-
BOTL UPCOMING MAINTENANCE
Hi Everyone, as mentioned in my introduction post, BOTL needs quite a bit of updating, patching and whatever else I might come across. Over time BOTL may be unreachable on occasion as I do migrations or updates, etc. Just be patient - we'll be back! I'll generally try to keep these maintenances until later in the evenings.
Does anyone...
- Thread starter andy
- Start date
e-man67
Benny Hill's Understudy
What he said....CC's tend to get much better with age (although I have had some great fresh ones)...NC's are more subjective but I would definately say that Opus's get much better with age.
As a general rule you should age cigars that are more full bodied / full strength. Over time, the flavors should meld together, any residual ammonia will evaporate and some of the nicotine will dissipate. The end result being a smoother and more complex cigar. This is why old habanos are highly cherished.
I think the best age for cigars depends on your own tastes. Some people like the tart, spicy flavors of fresh cigars. Others like smooth and mellow smokes with 5-10 yrs of age. You will just need to experiment and see for yourself.
I've tasted 15 year old Macanudos and it was like smoking air.
I think the best age for cigars depends on your own tastes. Some people like the tart, spicy flavors of fresh cigars. Others like smooth and mellow smokes with 5-10 yrs of age. You will just need to experiment and see for yourself.
I've tasted 15 year old Macanudos and it was like smoking air.
Mitch
BOM 2/09-Keeper BOTtLe
I think there are different types of levels of aging. I've had 70 year old cigars get me buzzed and the Partagas 150 that was a favorite of mine when it came out mellowed too much in just 10 years. If you start with OK quality smokes, you can notice huge benefit of aging even a few months, because they were too young. But once a cigar has a few years in your humidor, that is no longer an issue. I think cigars can get to an age where they stop mellowing in strength, but build in flavor. It's hard to guess and not consistant. Anyway, only advice I have is you can't age a frog into a princess.
All cigars have the potential to age better. NC Punchs seem to age really well. Try it, you might come up with something incredible!
This all depends on the fullness, or strength, of the cigar. A cigar with a very mild body can have an aged taste as early as one year. I find for mild cigars any more time ages away the flavor. They become so smooth that it becomes harder to taste. The burn is great though.
A medium strength cigar can take longer to age but again after a while its not going to make much difference.
A full strength cigar can take the longest.
Scratch that. Tubos take the longest. Some say that cigars in tubes can take 10+ years to age. The air tight container makes all the difference.
In theory, a cigar can be good indefinitely if kept up on. In practice, a cigar is a 100% natural (organic in some cases) product. There are no preservatives. This means that from the moment the leaves are picked they begin to break down. How the breaking down process is controlled is up to us and this is what makes a cigar good/bad. This breaking down of the oils in the cigar is what makes it less harsh. Eventually you will get to a point where there is nothing left to break down or it has broken down too far. I dont know why you would want to, but you can over age a cigar.
i have smoked a few cigars that have over aged. the 99 VEG rounds (for example) are past their peak if you ask me. they just dont have the amount of flavor they used to.
A medium strength cigar can take longer to age but again after a while its not going to make much difference.
A full strength cigar can take the longest.
Scratch that. Tubos take the longest. Some say that cigars in tubes can take 10+ years to age. The air tight container makes all the difference.
In theory, a cigar can be good indefinitely if kept up on. In practice, a cigar is a 100% natural (organic in some cases) product. There are no preservatives. This means that from the moment the leaves are picked they begin to break down. How the breaking down process is controlled is up to us and this is what makes a cigar good/bad. This breaking down of the oils in the cigar is what makes it less harsh. Eventually you will get to a point where there is nothing left to break down or it has broken down too far. I dont know why you would want to, but you can over age a cigar.
i have smoked a few cigars that have over aged. the 99 VEG rounds (for example) are past their peak if you ask me. they just dont have the amount of flavor they used to.
Tubos are certainly NOT air tight. Nor is cello. They both allow air to circulate or ye'd have no use of a humidor. It does act as a buffer to drastic changes, but that's that.
thanks everyone for their replies. i'm asking for a couple of reasons. one, investing in a box of premiums is costly. i might as well get some mileage out of them. two, i have friends who think all cigars get better with age. i don't know enough to disagree with certainty but my hunch is not all cigars get better with age. three, i think its cool that cigar flavors and strengths change with age and as a result, so will my experience.
this is true. relative to cellophane though...
a cigar out of a humidor but in cello will dry out in a day or so (depending on the environment of course). a cigar in a tube will last a week before its just as dry.
the tube may not be 100% but its close enough.
the air exchange is so small over such a long amount of time that slows the aging process considerably.
from cigar 101:
PROPERLY AGING CIGARS
You know the taste of a well-aged cigar: that subtle complexity, that certain "je ne sais quois," that light kiss of tobacco flavor left gently lingering. Aging is often what makes a good cigar a great one.
Cigars change as they age. Some prefer cigars young and fresh while others appreciate a mellower, more experienced cigar. To those who prefer the flavor of aged cigars but don't want to choke up the duckets for aged Vintage cigars, your next question is probably "how can I age my own cigars properly?"
The amount of time you age your cigars is a matter of personal preference. In general, age them at least a year for optimum effect. Of course, some low-quality cigars won't see much improvement with aging - remember "garbage in, garbage out." However, keep in mind that some cigars after aging will have pleasantly rich flavors, even though now they smell like a dumpster - much the same way that good wines for aging are too tannic to drink when young.
But certain cigars are just naturally better suited for aging. An example is larger ring-gauge cigars. The thicker the cigar, the greater the variety of tobacco leaves and hence, the more complex the final flavor of the aged cigar will be. The insides of larger cigars tend to be somewhat shielded from the outside environment, less apt to be affected by fluctuations in humidity and temperature. This added stability that larger cigars provide is highly desirable for long-term aging. On the other hand, since the wrapper provides the lion's share of a cigar's taste, aging may not significantly affect the taste of some Maduros. In particular, maduro-wrapped cigars which are artificially "cooked" or "cured" to achieve the dark coloration of the wrapper and the distinctively strong, sweet flavor are prone to this problem. Due to such curing, they have essentially been "fixed," and thus any further benefits of aging have been stunted.
Of course, the environment in which they are stored is crucial. Follow the usual 70-70 rule for temperature and humidity. Any more and your cigars will get moldy; any less and the aging process begins to be stunted. Maintaining a stable environment for your cigars is key - a constantly fluctuating environment can be disastrous. Swings in temperature and humidity cause cigars to expand and contract, cracking their wrappers and may disrupt the aging process. Ideally, the space in the humidor should be about twice the volume of cigars. The lining should be cedar - cedar wood is a highly aromatic wood, full of its own oils. With the passage of time, the interaction of the tobacco oils amongst themselves and with the cedar oil of the wood leads to a mellowing and blending of flavors. This results in that subtle complexity you can only get from proper aging.
PROPERLY AGING CIGARS
You know the taste of a well-aged cigar: that subtle complexity, that certain "je ne sais quois," that light kiss of tobacco flavor left gently lingering. Aging is often what makes a good cigar a great one.
Cigars change as they age. Some prefer cigars young and fresh while others appreciate a mellower, more experienced cigar. To those who prefer the flavor of aged cigars but don't want to choke up the duckets for aged Vintage cigars, your next question is probably "how can I age my own cigars properly?"
The amount of time you age your cigars is a matter of personal preference. In general, age them at least a year for optimum effect. Of course, some low-quality cigars won't see much improvement with aging - remember "garbage in, garbage out." However, keep in mind that some cigars after aging will have pleasantly rich flavors, even though now they smell like a dumpster - much the same way that good wines for aging are too tannic to drink when young.
But certain cigars are just naturally better suited for aging. An example is larger ring-gauge cigars. The thicker the cigar, the greater the variety of tobacco leaves and hence, the more complex the final flavor of the aged cigar will be. The insides of larger cigars tend to be somewhat shielded from the outside environment, less apt to be affected by fluctuations in humidity and temperature. This added stability that larger cigars provide is highly desirable for long-term aging. On the other hand, since the wrapper provides the lion's share of a cigar's taste, aging may not significantly affect the taste of some Maduros. In particular, maduro-wrapped cigars which are artificially "cooked" or "cured" to achieve the dark coloration of the wrapper and the distinctively strong, sweet flavor are prone to this problem. Due to such curing, they have essentially been "fixed," and thus any further benefits of aging have been stunted.
Of course, the environment in which they are stored is crucial. Follow the usual 70-70 rule for temperature and humidity. Any more and your cigars will get moldy; any less and the aging process begins to be stunted. Maintaining a stable environment for your cigars is key - a constantly fluctuating environment can be disastrous. Swings in temperature and humidity cause cigars to expand and contract, cracking their wrappers and may disrupt the aging process. Ideally, the space in the humidor should be about twice the volume of cigars. The lining should be cedar - cedar wood is a highly aromatic wood, full of its own oils. With the passage of time, the interaction of the tobacco oils amongst themselves and with the cedar oil of the wood leads to a mellowing and blending of flavors. This results in that subtle complexity you can only get from proper aging.
twenty5
BoM 11/09, 4/10 BoY '10
If you want to get a box of premiums and want them to last, figure out how many you want to smoke a year, 6 maybe? Buy a box of the best smoke that you have had, something like a Tat SW Maduro for me... 1 box would last 3 years or more at that pace. IMO, I would only buy a box to age if I had the money to do it, after all, something you might like now might be bland or completely different 5, 10 however many years down the road. Your tastes may be completely different in a couple years.. Who knows, you might quit smoking! Buy what you like now, enjoy it for as long as you can and see how that works for ya.
IMHO
To second a couple points already made:
All CC's need lots of aging to be at their best. 2-3 years it seems.
High end Fuentes such as Opusx, Hemingway, Anejo et al are miles better after a few years.
Padron's age very well and only get better with time.
Other NC's only need to age until the ammonia goes away, a few months max, to be perfect in my opinion. I love the strength and spice of a Pepin style stick and prefer them at 2-6 months versus a year or more. For example, I think the T110 was perfect as soon as it came out. They are already losing some kick and I think that is a bad thing for a cigar rolled to be an asskicker in the strength department. I have one left and I'm going to smoke it soon.
My random thoughts...
All CC's need lots of aging to be at their best. 2-3 years it seems.
High end Fuentes such as Opusx, Hemingway, Anejo et al are miles better after a few years.
Padron's age very well and only get better with time.
Other NC's only need to age until the ammonia goes away, a few months max, to be perfect in my opinion. I love the strength and spice of a Pepin style stick and prefer them at 2-6 months versus a year or more. For example, I think the T110 was perfect as soon as it came out. They are already losing some kick and I think that is a bad thing for a cigar rolled to be an asskicker in the strength department. I have one left and I'm going to smoke it soon.
My random thoughts...
smokemifugotem
BoM July '10
Find a cigar...buy two boxes. smoke a box this year...save a box. Repeat over the next few years. try out thay first box a couple times a year...once you feel they have passed peak...u have the next years box for that year and all the others for the next few years. It is a long costly project...but in the end you will have a box of aged cigars for every year that you bought!
Soundwave13
BoM Feb 2010
Great thread & lots of good insight!
I too have had very old cigars that were great & ones that were a dissapointment. This weekend though, I had a 00' Punch Double Corona gifted from a friend & it was a completely different animal than when they are young - in a good way... In fact it was an incredible 2-1/2 hour journey that left me burning my finger tips...
I've had some Nicaraguan sticks that have 3-4 years of age on them that left me with the realization that they are better in the 2-6 month range, as stated by Patrick.
I also agree with the AF's aging well too - the character & taste changes significantly for the better. (And they're good rott!)
I too have had very old cigars that were great & ones that were a dissapointment. This weekend though, I had a 00' Punch Double Corona gifted from a friend & it was a completely different animal than when they are young - in a good way... In fact it was an incredible 2-1/2 hour journey that left me burning my finger tips...
I've had some Nicaraguan sticks that have 3-4 years of age on them that left me with the realization that they are better in the 2-6 month range, as stated by Patrick.
I also agree with the AF's aging well too - the character & taste changes significantly for the better. (And they're good rott!)