Do all cigars get better with age?

[other1]

I recently set up an overflow coolerdor at home. I purchased my first box recently and realized, one, I cant really fit whole boxes easily in my humidors, and two, fitting 25 identical singles in my two humirdors seems silly. So, I set up the coolidor pretty much only for boxes... Anyway... Currently it has only one box in it. I'm thinking I'd like to get a couple more boxes to put away and just forget about for a year or more. Would this help any cigars? For instance, if I put a box of Padron 3000s, one of my favorites, would I notice they were markedly better with a year of age than they are when I smoke them relatively fresh as I have been? Any suggestions for cheap boxes that aren't so great fresh but would be worth aging? (in other words, don't tell me to get a few boxes of Monte A's and age those ). thanks!

 

[lucasbuck]

IME nearly all cigars improve with age. Some more then others of course. Your example of the Padron 3000's is interesting because I've seen many reports of these improving with age. You may want to consider Connies as they are cheap and can be very good with a year or more in your humi.

 

[Tony Bones]

To a point they improve w/ age. Don't get all hot and bothered and think that it's not OK to smoke young sticks though. Many smoke well w/ less than a yr. of age on them and really don't gain a ton thereafter...except maybe that they mellow some.

Cigars can also lose some of their flavors if their aged too long. Cigars, like everything, have a peak.

Not to worry though. We're talking 10-30+ years for things to start deteriorating, depending on the specific stick.

 

[other1]

Oh, I'm not fretting. I'm just thinking.. I have room for a few boxes in there.. If I can buy a box of $2 sticks and let 'em sit there for a year and they'll be as good as $6 sticks I might as well do it.

 

[psyktek]

I think there are a lot of factors to consider. First, rely on information from the experienced smokers on this board (cf. LucasBuck's comment on Consuegras).

Second, if a cigar seems harsh, rough, chemical-tasting, then (assuming a known brand to begin with) aging will probably improve it. If it justs tastes "blah", doesn't appeal to you then aging is likely not going to do anything to help it; consider trading it, using it in a pass, bombing someone. Your poison may be someone else's caviar.

This is why the Newbie Sampler thread is so helpful. You get a chance to try a number of different smokes, all of which have been aged, and all of which are smokes that the person sending them likes.

Confused yet? As you smoke more, you will find brands that you really like, others you can't stand, and some that fall in the middle. Eventually, you will narrow down to a few standbys that you will routinely buy boxes of, and use five-packs or trades to expand your horizons.

My .02, and (mostly) HO.

 

[emodx]

First off, aging doesn't always treat all cigars equally. The ones that do not respond well to 2+ years of age are your light bodied cigars. Aristoff, Don Diego, Macanudo, Temple Hall, most of your lighter Dominicans.
Most of your Domestic cigars in the Medium-Full category will peak within 2-5 years. In this category falls: A. Fuente, Bolivar, CAO, Cohiba, ERDM, Por Larranaga, HdM's, H Upmann, Montecristo, Padron, RyJ, etc. Very few Domestic's will continue to age for the better past 4 years. A lot of Cubans are considered "just smokeable" at 3-4 years.
Only the strongest domestics seem to age wll past 5 years or so. I am just speculating on some of these: Joya Antano's(?), Brazilia(?), Bolivar Fuerte, Flor de Allones, HO's(?), Opus(?). Many of your Cuban brands seem to hit their stride at 5 years also.
So it will take some experimentation and asking around to find out whi cigars are smoking well at a given age. Make sure to pencil in on the box when you bought it and where for how much. This will help you immensly. Just my 2 cents. YMMV

Emo

 

[dvickery]

other1
this is the article that got me thinking about aging cigars(5 years ago) .

http://www.cigarnexus.com/counsel/aging/index.html

some things in this article i now disagree with(10+ years being bland for eg.)but it got me thinking about aging cigars...the rest is a slippery slope.

derrek

 

[other1]

Interesting. Of course the first statement in his article 'all cigars should be aged for at least one year' leaves me the problem of, what do I smoke for the next year? I think I'll definitely invest in a few boxes to age though. I've got one box of short stories aging, I think I'll pick up a box of padrom 3ks to age, and maybe another random box.

 

[PuroBrat]

You may want to consider Connies as they are cheap and can be very good with a year or more in your humi.

#30M being my fave, and I will say that at about $1 each, they are a steal. I wish I could get other things that taste like $5 for a single $1.

 

[other1]

The 30Ms seem like a good choice, so, of course, they are out of stock.

 

[emodx]

A lot of the Connies are fresh off the truck when you buy them from JR's. 9, 30, 733, etc. Basiclly the popular sizes of most cigars. So a minimum of 6 months in the humi for them to loose all that excess moisture and smoke good. A year and they hit their stride. I have smoke a few 9M's with 3 years of age on them and they smoked awesome!
The article fails to point out, that ageing time should be from when the cigars are boxed. If you buy a box from the retailer, how long have they had the box sitting in the humidor? 3 weeks, 3 months, or 3 years? Most retailers to not label or mark their inventory with the date they receive it. So the only way they know how old the cigars are is from invoice receipts from prior orders. If the vendor doesn't roatate stock like they should, you could be potentially buying a box of cigars with a few years of box age.
So after being long winded, cigar ageing takes a good bit of patience and a carefull eye. Make sure to smoke a cigar from the stock you plan on ageing every so often so you don't miss the peak.

Emo