Would you age a mild cigar? e.g. AVO

[collegestu]

I bought a box of AVO classic and wanted to know if I should bother ageing them. I know in most cases a cigar becomes smoother as it marrys the other tabacco with age. The problem that I see is that they are already mild as it is and I dont know/think ageing would enhance the flavor.

Any help would be great.

 

[360]

I'm no expert but I just read some good information on ageing cigars. Cigar Ageing

This is a snippet from that page.
"The best way to determine the impact of time on your cigars is to smoke one occasionally from an aging box and to take detailed tasting notes. I am certain that you will see drastic improvement in the quality of your smoking experience as you allow your cigars to age. However, regardless of the age, once you find a box that no longer is improving with time consider the smoking lamp lit and enjoy them!" :thumbs:

 

[lurch]

I bought a box of AVO classic and wanted to know if I should bother ageing them. I know in most cases a cigar becomes smoother as it marrys the other tabacco with age. The problem that I see is that they are already mild as it is and I dont know/think ageing would enhance the flavor.

Any help would be great.

Unless you smoke that one box reguarly I think you'll find that those sticks will age by default. By that I mean that as long as you keep a regular rotation of cigars going there's no way you can smoke all those cigars in the next couple years. Hell, I still have a fiver of Perdomo Lot 23s that I bought almost three years ago. Not because they're not good cigars, but because I keep a steady rotation of many other brands and vitolas.

 

[MadMonk]

I don't like any of Henke's smokes aged. But, that is me. You have to try for yourself, and see if you like the results.

 

[JHolmes763]

You might be able to bypass some of the waiting with a quick ISO. Maybe someone has a box that's sitting around and they'll trade 5 for 5 so you can see what an aged one tastes like. Or just smoke 'em slowly, as already mentioned and see if they get any better to you.

Just as tastes of regular cigars are subjective, so it is with aged cigars. Can you pick out the flavors and nuances enough to appreciate what an aged cigar brings? Are the nuances just your imagination because you know it's aged?

If I had a box of these sitting around, I'd send you an old and new and let you do a taste test to see if you can even tell the difference.

I personally prefer new cigars. Aging doesn't do anything for the flavors for me since it seems to mute them (to my palate).

Enjoy your journey, though.

-John

 

[SteveA]

I can't speak to the Avo's but I've had good results aging milder cigars. The Fuente Short Story is a good example. In my opinion they improve significantly with age. Also, some of the Davidoffs age very nicely.

 

[CigarDins]

Just as tastes of regular cigars are subjective, so it is with aged cigars. Can you pick out the flavors and nuances enough to appreciate what an aged cigar brings? Are the nuances just your imagination because you know it's aged?

If I had a box of these sitting around, I'd send you an old and new and let you do a taste test to see if you can even tell the difference.

-John

I think this is a very good point. I have a real hard time figuring out what the different tastes are on new cigars. Aged would be the same I would think.

What I have noticed however, and I have only done this with Oliva Maddies, they seem to get smoother as they go. Less ammonia burn when exhaling through the nose.

I am a newbie though.... so take the above for what its worth :thumbs:

 

[collegestu]

JHolmes763, Im not familiar with "ISO". What is it?

As for ageing. I thought the AVO XO was the classic, just aged for 5-10 years. But that is my problem. I know they are going to age just from not smoking them as lurch pointed out. I really would like to know if I should make an effort to smoke them. I was told by one of the guy who runs the local B&M that AVO classics dont age well. (I not to confident in what else he has told me). I wanted to verify this since I dont feel he is right for what else he has told me about cigars.

Any additional thoughts?

 

[tone-ny]

ISO is a new cigar brand that John is pushing!

ISO = In Search Of

 

[Bsneed51]

I was told by one of the guy who runs the local B&M that AVO classics dont age well. (I not to confident in what else he has told me). I wanted to verify this since I dont feel he is right for what else he has told me about cigars.

What he told you is not necessarily incorrect. Some cigars simply do not age well. Some get incredibly better with age. At least that has been my experience. However this is one of those things that I think is subject to personal preference, and can only be determined by you through trial and error.

 

[Hylan85]

In my experience, just buy multiple boxes (CP makes it easy to do that), and your smokes will age with no real intent or effort on your part by you simply having too many different cigars to choose from. So far the only box I have that hasn't survived was a RASS, they were just too good and I had to share with a few friends to show them that their flavored Drew Estates couldn't hang.

 

[tmoney2007]

I'll let you know how avo's age in a couple years, haha.

I've been holding on to some of the limited edition smokes that are more full bodied, so I don't know about classics.

I have had some cabaiguan imperiales that were old enough to be covered in plume and they tasted a bit smoother than fresh sticks.

 

[thechenman]

My opinion is that all cigars whether light, medium, full or anywhere in between can benefit from aging. The difference falls in the area of how long you would age your cigars. Milder cigars while benefiting from aging will likely hit their peak long before a full flavored cigar will. The question of whether you will be able to discern the differences in aging comes down to your palate. My general experience is that aged cigars do taste different from both ends of the spectrum and everywhere in between. While an AVO Campanero LE 2009 (medium-full) might need 5 or 6 years to hit its prime, and AVO XO (mild-medium), may only need 1 or 2 years. You won't know unless you sample them. My suggestion would be to smoke one now and another in 6 months. Do they seem any different to you. If not...then the cigars are ready to smoke as mentioned in the quote posted by 360. So by all means try one...age them and see for yourself.

 

[collegestu]

one question though, how can you remember how they taste 6 months later. I have written down what I think of a cigar, but my mind is not to gift for remembering.

 

[CigarDins]

one question though, how can you remember how they taste 6 months later. I have written down what I think of a cigar, but my mind is not to gift for remembering.

Write everything down that you think of while smoking it... at least what you think of the cigar that is. Then when you smoke it 6 months later, just compare.