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About aging cigars

Smoker55

Smoker55

New Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2023
Messages
11
Hello fellow cigar aficionados,
I have a question about aging cigars. Could you fellows give me some suggestions on which cigars would be good to purchase for the purpose of aging. Also, how long would you recommend I age them?
Thanks in advance for your recommendations.
 
This is such a wide open subject it's difficult to hit the nail on the head.

Cuban cigars are meant to be aged and most will go through a sick period at some point, to get beyond that sick period may take years but the reward is worth the wait.

Non-Cuban cigars in my experience react very differently. If you like spice and power in your face, smoke-em ROTT. Age can take away a lot of that spice and power and basically mellow the cigars, that can be a good thing if you like the more mellow flavor. But ..... some of the subtle flavors in a cigar can mellow away.

IMHO Padron cigars age very well.

As far as how long, I suggest you buy a box and smoke one ROTT and place a note in the box with the date and your brief review notes. Have one a year later and do the same, after a couple years you should be able to see what is happening.

One thing you will notice ...... if the cigars are aged properly ...... they will burn perfectly and they will stay lit even if you don't puff on it for a while. You will seldom have to relight an aged cigar.

There are a few problems with "aging cigars"
  1. You will need to invest money and time.
  2. It's very difficult to look at the box of cigars you are aging and not smoke them, so you need to have a fairly sizable collection of cigars to smoke while you age a few boxes. See #1 above.
  3. Your taste could change between the time you buy a box and when you smoke them five years later.
Good luck!
 
@Smoker55 here’s a good read from Halfwheel. It doesn’t directly pertain to your question, but absolutely gives insight into the aging process. Especially for CC.

halfwheel.com

Bolívar Armonía (ER China 2008)

There have been hundreds of different Edición Regional releases from Habanos S.A. Without question, the most unique packaging of the series was 2008's Bolívar Armonía. In keeping with the eight theme, it's time for a redux, nearly eight years to the day after the first review.
halfwheel.com halfwheel.com
 
Thanks for the posts fellas. I'll hold off on trying to age any smokes for now.
Keep em burning.
 
CigarStone's post pretty much nails it. One variable is: How old is the tobacco in the cigar..?? Good examples are Padron; the x000 series used to benefit like crazy from a year or two in the cabinet. The 64's and 26's.....not so much, as the tobacco was well aged before it got to the roller's table. In fact, I've had 64's that had almost a decade on them, and to my palate they pretty much turned the corner, resulting in an overly mild, almost bland smoke. Cigars from the forbidden island are typically a very different story. Very fresh out of fermentation is how the tobacco often arrives at the roller. I've got a precious few Cuban RyJ's from the 70's.....and while you may think they would be 'air' cigars at this point, nothing could be farther from the truth. Given the appreciation in value, all my forbidden island smokes are going down for a time. I've got a bunch of boxes that are approaching 10 years, and let me tell you, they're pretty wonderful. 10 years seems like a solid point for Cuban cigars, longer may or may not enhance the experience. The flip side are the punchy and complex NC cigars from DT&T.....they've got a NC profile that I really like, long term aging is likely not going to enhance that.

When it comes to aging, I guess the real question is....what are you trying to achieve...?? No simple answer; "it depends" is really where this is at.

Have fun -
 
Smoker55 said:
Thanks for the posts fellas. I'll hold off on trying to age any smokes for now.
Keep em burning.
Click to expand...
Don't let @CigarStone scare you away.

You can age singles/fivers as well. Doesn't have to be full boxes. It's up to the person and amount of storage you are working with. For smaller quantities you can put them in an empty cedar box or a container with cedar ( I believe cedar aging is the key... JMO ) and forget them for how ever long you want. 6 months can make a big difference.
As for what to age. Start with cigars you enjoy now. It'll be easy to notice the changes since you are familiar with them already. And as noted by the others, Cuban cigars almost always benefit from lengthy naps. I am also in a different camp on thinking subtle notes fade with age. I personally notice aging brings them out. Just my experience. Bolder notes tend to smooth out IMO. Cigars are subjective, and you may have a different experience completely. But you owe it to yourself to at least try it on a few.
 
cohibasurfer said:
Don't let @CigarStone scare you away.

You can age singles/fivers as well. Doesn't have to be full boxes. It's up to the person and amount of storage you are working with. For smaller quantities you can put them in an empty cedar box or a container with cedar ( I believe cedar aging is the key... JMO ) and forget them for how ever long you want. 6 months can make a big difference.
As for what to age. Start with cigars you enjoy now. It'll be easy to notice the changes since you are familiar with them already. And as noted by the others, Cuban cigars almost always benefit from lengthy naps. I am also in a different camp on thinking subtle notes fade with age. I personally notice aging brings them out. Just my experience. Bolder notes tend to smooth out IMO. Cigars are subjective, and you may have a different experience completely. But you owe it to yourself to at least try it on a few.
Click to expand...
Jeez! Just cause I said box and you said single/fiver doesnt make you any less frigjtening!😁
 
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