Aged cigars

C

CastleCrest

Joined Aug 2004
2K Posts | 1+
Wondering how many people here keep more than just a desk top?
Or have a cabinet to keep more than a box or 2?

To be clear - to me 6 months is not ageing, that is resting.
To age a cigar is at least a year.

I often buy aged cigars & have a few cigars (40-50) that have been in my humidor for over a year.
I have 2 cabs of(50) Por Laranga PC I bought in 04 that are still mostly untouched.
6 months in- I smoked one to see how they were doing -
other than that they are just sleeping.
Maybe it's time to break one out.
I do have some aged stock I bought that way.
The way Misa & I (mostly I) smoke it is hard to keep much stock around.
Mostly the hard to find stuff and expensive stays the longest.
One thing I did to solve the problem was to put a small cabinet
(Aristocrat Mini) in my smoking room.
Everything else is up stairs.
My home is 3 floors so I usually am to lazy to climb two flights of stairs unless there is a good reason.
I will take a few of this and a few of that & load the Mini
or my traveldor & that was I smoke everyday.

For a special moment & cigar party I will take the travoldor to the upstairs cabinet and load it up!


Mostly wondering how many here have set anything aside for any period of time.
As well - if you have even let stuff rest for 2-6 months how much have you noticed they taste better?
Thanks!
CC
 
I have just recently started the aging process with as you said, the more "Expensive" sticks I have in inventory. I currently have about 6-8 boxes worth of sticks that have been sleeping for about 7 months. I did manage to smoke at least one of everything after about a 2 week sleep from shipping. Everything so far seems to get better with a little aging, definately the darker maduro wrappers and of course our cuban friends. I had some choix supremes that really just get great in 6 months so I can't wait to see how they are in another 6. I also heep 2 150 desk tops that are usually my everyday smokes and the sticks that I will be giving out if someone wanted to have a smoke with me and didn't have their own. No dog rockets, but no Opus types, though I do keep Bolivar Regentes in there simply cause I love them and they are a great 30 minute smoke!

I'm definately looking forward to more months to go by and take another barometer test though!!!
 
I've had my Cabinet, Which holds about 30-40 boxes for almost a year....I've had a few boxes in there about a year now...

I'm looking forward to recieving some boxes and keeping them for years, especially a lot of cubans I plan to buy!
 
I started about 2 months ago with my first humidor and then added a second about 3 weeks later. I keep the second humidor (which is larger) stocked with cigars that I intend to let sit for at least 2-3 months and longer. The first humidor (the smaller one) is filled with ones that I am trying or I doubt will last for 2 months.

I have noticed the difference in the Punch Rare's that I have smoked right away and that I have let sit for just over a month. Smoother - burned better. I am looking forward to smoking the others in the fall and later.
 
Kelvin said:
I have noticed the difference in the Punch Rare's that I have smoked right away and that I have let sit for just over a month. Smoother - burned better. I am looking forward to smoking the others in the fall and later.
Click to expand...

yes - something about becoming stable really improves the flavor!
 
definately, sorry I was wrapped up in how yummy those sticks are while I wrote my little message. Improved were the burn, in some that took a little nurturing at first burn razor sharp after time in bed. Flavor seems to loose the newness and mellows in a good way, not that a potent cigar is any less potent 6-8 months later, but it tends to introduce itself as a gentlemen first and then gives you a very firm handshake instead of coming up and catching you with a stiff upper cut and not apologizing!? If that makes sense. I've notice with some of the cubans that I have that a few seem to get sweeter with age? The wrappers have a hint of sweetness that I don't remember having previously.
 
Many times age will bring out flavors that are hidden with youth!

Each part of the blend has oils that are part of it's make up.
With time the oild tend to blend.
Often the the stronger flavors will mellow a little to allow
the sweeter flavors to come forward.

I have been amazed at what can happen to a cigar that has serious age on it.

I was thinking about how many times I've heard that a cigar was a little harsh when first lite 7 then mellowed out.
Not all, but many cigars will loss that first harshness upon lighting
if let to rest a month or more.

I say this from personal experience, nothing more!
 
CC:

I have been taking notes from this forum which I refer to as Cigar University. The hardest thing for me has been to get in a new smoke and then hold on to it - but I now see how much difference it makes. I am jonesin for the Cohiba that I have had in the humidor for a week - but I plan on saving that till it's ready.
 
Kelvin said:
CC:

I have been taking notes from this forum which I refer to as Cigar University. The hardest thing for me has been to get in a new smoke and then hold on to it - but I now see how much difference it makes. I am jonesin for the Cohiba that I have had in the humidor for a week - but I plan on saving that till it's ready.
Click to expand...

It will worth the wait!

I think the best way to see this first had is by buying a box.
Smoke one the first day then wait 2 weeks.
then wait 2 month & so on till 6 months.
If you then can wait 6 months you will find how true it is!
Then starts the Madness!
Buying boxes to sit for a few months and then boxes to age
& then a cabinet then a walk in and then - well then
life is GOOD!
 
You guys have me hooked. I am sitting in a luncheonette looking at a cabinet above the counter thinking "what if they lined it with Spanish Cedar? what a great humidor that would be?"
 
I have a box of RDC 2 years old and a couple of other boxes of opus that just celegrated their first birthday in my humidior in June :D I also have a mix of other things.

2 boxes that I am watching very closely though are a box of davidoff mill. robusto and box of mill. churchill. They are about 10 months now and I have heard the longer you age these babies the better they get.

Here is a question for castle. You are wealth of knowledge. I find that some cigars can be aged to long. How long is too long? I realize it varies by cigar but is there a rule of thumb for the cubans?

I ask because my birthday is July 31 and I am buying a box of cubans. I plan on smoking a cigar on my birthday and new years eve for the next 12 years. Will the cigar loose too much of its flavor over 12 years?
 
Kelvin, not saying that you buy cheap furniture, so please so not take this wrong. Most furniture built for any other function other then a humidor, often times, will not make a very good humidor. A humidor is a very taxing unit because you are basically creating a tropical environment inside the unit at all times! If the joints are not strong the humidity will cause warping that could open holes or cause doors not to open or close tightly. I have seen folks have major mold and mildew problems, and if the wood is laminate....Forget it! Once again, this is not a blanket statement, and this is not to say that you could not do it, it is simply information you may not had, or thought of the ramifications. :wink:
 
i bet they wont if you seal them in a zip lock bag or something. seems to me that cigars wont age at all if you put them in a few zip locks and keep them in the freezer.
 
Eclipseman:

I know I would never be able to build it right - it's just now I see humidors and walk-in storage closets in my mind. This obsession that started a few months ago has affected my brain.
 
I hear ya my friend! Why do you think my signature asks if there is crack in these things! :) Once you get into it, it begins to run a little out of control. For something to store some boxes in, make a coolidor and line it with some spanish cedar. I'm finishing mine up tonight, I'll post some pics tonight! 55 cubic foot ice chest 55.00 bucks, spanish cedar 30 bucks, glue sticks for hot glue gun, 2.00 , radio shack digital hydrometer and thermometer - 18.00 = 105.00!! I have about 8 or so boxes with plenty of room left!
 
Like Macallan I have some boxes of Opus that have been sleeping for a couple of years as well as a few boxes of Añejo's and Rare Corojo's. The oldest smokes I have though are some boxes of PAM Monarcas that I bought in Dec 2001. I recently opened a box of them up and have yet to have one burn uneven. They are also less full-bodied than when I first bought them. As for the Fuentes, I'll let you know around Christmas :) I also recently picked up a box of 100 Años which will sleep for a while.
But now that you are partly responsible for getting me hooked on the finer leaf, I'm gonna do some ageing with those as well. Once I figure out the proper timer schedule for the fans in my frigador, that's were they'll sleep. My everyday NC smokes are in a 300ct desktop, Cubans in a 100ct, and everything else stays in a 72qt. coolerdor, 500ct "footlocker" humidor and a 2000ct cabinet.
 
Smoking aged stock is definitely a goal to acheive. In my opinion this takes time though and is a goal that cannot be reached over night. With patience and of course time it is an acheivable goal and well worth the endevour. The boxes I've managed to hold onto and dip into on occassion blow me away with the improvement I've noticed in the relatively short time I've been trying to age them (a couple of years).

An example being a box of BBF's I've held onto from early 03. The cigars are heaven sent. I recently purchased a box from Oct 04 and tried one as a baseline, can't really say it resembled the same cigar as those from a box 18 months or so older. It was a real eye opener for me what time will do for truly premium cigars.
 
CastleCrest: Those Por Larranaga Petit Coronas are very very good. I have a cab from July 2004.

I have a cabinet with 13 boxes and a few other singles which I can't fit in my desktop. Perhaps my oldest cigars are my 5 year old Cohiba Siglo IIs and they are awesome especially after the aging.
I also recently bought a box of Partagas Astorias and later found out they were discountinued stock. Now I'm torn between smoking them or keeping them! The horrors!
 
jihiggs said:
i bet they wont if you seal them in a zip lock bag or something. seems to me that cigars wont age at all if you put them in a few zip locks and keep them in the freezer.
Click to expand...


I know very serious collector that vacum seals all his boxes for long term storage. He says no are slows the sgeing process, but makes for a better cigar. With a large enough collection - letting boxes stay for
10 years at a time, the best possible smoke is attained.
Freezing for long times is not a good idea.
It drys out the cigars and will ruin them.
(not a fast freeze for a few days) people freeze t prevent beetles.
But that is different than aging!
 
I am a massive fan of ageing my cigars, particularly the Cubans. I have a cabinet that holds about 10 boxes and is currently loaded with my Cuban collection of:

Partagas Series D #4 Reserva
Partagas 8-9-8 (These have been ageing for about 18 months and are just getting better and better)
Montecristo Limitied Edition 'C'
a few boxes of Montecristo #4's
RyJ Belicosos and some RyJ Churchills en tubo
and possibly my prize possession...a box of Cohiba Esplendidos, I've smoked a few before, but not from this box. They have been sat in the humidor for nearly a year now, and hopefully this box will last me 1 per year till I'm 48!....mmmm... :)

As for desktops - I have a cuban and non cuban desktop. These are stocked up whenever I go home home i.e. not barracks! - and contain my everyday smokes - short stories, monte #4's, rocky patels, Cusanos, some smaller Cohibas and plenty of diplomas! :wink:

What a great passion we all get to enjoy!! :hypercolor:
 
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