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Your experiences with Aged, non-Cuban, Cigars

MadMonk

MadMonk

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Feb 21, 2008
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This topic was a bit tricky for me to determine which forum to place it in.
 
We have a lot of folks who have fairly large collections and I would guess that it is inevitable that some of their Cigars are going to accumulate a good bit of age. I'm curious about your experiences with Aged non-Cuban cigars. Which cigars aged well? How old were they? Which improved significantly, turned flat and uneventful, changed and remained good but, nothing noteworthy, etc. I'd love to read some of your experiences, which Cigars, and especially the age and conditions under which they were stored.
 
I'll add some of my experiences after I smoke a few more of my older cigars. Found a forgotten box of about 10 mixed cigars that I put together for a trip back around 2007 or so. I want to smoke all of them first.
 
I have had great success aging Padron Churchills. I think they had about 3 years on them. I smoked the hell out of them due to them being SO good, and not wanting to press my luck. I do have some of the Puff-n-Stuff Le Bijou and the Blue Label Lanceros he had collaborated with Pepin on. I guess I need to add those to my "time to try one" list. All this started because I finally started some long overdue Humidor Tetris. My humidor is set at about 69% humidity. I'd love to bump it up to 70-72 but too damned leary of mold. 
 
It really depends on the cigar.  I've had boxes of Padron Exclusivos that turned into "air cigars" over time (3-5 years).  Almost flavorless.  Probably because they were very well aged in the box, and should have been smoked rather than let sit.  I agree with Mike, most Pepin blended and rolled sticks seem to age quite well.  
 
But, even with smokes from the forbidden island, and even with proper storage, I think all cigars do have a shelf life.  How long is really dependant on the blend, how the tobacco was processed, how the tobacco was aged.
 
One very interesting question is how the recent changes in the way tobacco is processed on the 'island south of Miami' will affect their long term aging potential.  So far, there are many opinions on but no real answers, Off topic for this thread, but the point is there are changes coming there, as well.
 
Tom, Yes, I did hear that about Cuban cigars. Should be real interesting to watch over the next several years. I made a mistake and overbought some Padron 26 and 64. I kept them but was seriously disappointed. Someday I'll figure out what to do with them. 
 
CC's I've recently purchased smoked great right off the truck.  Will they still be good in 5-10 years?  It's an interesting question.
 
Some folks will say differently, but my experience with Padron 64's, 26's, 40ths, 80ths, and FR's is that you should buy 'em to smoke, not to age.  I've had poor luck with any of those with much more than a year or two on them.
 
For those of us with cabinets and collections of more than a couple boxes, how things will smoke down the road is a real consideration.  Interesting thread, Dan.
 
Indeed, Tom. Getting into my Cabinet, and having slowed down from 5 cigars a day, I have a lot of smokes with 5 or more years on them. Probably 25-30% of my stock. Hell, it's really making me rethink a few things.
 
I might have to infuse some with Pineapple!  :laugh:
 
Danno, excellent topic.  On average, I usually get around to smoking something about a year and a half after it makes it into my Winedor.  I think both NCs and CCs need some time.  I run anywhere between 66-69%, 65 degrees F.  For long-term aging, I have a box of Padron 1926 Serie Maduro #2s (March '08; they've aged well), Ashton VSG Belicoso #1s (March '07; they've lost almost all of their spice), and a box of Vegas Robaina Unicos (UPE JUL 12; I'll let you know if a few years). 
 
Other than that, a lot of singles from the '08-'13 timeframe, all with results ranging from amazing to blah.
 
BlindedByScience said:
One very interesting question is how the recent changes in the way tobacco is processed on the 'island south of Miami' will affect their long term aging potential.  So far, there are many opinions on but no real answers, Off topic for this thread, but the point is there are changes coming there, as well.
Click to expand...
 
Tom, I've been wondering this quite a bit lately.  Without the ammonia & tannins as prevalent in cigars coming out of Cuba since 2010, they've smoked much better young.  But if those compounds aren't around to break down in the later maturations, can these cigars become what MRN calls "ethereal?"  I'm going to be following the big time collectors here very closely to see what opinions they have on this.
 
Anejo and Opus lines from Fuente are both remarkably better after 1-3 years of aging time.  I don't have the patience or the budget, but when I've been fortunate to obtain some from those as do, the differences were obvious.
 
Dion insisted, when he released his Epernay line, that the blend was the same as the ~eccj~ and the only difference was aging.  A few years later, Epernay from the first release were proving him right.
 
That's about the extent of my experience.  A friend sent me a Cuban RyJ churchill once that had five years of careful aging, though, and that thing smoked like silk.  Just phenomenal.  Tons and tons of thick, smooth, cool smoke and even nubbing it, it didn't heat up at all.
 
~Boar
 
Not A Nice Person said:
Anejo and Opus lines from Fuente are both remarkably better after 1-3 years of aging time.
Click to expand...
 
And, here is the crux of it....I'd agree that Anejo's smooth out remarkably and benefit from a few years down, but I've smoked Aged OpusX's and thought they were over the hill; airy, flavors light to MIA.
 
Difference here is....personal preference and perception.  Neither is wrong, and both are right...... :cool:   It's one aspect of this hobby that holds my interest.
 
Just finished up a Padilla 1932 Churchill from 2008. This was one gifted to me from a great CP BOTL. It was the Pepin Produced version which I hadn't smoked any of these since about the time Pepin dropped Padilla.
 
Every box of these I ever bought were probably smoked within a month. One of my top two all time favorite cigars.
Based on my memory...which I trust less as I get older, it does not have the sweet baking spice elements like I remember in the fresh ones. It is, however, still a very fine cigar. Plenty of rounded flavor reminiscent of a more powerful leathery and peppery cuban. I can even taste a trace of the tannins and maybe even an almost imperceptible trace of Ammonia. This cigar still has plenty of character and got better and better as it approached the finish. I honestly think it can remain a really good smoke for another year or two. . 
 
Not A Nice Person said:
 
Dion insisted, when he released his Epernay line, that the blend was the same as the ~eccj~ and the only difference was aging.  A few years later, Epernay from the first release were proving him right.
Click to expand...
How did I of all people forget to mention the Epernay?!  Good point, Boar.  That's a cigar that totally shines with time.  Narrower ring gauges like the Le Matin are good to go after about a year.  The fatter cigars need at least a couple years to smooth out.  The ~eccj~ 15th is freaking magical right now.
 
Great thread and a very interesting question.
I've been wondering about that too but I don't think I have the patience to let cigars sit for 3 years.
Longest will probably be from Winter to Spring
 
BlindedByScience said:
 
Anejo and Opus lines from Fuente are both remarkably better after 1-3 years of aging time.
Click to expand...
 
And, here is the crux of it....I'd agree that Anejo's smooth out remarkably and benefit from a few years down, but I've smoked Aged OpusX's and thought they were over the hill; airy, flavors light to MIA.
 
Difference here is....personal preference and perception.  Neither is wrong, and both are right...... :cool:   It's one aspect of this hobby that holds my interest.
 
Click to expand...
 
I'm not sure what counts as "aged" for you, but I absolutely agree that tastes and preferences vary, and should. :)  I was basing my inclusion of Opus there on ONE example (because when I get Opus in, they don't stand a CHANCE of being around long enough to age! :laugh: ) on a fiver of xXx a friend sold me that had a year+ on them.  I'd just had a couple fresh xXx recently, and . . . wow.  Was there ever a difference, and hooo, buddy, did I ever like it!  :love:
 
~Boar
 
In my experience, Opus can lose a lot of their great flavors. BUT hell, I guess there are so many variables. I've had fresh ones that were flavor bombs or Dead and flat (could have been poor handling,. B&M buying someones stash, etc) and highly aged ones that were also flavor bombs with a very prominent raisin sort of flavor; fraking delicious. I am convinced that they need to be stored above 69 to about 72 to keep them more flavorful. I have a couple of Petit Lanceros from at least 6 years ago. I should try to smoke one soon.

I'm too damned busy and forgetful but I'm considering putting together a couple/few fivers of my oldest Padron 26 and 64 to let folks taste what happens to them as they age. Again, my humidor is about 68-69 It's a pain in the ass to get an accurate reading due to the cycling nature of the controller Staebel uses. I need to see if I can turn off the temp and have it read only humidity long enough to get a better idea.
 
Not A Nice Person said:
 
I'm not sure what counts as "aged" for you, but I absolutely agree that tastes and preferences vary, and should. :)  I was basing my inclusion of Opus there on ONE example (because when I get Opus in, they don't stand a CHANCE of being around long enough to age! :laugh: ) on a fiver of xXx a friend sold me that had a year+ on them.  I'd just had a couple fresh xXx recently, and . . . wow.  Was there ever a difference, and hooo, buddy, did I ever like it!  :love:
 
~Boar
Click to expand...
 
What is 'aged' and what isn't 'aged' is a pretty subjective question.  If it's a bottle of Pappy, if it makes it more than a week around here that stuff is seriously aged.... :laugh:  For the purposes of discussion, I'd say anything over two years is 'aged'.  Keep in mind, however, that sticks that have been kept in stable storage for six months or so can and usually will benefit from proper RH and temperatures.  Most B&M's store their sticks hella wet.  Getting the RH back in the right area makes a tremendous difference in how a stick smokes and tastes.
 
Yup, big differences among off the truck, acclimated and aged. Most of mine make it to the acclimated stage and takes longer than many might think. Rarely, if ever does a cigar make it to two years around here, unless someone is kind enough to do it for me.
 
Doc
 
Ashton aged maduros and VSG's seemed even smoother after 2 years of aging without losing any flavor.

L'atelier was noticeably better after just acclimating for 6 months, never made it to 2 years.

I don't care for Illusione but I had a cruzado hiding in my humidor for 3 years and that ended up being delicious.

I've got a box of Mummy's still aging just cuz I havent had 2 hours for a smoke lately. Anyone had one lately?
 
I had a mummy a couple months ago on a warm November day. It was delicious. It didn't take me 2 hours, but I notice I'm a faster smoker than most. I believe it took me about 1 hour and 20 minutes or so. Make time for it, it's a hell of a smoke!

C
 
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