all of the oil will be pushed out of the leaves, and even out of the cigar totally, since as we all know oil and water don't mix. Oil floats on top, so when that outside wrapper leaf is saturated in water through the natural process of maturation and proper storage, the oils have no more contact with the leaf itself, and thus any other form of contact with another surface will immediately attach itself, I don't want to use the word bond, not chemistry, mechanics. As we know, the fat is where the flavor is, and with the profuse excretion of oils, the cigar loses it's flavor.
Just a side note touching on plume, I will refer to the pork chop or a nice steak. For me, the tastiest steaks are usually the ones with that nice trim of fat around the edges. I believe cigars are the same way, the wrapper is the direct point of contact with your lips, so the flavor is saturated there, even when smoking the wrapper is the dash of spice on top that makes everything great, and I believe my theory partially explains this phenoma, unless someone else came up with this theory prior, I didn't search but that damn post should be stickied (if it exists) so I wouldn't have lost so many brain cells trying to think up a plausible explanation of why cigars taste bland after x amount of years.
Other things that might come up in discussion. As per the above link that refers to storage and humidification, I think the range is more like 55rh to 75rh. Another site where a few more experienced international club members were discussing the storage of certain cigars from a certain Island, have stated for long term aging, 55% is good. I don't believe the oils dry at that low humidity, maybe in the lower than 50% is where the oils are lost, and maybe higher than 75% is where the organic compositions of the oils are broken down. Again, I am not an expert, nor even knowledgeable in the are of mechanics and chemistry, just some more questions and ideas that could use some responses. The lower humidity would slow the process of the tobacco oils being pushed out projected by my theory, and thus allow for a nice long slow maturation. But in the end, I don't know.
Ok, I'm tired, and I know if any of you guys even managed to read all this, must be feeling what I am feeling. I completely understand, and would have rather smoked a cigar instead. Time for a young tannic Fonseca.
