Dating Cigars

[TheGreekTitan]

...snip
I am still fascinated when I see an experienced smoker make a comment like, "this cigar would be amazing with a few years of age". Why certain ones would be better with a year, some would be better with several years, and some are as good as they are going to get now and how the old timers are identifying these smoke still intrigues me.

Guess I just have to smoke a whole lot more cigars.

[kingbeefy]

Guess I just have to smoke a whole lot more cigars.

Looks like the "old timers" aren't going to give up any secrets here. I guess I'll just have to smoke a whole more too. Oh well.

[Paddy]

Looks like the "old timers" aren't going to give up any secrets here. I guess I'll just have to smoke a whole more too. Oh well.

As your pallete developes you be able to tell when a cigar is "green". There are certain flavor profiles that go along with cigars that have "NOT YET REACHED THIER MATURITY". I am in no way an expert in such matters. But I have been smoking for over a decade. and have had the pleasure of massive cigar inventories. It has just become a habit to date all my cigars, singles and boxes alike.

[ashauler]

Too strong, or acrid, or imbalanced......let it sit for a bit. Taste sweet, reminds you of freshly cut hay, with an almost cloying "room note".......let it sit for a bit. Does one aspect of the flavor profile overwhelm another...i.e. spice is over the top.....let it sit for a bit.

[ggiese]

...and if it smells like ammonia, put that baby away for at least a year.

[Mizicke5273]

I got a label maker that I use to print out the date and slap on the ass of the box. And I usually only date boxes. I'll do singles if they are special or if I lnow they do better with some down time.

[tonygraz]

I've never dated cigars---don't expect them to last long enough to justify it. I did buy some honduran factory maduro corojos from JR two or three years ago that were 8.5-9.0 inches long. I smoke them when I go fishing. They didn't burn well, and I put them away. When I found some late this summer they had taken on a strong aroma they didn't have before so I smoked one. It was better tasting and burned better. Obviously they needed aging. I do keep invoices, so if it's not something I buy on a regular basis, I can go back and look to see when they were purchased.
THat does remind me that I have a couple of boxes of J. Marti's buried in a humidor that are at least 2 years aged.

[ggiese]

Looks like the "old timers" aren't going to give up any secrets here. I guess I'll just have to smoke a whole more too. Oh well.

It is impossible to impart experience. That's something you must develop for yourself.

...aging is not a bad thing - unless you're trying to age White Owls. They're made to smoke the way they smoke regardless of how long you leave them around.