Timeline for cigars?

[hevyboy]

Hey guys! I am a newbie, been enjoying the hobby only a few months.
How long do you need to keep cigars in the humidor before they are
ready to smoke?

[MMAB]

depends what you buy.

If you are fortunate to be able to buy Cubans, assuming you live outside of the USA, it is my understanding that most Cuban cigars should be aged further. About six months I think. Someone correct me here please if needed. CC?

However, if you live in the USA the cigars you'll most likely buy are Dominican or Nicaraguan or God forbid Mexican (ugghhh! Sorry, I can't stand Te-Amos)

Most of these SHOULD be OK right out of the box. BUT, I don't believe that. I may be wrong but it seems to me that many manufacturers are shipping very wet (humid) cigars. Arturo Fuente for example. They're a great cigar but unfortunately they don't taste good right out of the box. I've found that a resting period of about one month does them a world of good. Fuente has been shipping their cigars with one of those little Humi-Paks enclosed. I'm not so sure that's really a good thing.

The "resting" period thing have is one you'll have to decide for yourself. Many cigars are fine right from the box. Others seem to need a little time to stabilize.

[Lopaka]

I think it also depends on were you get them also. If you are getting them from a good Cigar Shop that takes care of the Humidors, you can smoke them that day. (I've been lucky and found these on the road ) However, just like mentioned above, all depends.

[Bkcloud114]

I have found that alot of the cigars I buy off the internet smoke and taste much better after sitting about 1 month...... The ones I buy from a real Cigar Lounge type of place seem to usually be just right.

[BigMacFU]

Welcome to the boards and to the hobby!

I think what your getting at in your question essentially deals with how the cigars will go through different relative humidities while in transit and so essentially, if you're excited to smoke the cigar, it should really only take a few days to a week in your humidor (depending on how stable your humidor is) to stabilize the cigars. Some companies ship cigars at higher RH's so they don't dry out during shipment, others can ship on the dry side. So, best advice is to allow the cigars to stabilize in your humidor for a few days to a week.

Now, when it comes to aging your cigars, then you're getting into the months range. Because tobacco continuously ferments, your cigars are ever changing in their flavor. A cigar that is aged will generally become more complex and evoke flavors that would not otherwise have had time to develop.

A great site on all things about cigar info, and also aging is here:

http://www.cigargroup.com/faq/#4.1

Scroll to the top to get to the index.

Again, welcome to the boards, enjoy your stay and let us know what your tastes are.

[Johnny]

Hi and welcome to the foum

I buy Cubans as I live in the UK and again it all depends. I bought a box of Trinidad Reyes and had one the day i got them. It was an exceptional smoke. Other Cubans though I've had have definitly needed at least a month in the humidor sometimes more. I agree that it depends alot on were they've been stored before and on storage during transit. If buying a box though just try one, if you like it then time in the humidor will just increase the flavours, if not good then give it a few months and try another and so on.