Aging Cigars

I searched the threads and did not find any definitive answers about aging cigars.

Ok here is the idea. With wines its pretty easy as a rule of thumb the 5 best Borduex wines should be aged about 25 years to come into their best taste. Other wines have either info on the back of the bottle that shows the best aging time or you can find it on the wine company website. Not so simple with cigars !!!! Some people say age them others say it does not matter. Plus there are so many different cigars that its hard to figure out which ones to age - at least for me it is.

I was hoping some old hats could share their thoughts on the subject and perhaps even give examples of the cigars they aged that turned out to be better smokes afterwards and ones that might have turned out to be a waste of time to age.

Maybe this can even become a thread for people to keep posting their aging experiences and for everyone to benefot from the info


Thanks

Dan

It really depends on taste and what you’re looking for in a cigar. If I had unlimited funds I would buy a dozen or so boxes of one cigar and wait a year between cracking each one so that by the end I was smoking cigars with a good 10 years on them. If you read MRN he says that you can even note changes in the 20-25 year time frame, but I’m dubious about that. But who knows what a really developed palate may notice. Some cigars are a waste of time to smoke young, like a Choix. I’ve had young ones with no flavors at all, and I’ve had 10 year old ones that have smoked like a dream and that’s been something that’s been consistent with every one I smoked. Cohiba is another brand that is a waste to smoke young, the grassiness overtakes the vanilla/bean/coffee flavors of them. Some cigars like the PLPC (new) are going to be just outstanding in a few years IMO. The ones I’ve smoked have had a very light sweetness to them with undertones of caramel. I don’t think there’s any hard and fast rule for how long any type of cigar should be aged. Obviously the larger the ring, the longer it may take them to evolve. Part of the fun of this hobby is smoking a few cigars across dates and seeing how the ageing process has affected the flavors.

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Originally Posted by CgarDan

I searched the threads and did not find any definitive answers about aging cigars.

Ok here is the idea. With wines its pretty easy as a rule of thumb the 5 best Borduex wines should be aged about 25 years to come into their best taste. Other wines have either info on the back of the bottle that shows the best aging time or you can find it on the wine company website. Not so simple with cigars !!!! Some people say age them others say it does not matter. Plus there are so many different cigars that its hard to figure out which ones to age - at least for me it is.

I was hoping some old hats could share their thoughts on the subject and perhaps even give examples of the cigars they aged that turned out to be better smokes afterwards and ones that might have turned out to be a waste of time to age.

Maybe this can even become a thread for people to keep posting their aging experiences and for everyone to benefot from the info


Thanks

Dan

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I agree with this and think it is a good idea. There's no very good reference for this kind of information. I also think that with applicable brands it should be specified if it is Cuban or domestic. My understanding is that these cigars are related by name only.

I would take advantage of this because sometimes I worry that I may be wasting a great cigar by letting it sit there, or vice versa.

There is a noticeable difference between a cigar that has been aged for years and one that has not. The cigar that had some age on it had a more pronounced flavor, it was not as bland. This is in contrast to what I've heard that newer cigars settle with age. I guess different cigars age differently. However, the flavors were similar, just more pronounced on the older one.

It has been my experience (of 16 years) that every cigar could (as in potentially) benefit from PROPER aging (and most do).

The flavors blend and marry much like fine cuisine or wine. If you have the room and patience, it's well worth the wait, IMHO of course.

~Mark

ps - rule of thumb is 3+ years min. some have a MUCH long min. depending on the smoke

I want to bring this back for a few reasons.

1) Will aging improve a good mild cigar like AVO ( I would not age mild $3 smoke )

2) At which point will I usually hit the peak and star seeing declines from aging

3) There are people here who have smoked for years maybe a decade or more and I am sure that have aged some cigars. Can you please post a small review if you smoke an aged cigar. Just say what the cigar is and how it improved or got worse with aging this will help those of us who are just starting to age our smokes.

I for example put aside a small humi that is just for aging purposes and if I particularly like a certain cigar I will put one of them in it to age at least a year. But your posts will not only help find more gems to age but also help in figuring out which ones don't do better with age.

I will even make this worth your while --- look in the Contest Section.

I think most cigars improve with age whether they were good young or not, assuming that they are stored properly. I prefer to age whole boxes as opposed to singles. Just seems like a lot of effort for one cigar that may have been a good or not so good one from the box to begin with. JMHO

Dan, certain cigars are made to age, others won't get much better, and there are even some that get worse with age.

ISOMs are best aged, hands down. A mild cigar like an AVO will be great from the store, great with a year on them, great with 2 years on them. But, know what aging does, it smoothes out a cigar's edges. An Opus from the current year will have a great spiciness to it that will last as long as the cigar, but the spice will have mellowed and become a little smoother with age. It is great to age cigars, if you buy a box, put some away for aging and find out whether the age makes a difference.

I certainly have 2 boxes set aside for aging when I get more than one type of a cigar I know I already enjoy.