Aged Cigars

Joined Aug 2004
2K Posts | 1+
Someone had asked this question on another site.

I thought it would be a good topic to discuss here.

How long does it take for a cigar to become aged? :?:
 
How long is a little age?

How old is an aged cigar??

What makes a vintage cigar - vintage???
 
I think it has to do with the cigar. Some cigars hit their peak at 3-5 years and some need more and some need less. One of the articles I read recently discussed how there may be a bell curve of sorts on cigar aging and that once it hits its peak it plateaus and then begins an almost downward period. During this time the stick becomes more and more bland and no more good can come of aging. This article also suggested that Cubans generally age better for longer periods of time. This was also stated in other posts on other boards...
 
I have some cigars left over from my wedding in 1970, & that isnt the oldest in my humi, I like a cigar with about 2 years in the humi but I smoke them the day I buy them , depends on my attitude at the time, a Vintage cigar is one that all the tabacco comers from the same year, the Partagas 150, 160 have 18 year old wrappers but a fresh filler, thus non vintage . so I have been told , smoke them now, what ever you want , no telling when your number is up , so SMOKE them NOW !!! Enjoy, Vince
 
:shock:
i just wrote out a 30 minute response in microsoft word with links that got lost in a power blink :(

its 2 AM ill get back to it later.



:cry:
 
Woohoo!!! Computer saved most of it!!


What is age? Age is time. But why do we age? The more time a cigar has in the right conditions the more the flavors marry within the cigar. The essential oils within the cigar blend and smooth out. This usually leads to a smoother taste, less harshness, and a better burn.

For me there are three stages: fresh, rested, aged.

There is a bit of overlap in these.

Well, not fresh. To me, a fresh cigar is one from the shop or right out of the mail box. 0- 4 weeks.

A rested cigar has spent some time in MY humidor. It is at MY humidity. It isn’t aged but it isn’t brand new or fresh. 2 weeks on up to about a year is rest for me. I will almost never smoke a cigar that is younger than 6 weeks. I find that I enjoy them more with some resting.

Aged... that is a harder question.

This all depends on the fullness or strength of the cigar.

This all depends on the fullness, or strength, of the cigar. A cigar with a Connecticut shade wrapper can have an aged taste as early as one year (or maybe even before) I find for this mild wrapper type any more time ages away the flavor. They become so smooth that it becomes harder to taste. The burn is great though.

A medium strength cigar can take longer to age… but again after a while it’s not going to make much difference.

A full strength cigar can take the longest.

Scratch that. Tubos take the longest. Some say that cigars in tubes can take 10+ years to age. The air tight container makes all the difference.

In theory, a cigar can be good indefinitely if kept up on. In practice, a cigar is a %100 natural (organic in many cases) product. There are no preservatives. This means that from the moment the leaves are picked they begin to break down. How the breaking down process is controlled is up to us and this is what makes a cigar good/bad. This breaking down of the oils in the cigar is what makes it less harsh. Eventually you will get to a point where there is nothing left to break down or it has broken down too far. I don’t know why you would want to, but you can “over age” a cigar.

I am conducting an experiment in aging. I had 5 El Cobres. I smoked one before I started doing my reviews. A few weeks later I smoked and reviewed this one:
http://cigar.ambackforum.com/viewtopic. ... 883#359883
About a year after placing them in my humi I reviewed this one:
http://cigar.ambackforum.com/viewtopic. ... 011#423011

Three or so years from now (5 years from time in humi) I’ll smoke and review the fourth one. Five years from that (ten total years of age) ill smoke the last. I know you guys can’t wait for that. … Better hop in your time machine.

I also have a few in tubes that will see 10+ years.

When I have a kid …er- IF I have a kid I will run out a few days before the birth and buy 3 cigars. One I will smoke on the day of the birth. The others will be shared on their 18th birthday.

But… 18 years? Isn’t that too much age? In Cigar aficionado there is a “connoisseur’s corner” with some damn fine smokes in there. I picked up the one on the floor next to me (Oct 07) and opened up to said corner.
- HDM double corona 1992 (15 years age) rated 99
- Davidoff Château Margaux 1988 (19 years aged) 98
- Cohiba robusto 1991 (16 years aged) 96
Too old you say?
I hope some day to have a 20 year old Cuban.

Personally, I try to smoke most at about the 6 month range. Special ones will last longer.

As for vintage… I like the explanation Vince had.
 
I've smoked some 10 - 20 year old cigars that were AMAZING!!!
For a cigar to be aged that long it had to be a strong cigar to start
with. Mellow smokes don' do well on the 10+ aging plan.
On a side note- I was gifted a cigar yesterday from the 50's :shock:
 
I don't know how applicaple this would be to cigar aging, but it did open my mind to some different things about aging....G.L. Pease says that pipe tobacco hits its prime in the 2-3 year mark. Now, I know that isn't very long for a cigar, but if its in a tube that is air tight (like a tin of pipe tobacco)....well...who knows...I like vince's idea...you never know when your checking out...smoke 'em if you got 'em.
 
Interesting thread. I have smoked cigars from 1910, and every decade up to now in between and I can safely say you can age a cigar too long. In my opinion, with few exceptions any cigar older that 25 years is most certainly in its decline. I for me a little age is 3-5 years and aged is 5-12. I find after 12 you can really hit a decline. My ideal range is 3 to 7
 
I tend to prefer my cigars to be rested, as Matt described it. 4 - 6 weeks in my humidor is pretty good for me. I generally don't have the patience to wait 2 or 3 years to smoke something. Whenever I get a box of Cubans, they're generally all gone within 6 months.
On the other hand, I have a handful of cigars that have been in the humi for 2 or 3 years, and I'm looking forward to smoking them to see if the wait has been worth it.
I've had a few that I let rest for about a year before I smoked them...they were absolutely wonderful. I don't remember what they were, but they were rolled right in front of me. I'd consider them to be "well rested." A little more than just "rested,' but not quite aged yet. I think I have one left.
 
I have never smoked a cigar form 1910,,,,,,,

But I am pretty much on the same line as Alex. I would say in the 10 to 20 is perfect for me

That being said I smokled a cigar from 69 that was outstanding!
 
It depends ont eh cigar, but 5-10 I think of as aged. 3-5 is well rested and is when the cigars losses most of its tannic properties.

The oldest cigar I have had was 23 years old, and it still had strength and a lot of flavor.It was really good.
 
This is an interesting topic! I am having trouble thinking on how I would store cigars with a five year aging period in mind. If I smoke 1 cigar per day (I personally would average at least that given I smoke less in the winter and more in the summer) that would mean I would have to have around 1825 cigars stored and buy one a day to replace the one I am currently smoking. I would not have to buy 1825 cigars at once but instead 365 cigars per year for five years and smoke non-aged cigars during that period. We usually start with a storage capacity of around a 100 cigars and soon increase that amount rapidly. I currently have a 100 ct humi, 150 ct humi, 300 ct humi, and a fridgedor that holds approx. 600 cigars. I would need to double my capacity.

Damm I need a walk-in humidor!!!!
 
Usually the way it works is someone buys a box or even better 2 of something they like. Putting them into the back of the cabinet.
Many people will rest a box for 30 days & then try 1 cigar.
From here allowing 5-6 months to a year before they pull out another cigar and sample.
At that time jump you can see how the cigars is coming along.
I'd add that there can be flavors hidden that don't come out for years. Finding them is the sport of sports!
Seeing where the progress is a, smoker might feel the need for another 6 months to a year.
Again smoking a sample & thinking about the difference between the cigar from the last smoke.
Many cigars can become amazing with a short rest & some will with more time. It's hard to explain how much a cigar can change with time -
Now maybe I'd try a few if they seem to be waking up.
If not another long nap trying that 2 year mark then the 3.
At somepoint you may have smoked much of your first box, but have learned a lot about that cigar and how it is developing.
At some point they may really taste right "to you" -
time to open the sealed box & burn them!!!!
Maybe saving a few for that 10 year mark?????
 
I know what you are getting at and that is what I am trying to do now on about four boxes of cigars. My point was if you want to smoke only aged cigars (5 yrs or more) you need a huge storage capacity and maybe I can use this strategy to convince my wife I need a walk-in humidor (like that would happen). I have smoked cigars for forty years and most of those forty years I smoked whiteowls right out of the box without any humidification or aging time and you know I enjoyed them. I wonder if I would now?
 
I do both - Dog & Truck as well as smoked aged cigars.
My everyday smokes are nice rested a month -
I can't see doing more for what they are.
BUT - I have smoked some aged cigars that were AMAZING!
I true experience beyond daily life & even the bonds of time. :shock:

(not sure if it was the age - but it didn't get in the way!) :wink:
 
i dont have the time/effort/space to age ALL of my smokes. i do have a 120ct humidor thats about 2/3 of the way full of cigars i wanna age. I wont pull em out of there if they are less than 2 years old. most of my cigars are out of my other humis. i dont age out of those... i rotate. if they get some age- good for them. sometimes i just am not in the mood for that particular cigar for over a year. whatever.

i usually age special cigars or costly ones ... or cigars that i have read do well with age.