Aging Better Cigars

[sigar_zealot]

I've been doing some reading (a lot of reading) and see where many of you agree that aging the 1926 & 1964 Padrons for very long seems to make them lose a bit of their flavor. It got me wondering if anyone felt the same way about similarly priced cigars like Opus X, God of Fire and the like. Since I purchased a cooler I seem to be collecting more and more of these kind of sticks and I would hate to think I was causing them to lose their flavor by aging them. I did a few searches and a lot of reading but didn't seem to find the answer to my question so I figured it was best to ask before it was too late.

Thanks in advance!

 

[pembroke3355]

My opinion is that it depends on the cigar as some age better than others. I do believe every cigar at some point will no longer get better with age. Some stop getting better earlier than others. Trying to find out which cigars age better than others is half the fun.

 

[Bsneed51]

It really does depend on the cigar, and this is where you will have to do a little homework. If a cigar has been aged, or the tobacco it contains has been aged prior to it being released it will have a shorter aging life than fresher cigars. The reason the Padron 1964 and 1926 start to lose their umph is because the tobacco is already aged 4-5 years by the time they are rolled. The x000s however age well because their tobacco is only aged for 1-2 years prior to rolling. Most of what I have heard over the past couple years is that 7-10 years is about the peak aging time for a cigar and after that it starts to mellow. I know most people prefer aged Opus, because it takes away some of the strength and brings out the depth of flavor. I’m the opposite.

All of this is just my uneducated opinion, and many probably have different ideas than I do. To steal B.B.S.’s line….one man’s opinion.

 

[JHolmes763]

Opus get too mellow for me if they age over a year or so. The only one I've enjoyed aged was an XXX that had over a year on it, but I don't remember how much. Padrons are aged and ready out of the box, like someone else said.

My recommendation would be to search out a few aged cigars and see if that's what you like. See if someone can trade a couple 2-3 year old Padron 2000s for a few fresh ones, or a 2 year old opus for a new one or one you've only had sitting for six months or so. Smoke those, along with a fresh one and see if the aged smokes have developed a flavor you enjoy.

I don't keep much of a stash, but I can offer up a Padron 40th Anniv. I've had since Feb. '07 that I'll send you send me your address. If you put up an in-search-of post with what you're looking to trade for, hopefully someone else wil assist with something else.

Happy smoking.

-John

 

[pembroke3355]

It really does depend on the cigar, and this is where you will have to do a little homework. If a cigar has been aged, or the tobacco it contains has been aged prior to it being released it will have a shorter aging life than fresher cigars. The reason the Padron 1964 and 1926 start to lose their umph is because the tobacco is already aged 4-5 years by the time they are rolled. The x000s however age well because their tobacco is only aged for 1-2 years prior to rolling. Most of what I have heard over the past couple years is that 7-10 years is about the peak aging time for a cigar and after that it starts to mellow. I know most people prefer aged Opus, because it takes away some of the strength and brings out the depth of flavor. I’m the opposite.

All of this is just my uneducated opinion, and many probably have different ideas than I do. To steal B.B.S.’s line….one man’s opinion.

You learn some new everyday. I never knew the 1926 and 1964 were aged that long already. Now I know why they are so damn tasty right away.

 

[Bsneed51]

It really does depend on the cigar, and this is where you will have to do a little homework. If a cigar has been aged, or the tobacco it contains has been aged prior to it being released it will have a shorter aging life than fresher cigars. The reason the Padron 1964 and 1926 start to lose their umph is because the tobacco is already aged 4-5 years by the time they are rolled. The x000s however age well because their tobacco is only aged for 1-2 years prior to rolling. Most of what I have heard over the past couple years is that 7-10 years is about the peak aging time for a cigar and after that it starts to mellow. I know most people prefer aged Opus, because it takes away some of the strength and brings out the depth of flavor. I’m the opposite.

All of this is just my uneducated opinion, and many probably have different ideas than I do. To steal B.B.S.’s line….one man’s opinion.

You learn some new everyday. I never knew the 1926 and 1964 were aged that long already. Now I know why they are so damn tasty right away.

That's what Jorge told us at an event a couple years ago. He also told us that the tobacco in the Family Reverse #44 is aged for I believe 10 years prior to them being rolled. He said they had some tobacco that was up to 13-15 years old that they were considering maybe someday using in a special blend. Some of the other guys at that event can correct me if I have the number of years incorrect, but I think those are right.

 

[sigar_zealot]

Thanks guys this is some good information on my n00b question. I was aware the 26/64 Padrons were already aged especially compared to their 1000 series.

John, I appreciate your offer to trade for your aged Padron 40th but it's not necessary. I have several 26/64 Padron's, Opus and God of Fire that have a couple of years of age on them. My concern was if I only smoke one say every 6 months at what point in the aging process will they reach the point of diminishing return.

The 7-10 year range makes sense. Now all I need to do is find out how many years they age Opus X and God of Fire tobacco before they roll them.

Once again, thank you!

 

[GregSVT]

I really like Opus and Anejo with at least a year of age on them...somtimes more. It really mellows them out but you can still detect the awesome original flavors. Same thing with the Hemingway Maduros...especially the WOAM. Tatuaje smokes seem to age nicely as well.

Like people have said...age some and try them in a few years. I have almost a full box of Carlos Torano 1916s I got for my birthday back in 2007. Just never got around to smoking many of them after I started buying all sorts of other cigars. I need to pull one of those out some day soon and see how they're doing...

 

[pembroke3355]

It really does depend on the cigar, and this is where you will have to do a little homework. If a cigar has been aged, or the tobacco it contains has been aged prior to it being released it will have a shorter aging life than fresher cigars. The reason the Padron 1964 and 1926 start to lose their umph is because the tobacco is already aged 4-5 years by the time they are rolled. The x000s however age well because their tobacco is only aged for 1-2 years prior to rolling. Most of what I have heard over the past couple years is that 7-10 years is about the peak aging time for a cigar and after that it starts to mellow. I know most people prefer aged Opus, because it takes away some of the strength and brings out the depth of flavor. I’m the opposite.

All of this is just my uneducated opinion, and many probably have different ideas than I do. To steal B.B.S.’s line….one man’s opinion.

You learn some new everyday. I never knew the 1926 and 1964 were aged that long already. Now I know why they are so damn tasty right away.

That's what Jorge told us at an event a couple years ago. He also told us that the tobacco in the Family Reverse #44 is aged for I believe 10 years prior to them being rolled. He said they had some tobacco that was up to 13-15 years old that they were considering maybe someday using in a special blend. Some of the other guys at that event can correct me if I have the number of years incorrect, but I think those are right.

Damn 10 years on the 44's nice. Wonder what the age for the 40th and 80th were?

 

[LouieD]

There is nothing better than an aged Anejo, IMHO. I have some from 2005 when I started my collection and they are just fantastic!!

 

[Not A Nice Person]

Opus get too mellow for me if they age over a year or so. The only one I've enjoyed aged was an XXX that had over a year on it, but I don't remember how much.

That's one cigar that IMHO definitely benefits from a year long nap. :thumbs:

I had my first xXx fresh and remember thinking "why the fuss?" . . . then I had a year-old one from a box pass and it was a whole different cigar.

GOFs are aged before release and good to go. Love 'em fresh out of the box myself.

But Anejos just seem to get better and better, at least up to the three year mark, which is the oldest I've smoked 'em at.

Oddly enough, an RP Edge corojo spent a few years in my humi and smoked great, much better than a fresh one---but I'm not sure if that was the aging, or just that Edges were much better smokes a few years ago! :laugh:

~Boar

 

[w00ts!te]

Oddly enough, an RP Edge corojo spent a few years in my humi and smoked great, much better than a fresh one---but I'm not sure if that was the aging, or just that Edges were much better smokes a few years ago! :laugh:

I found this to be also true with the GrayCliff 1666, another cheap smoke that with age is a totally different character.

Would it be true to say that a bolder cigar will end up aging the best? Light cigars already don't have much of a base flavor and will probably just get a very wooded flavor over time from the storage.

 

[thechenman]

Oddly enough, an RP Edge corojo spent a few years in my humi and smoked great, much better than a fresh one---but I'm not sure if that was the aging, or just that Edges were much better smokes a few years ago!

I found this to be also true with the GrayCliff 1666, another cheap smoke that with age is a totally different character.

Would it be true to say that a bolder cigar will end up aging the best? Light cigars already don't have much of a base flavor and will probably just get a very wooded flavor over time from the storage.

From what I have learned it is the stronger, more full bodied cigars that age the best. Especially with nice oily wrappers.

 

[jepe]

Nothing beats Acid Blondie with 10 years on it.

 

[Big Stick]

I always heard the stronger the cigar the better it ages? But Im still a grasshopper :thumbs: