Cigars you would age?

Even though I am new to this board and the hobby of cigar smoking I would like to age a few cigars. I am looking to put 6-10 smokes in my humidor and leave them for a year. I have read a couple of articles of how to age and how long to age, but I also know there are certain types of sticks you want to age and others that aren't worth it. I know you don't want to age maduro wrapped cigars, which are my some of my favorites. I was thinking of aging a few Cohibas in their celos and looking for a couple more ideas along Cohibas prices or even a little cheaper if possible. Any suggestions?

Why would you not want to age maduro wrapped cigars?

Simple rule of thumb for me. Anything that tastes nasty, green or not quite right out of the box- age. Try a year later and if there is marked improvement, there you go. Try them again 6-12 mos. later and they should be even better. Over-aging some cigars can lead to a mellowed product. A lot of my cigars have been accidentally aged due to the shear volume of cigars on hand. I will open a neglected box and scratch my head thinking "fuck, those have been sitting there for four years since I had one... Some for the good, some no difference, and some missing some of the punch/zest needed for the cigar to stand out. This is of those topics you will get a lot of good information from;but possibly not get one right answer. ISOMs (particulary farm rolls) are definate candidates for aging. But I do have to say I have had decent sticks straight from the box upon delivery with box dates no more than a year old. I prefer to age Opus a couple years to get some of the initial bite off. At that point they have a very cubanesque flavor profile with the perfect combination of both spice and smoothness. I try not to age maduro wrapped cigars or those that are already mild-to-medium. In fact, I rarely smoke a lot of Maduros these days. I find most of them one dimensional or dominating the binder and filler. Wonderful things can happen with certain smokes with 10-15 years of age- a true marriage of flavors where components may be indistinguishable with the others. This is just my opion. Lots of brothers on here that smoke more than I do and for much longer may chime in and this age old inquiry. I am sure if you used the search feature, you could find a few posts on this subject.:smiley20:

I don't purposely age cigars ,lots of guys do.

The only non-cubans that I think need aging are Opus. Other than that they are mostly ready to go.

That being said, find a cigar that is strong for you and try aging those. Maybe get yourself 12 or so La Riqueza's and let them sit for 6 months then try one a month and write down what has changed, etc.

If you're looking for an inexpensive cigar worth aging, you can't go wrong with the Padron x000 series. A year in the humidor does dramatic things to this already great cigar.

Doc.

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Originally Posted by Devil Doc

If you're looking for an inexpensive cigar worth aging, you can't go wrong with the Padron x000 series. A year in the humidor does dramatic things to this already great cigar.

Doc.

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Yep, good advice.

I had some Joyo de Nic celebracion consuls that ended up at the bottom of the cooler in an old hemingway box that sat for about 9 months. I noticed a postive difference there also.

I don't think it necessarily hurts to age anything. But age does definitely change the flavor of a cigar.

slc hit the nail on the head. I'd age those cigars you're not too happy with at the moment. Come back later and try them again - you might be surprised.

One of my most surprising "aged" cigars was a Quinteros Brevas. In about 3 years that little, cheap cigar turned into one of the most incredible smokes I've ever had...

It's a crap shoot, though - cigars that I thought would turn into incredible smokes with a little age actually disappointed me (some of my Opus X, for example) - others that I thought would likely not change turned out incredible (For example, Doc's suggestion on the Padron x000 comes to mind).

I too, have found that a little age can do wonders, I let a Cusano C-10 sit for about 6-7 months, and it cam out like a totally different cigar.

I bought so many sticks at one time, I will be inadvertently aging the majority of them for some time. I'm thinking I will try not to burn through whole 5-packs before I've sampled the others, to sample each cigar at various ages and see if I notice any differences.

All good advice, thanks. I had a Oliva Serie G that was a bit overpowering, but had good taste, I think I will try that. Another that comes to mind that was just a tad too much was Perdomo Habana.

Most CA's will tell you that anything less that 2 years is not really aging, only resting and stabelization of your sticks.

Some cigar tobacco can even go through a stage after fermentation that is a souring stage. Most NC's do not need aging, only resting.

BTW if you decide to age some of your sticks, they will age best naked with cellos removed.

This is all of course only my humble opinion..

El Guapo (~")

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Originally Posted by nhcigarfan

The only non-cubans that I think need aging are Opus. Other than that they are mostly ready to go.

That being said, find a cigar that is strong for you and try aging those. Maybe get yourself 12 or so La Riqueza's and let them sit for 6 months then try one a month and write down what has changed, etc.

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I pretty much agree with Tyler on this...The Fuente Chateau Sun Grown is also a good cigar to age. They do get better with age. They don't need aging as they are really good when you get em...But they do age really well.

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Originally Posted by nhcigarfan

Maybe get yourself 12 or so La Riqueza's and let them sit for 6 months then try one a month and write down what has changed, etc.

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I love this suggestion. And it begs the question, does anyone keep a cigar journal? It might be informative, and help give you an idea of what's improving over time, and what's not.

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Originally Posted by CigarSasquatch

I love this suggestion. And it begs the question, does anyone keep a cigar journal? It might be informative, and help give you an idea of what's improving over time, and what's not.

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I have a spreadsheet of all the cigars I've bought, which includes the date of purchase, and I've been marking flavor notes along with the date smoked.

I tried using the Cigar Register computer program, but I couldn't get it to work; maybe it's incompatible with a 64-bit OS.

I'm just now starting to distinguish the differences in flavors. This past weekend, I could pick up on the different flavors in each third of the cigar for the first time.

I've decided that with my 5-, etc. packs that after smoking one to not smoke another until I've tried the others, to allow each variety to get various ages on them. I'm looking forward to noting the differences age may make.

Newbee here. any articles/research on the topic? any lists of cigars that age well/impact. I remember seeing a paper that mentioned that the cigars shrink and can develop a white "dust" which is some sort of chrystal and some people pay horrendeous prices for such aged cigars ...
Thanks,
Alk

I can't seem to keep cigars long enough to age them! :smiley1:

But I like the suggestion of aging the Opus...If I can resist the temptation of smoking them, I might just give it a try.

Almene, and Sam Tushing, how about an intro, we like to know who we are talking to, and who is contributing to the discussions.