Novice question about aging cigars

Good question. Typically people who buy and age cigars rarely buy and age one at a time. So an experienced smoker will smoke on of the batch that be bought (note he will always buy one box or singles from the same box). After smoking the tester he knows about how long it needs to sit depending on where the tobacco comes from and who makes it. It is like fruit. A cigar ripens. It can be under-ripe or over-ripe. The trick is catching it at the perfect moment.

You're not missing anything. And one doesn't know how long a cigar has been aged, either in the shop or in production. Of course, some lines like the Hemingways by Fuente have a statement of how long they've been aged in production. But then again, how long was it in the shop? And last, but certainly not least is how long one decides to age them in their own humidors. That's all a matter of preference.

Did it taste good right out of the shop? Is it too strong? Would the flavors perhaps come together better with three weeks, three months or three years in your own humidors? These are things that have to be decided with each purchase, and each different cigar. Through the years, especially when getting familiar with certain brands, experienced cigar smokers know what to expect from certain cigars, and what will happen in their own humidors as time passes. That way, when you buy certain cigars, you automatically know that they need a certain amount of aging in your own humidor.

And don't forget, almost all cigars are wrapped in cellophane. We have had discussions on this elsewhere in this forum. Cellophane wrapping will almost completely arrest the aging process, and cigars that have come straight from the shop haven't really aged since leaving the production site. That's so the manufacturer and store owners can get them into the hands of customers with a certain kind of flavor profile.

BUT, and that's where the consumer comes in. Whether or not to keep the strength and flavor profile of a brand new cigar by continuing to age it at home in cellophane, or whether to begin the aging process anew by removing the cellophane and noting how the cigar's characteristics change over time. This is something that each individual, according to their taste preferences, and knowledge of how certain cigars will age, eventually wind up making their own decisions.

So yes, if you see that someone has said they smoked a cigar that was aged for three weeks, that means in their own humidors. And unless that person is a complete beginner, they already know that prior to the rolling of the cigar, the various tobaccos used to make the cigar were aged for certain periods of time. Anything we do at home is merely extra aging acccording to personal preference.

The only thing that I would add is that most of the experienced smokers agree that you should let a cigar settle in a stable humidor for a few weeks before trying to give it a proper tasting.

Some cigar shops keep their humidors too high. If they are being shipped then they could be high or low depending on how they were shipped.

So... allowing it to settle, not age, allows you to get an accurate taste of the cigar.

Mike

That's right. Some of us discussed it on a couple other threads, how we will take two or three weeks after a purchase to actually try a cigar. Aging is really something that happens over the long term, and it's good you made the distinction. Although a cigar without cellophane in somebody's humidor at home is technically aging every day, the two or three weeks that many of us take to actually get around to smoking a freshly purchased cigar is really a "settling" period. Thanks, BossTweed.

I'm no boss... just a junkie in training. 8)

I've made great strides towards aging the past few months and managed to pick up some great boxes of aged cigars. Its worth the wait!

Mike

Anything less than 12 months can't be considered aging anyway, just resting a cigar. Serious smokers talking about aging a box of sticks are talking about years the box has been resting not a few months here and there. Just my dos centavos.

I'd really have to agree with that. I don't consider anything that I've had less than six months as having done any serious aging, and it's only after a year that you can really claim to have put some extra "age" on a cigar. Speaking of the results of aging, if youse guys/galzz haven't checked out my thread on the Trinidad I just smoked, that will be a certain kind of testimony. I was too scared to smoke it any time right after I got it. I'm sure it was two years in Desk Top III before I got to it. Even with that amount of extra "aging" I wish I had waited longer. :cryinlaugh:

while I agree with the one year rule for the most part I personally tend to think there are some exceptions. any vsg I have had for over a year loses so much of its flavor. I find them perfect after 9 months. something about the wrapper. but this is really the only cigar I have found that has such a drastic change within the first 12 months. all others I dont notice anything until at least 12 months of downtime. anyone else find this with the vsg's?

I find fresh VSGs to be a little too spicey for me, almost harsh. I was gifted some that had 3-4 years on them and they had this great sweet mellowness to them that was just awesome. I much prefer what they are like after some time. I have a bunch of churchills and belicosos sitting right now.

Mike

Oh, no question Macallan. Some cigars are best three months out of the shop, some three years. I was just affirming that what nmcowboy said about less than a year not being really enough to talk about having "aged" a cigar. I tend to find that many Cuban cigar experts have a tendency to refer to the word "aging" as a very long term process. It seems that many Cubans peak somewhere between two to ten years after purchase. Which is no problem, aging cigars is fun. :mrgreen:

thanks guys. makes sense.