question about cubans

[Drake]

why is it that when a cuban cigar is mentioned, the year it was made is almost always mentioned, but that's not the case with domestics? does cuban tobacco change flavor more from year to year?

[basil]

That's a good question that I think is better answered by folks with more experience than mine. I'm going to guess that ISOMs are aged more frequently than non-Cs and so a year is used to identify as well as the name. I don't think there are years that especially mark good quality - could be wrong though - but some years are better in regard to bumper crops. I know some ISOMs don't need any aging to be very good.

Along with your question, I'd like to know what cigars especially benefit from aging - ISOMs or otherwise. I'd think that if someone were to invest money in a high end box of cigars of any kind, they'd be prone to invest the time as well.

[Kenyth]

Personally, I think all cigars should have the harvest year and or production batch on them somewhere. Being a fermented agicultural product, the flavor can vary significantly from year to year and batch to batch. I've had a couple smokes that I thought were pretty damn good, turn out so-so when I bought a second run of them. Consistency problems like this tend to be found less often in higher end cigars. For instance, every single Cohiba (Red Dot) I've smoked has tasted pretty much the same.

[The Master]

In general all Cuban cigars need to be aged. Cuba does not age their tobacco or age their finished product. In contrast mfgs. like Fuente and Padron age their tobacco for years and then age their finished product for many months and even years in some cases.

Cuban cigars also taste different depending on how long they have been aged. A 2 year old Cuban will taste very different from a 5 year old one.

[basil]

In general all Cuban cigars need to be aged. Cuba does not age their tobacco or age their finished product. In contrast mfgs. like Fuente and Padron age their tobacco for years and then age their finished product for many months and even years in some cases.

Cuban cigars also taste different depending on how long they have been aged. A 2 year old Cuban will taste very different from a 5 year old one.

Ahh. Thanks for your input.

[The Master]

Glad I could be of help.

[Lopaka]

This is why I love these Cigar Boards. I just learned something new, thanks Master! I didn't know that about Cuban Cigars.

[CoventryCat86]

Yes, THANK YOU Harris!!

You were able to say in 75 words what would have taken me at least 500! and I STILL probably would have missed some of the main points!

[Bubba -NJ]

Personally, I think all cigars should have the harvest year and or production batch on them somewhere. Being a fermented agicultural product, the flavor can vary significantly from year to year and batch to batch.

I agree they should too . I bought a box of ERDM that has the year 2003 burned into the bottom of the box . Hopefully this is when they were produced and not when the box was made . Nice informative thread here . Good job BOTL's .

[IHT]

I agree they should too . I bought a box of ERDM that has the year 2003 burned into the bottom of the box . Hopefully this is when they were produced and not when the box was made . Nice informative thread here . Good job BOTL's .

they could have been made in 02. what was the month on the box?
after they make 'em, they set them in another room to be seperated. sometimes they can sit there a few months waiting to be boxed... so, the actual box date is when it was boxed/shipped out of cuba to a vendor.

the master did make great points on the fact that cuban cigars are not pre-aged, unlike the vast majority of non-cubans. ever see a non-cuban cigar ad that didn't mention how long their tobacco was aged before rolling, etc?? almost never.

so, while they still need a few years to get rid of the ammonia, they are still a lot better than the majority of non-cubans that are 5x the age.
i'm no where near an expert, but i have been given the opportunity to smoke some aged cubans (a couple pre-embargo as well). it's amazing what only 2 yrs of aging can do for the likes of a RASS or Juan Lopez. just wish i could get some that are 5-7 yrs older than that.

[da klugs]

they could have been made in 02. what was the month on the box?
after they make 'em, they set them in another room to be seperated. sometimes they can sit there a few months waiting to be boxed... so, the actual box date is when it was boxed/shipped out of cuba to a vendor.

the master did make great points on the fact that cuban cigars are not pre-aged, unlike the vast majority of non-cubans. ever see a non-cuban cigar ad that didn't mention how long their tobacco was aged before rolling, etc?? almost never.

so, while they still need a few years to get rid of the ammonia, they are still a lot better than the majority of non-cubans that are 5x the age.
i'm no where near an expert, but i have been given the opportunity to smoke some aged cubans (a couple pre-embargo as well). it's amazing what only 2 yrs of aging can do for the likes of a RASS or Juan Lopez. just wish i could get some that are 5-7 yrs older than that.

All you have to do is ask Greg. :)

[ggiese]

it's amazing what only 2 yrs of aging can do for the likes of a RASS or Juan Lopez. just wish i could get some that are 5-7 yrs older than that.

You're absolutely right - I love a RASS with a coupla years of age on em... It's even mroe amazing what a couple of years age will do to a Quinteros Brevas!!!

[The Master]

In my opinion the RASS is one of those cigars that takes forever to get good. I had a box of 97's that took over 6 years and I have a box of 99's that are just coming around.

If you are looking for a Cuban Robusto that is smokeable early on, then the Juan Lopez 2 would be my recommendation.

[Coolbus]

Although age is very important on any cigar, I look to the date on Cubans for quality issues. There were several years pre 2003 in which the construction was questionable for many island sticks.

[The Master]

The two years that were Cubas worst construction wise were 1999 and 2000. The real bad part about 1999 was that the crop of 1998 tobacco was one of the best in Cubas history, so many of the poorly constructed cigars were made with great tobacco. As with any year, there are great boxes and there are lousy boxes. As long as your tobacconist is willing to gaurantee your satisfaction, taking a chance on 99 and 2000 cigars isn't a big deal. You can find some incredible boxes from those years.

[Bubba -NJ]

they could have been made in 02. what was the month on the box?
after they make 'em, they set them in another room to be seperated. sometimes they can sit there a few months waiting to be boxed... so, the actual box date is when it was boxed/shipped out of cuba to a vendor.

:

I should have mentioned that they are not Cuban , the date on the bottom of the box says June 2003 .

[kchunk]

...I'd like to know what cigars especially benefit from aging - ISOMs or otherwise. I'd think that if someone were to invest money in a high end box of cigars of any kind, they'd be prone to invest the time as well.

Hi all. I realize I'm replying to a fairly old thread but the info here is timeless and I have some input.

This past summer on vacation my brother brought along a few RyJ churchills from our favorite ISOM. These were the first Cubans I've tried and was quite impressed, so much so that when I returned home I did a little research and picked up a box for myself. Not knowing I needed to age these things I promptly cracked open the box and lit up the first one. I have no reason to doubt their authenticity but I was not impressed with the first smoke. The burn was only OK (like the ones we had on vacation) but the taste was not what I expected. Strangely, I was really enjoying the smell of the cut end as I was making my way through this churchill but the last quarter I started detecting ammonia.

I must say by this time I was thinking I had bought a box of fakes despite no evidence other than the taste. Tankfully, after a brief search through this forum, it appears that this is a quite normal condition for smokes purchased from this island.

Anyway, the box is resting comfortably (minus one smoke), and we'll give it another try next summer after a little aging (of course I'll still be opening them once a week just to sneek another delicious whiff). FYI the date on the box is May 06.

[bamboo_matt]

In general all Cuban cigars need to be aged. Cuba does not age their tobacco or age their finished product. In contrast mfgs. like Fuente and Padron age their tobacco for years and then age their finished product for many months and even years in some cases.

Cuban cigars also taste different depending on how long they have been aged. A 2 year old Cuban will taste very different from a 5 year old one.

All Cuban tobacco is aged a minimum of 2 years before it is considered to be rolled. This process of fermentation relieves more than 90% of both nicotine and ammonia, the only two natural chemicals in tobacco. Cohiba and Trinidad tobaccos are aged for a minimum of 3 years. This extra aging has always been one of the reasons Cohiba is more expensive than other Cuban brands.

Although it is true that the aging process of Cubans and so-called "domestics" are not the same, it shouldn't be said that Cuba doesn't age their cigars.

With the release of the Edicion Limitada line in 2000, Habanos S.A. offered 3 cigars made only for that year. They were rolled in a dark wrapper and had been aged for 2 years. Every year since then Cuba has released 3-4 special cigars with 2 years of age.

Very recently we saw the release of the Cohiba Maduro 5 line from Cuba. One of it's main features is the Maduro wrapper which hasn't been officially used on a Cuban cigar since the revolution. Not only that but it was originally grown in 2002, making it over 5 years old. This cigar has brought about a new era in Cuban tobacco where pre-aging is being adapted.