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How long to wait before smoking a recent purchase?

Texican

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Hi all. Jumped into this thing with both feet a few weeks back and have been absolutely loving my 1-2 sticks on the weekends. My question is this: how long do you wait before smoking a cigar that you ordered? I have seen a few of you mentioning that you shouldn't immediately smoke it, but rather let it acclimate to your humidor for a while and stabilize. For this reason, I have held off smoking any of the delicious sticks that arrived last week in favor of the ones from an order that arrived a week before (from a somewhat less "fancy" sampler of mild/mellow Connecticut sticks). The tupperdore has settled in at a consistent 65% RH since about last Wednesday, so it appears to be a healthy environment for them. I just didn't want to waste what would be an amazing smoke by lighting it up too early and having it be less than what it's capable of.

Thanks fellas.
 
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When starting out if you want a cigar, pick one from your stash and smoke it. Buy more than you smoke and you will gradually be aging your smokes.
To answer another question is some people smoke on within a day or 3. Others like to at least wait a month to let them fully adjust to their preferred Rh.
They are yours, so smoke'm whenever you feel the desire.
 

kevin7mm

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Like others have said, smoke them when you want, however I can say from experience, most cigars will improve with some resting time. That length of time varies with each different cigar. I have found the best way to figure this out is to buy a five pack of what you want. Smoke one shortly after receiving. Then try another one every few weeks. Most Nicaraguan or Dominican cigars should be at their peak with in a few months or less. Their peak being what the creator intended. This is not fact but merely my experience.
 
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This is definitely a YMMV. I’ve got smokes I’ve bought fivers of a couple years ago and I still haven’t smoked one. Not because I don’t want to, but I’ve always got something else that gets me before I get to those smokes.

My rule of thumb is, if I REALLY want to smoke it, I wait a week or so to get it dialed in to the right RH as the rest of my smokes. I’ve found most smokes in a B&M are a little “wet” for my preference, and most that come via mail are a little “dry”.

But I usually put smokes down for a 3-6 months, sometimes a year before I fire them up.
 

Dran

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Smoking a trinny that just came in a week or so ago, I usually have 1 "for science" in the first week or so of having them, and TRY to leave the rest alone for at least a month. There have been times I really regret science, but usually at worst it just causes burn issues.

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BasicTek

I don't smoke cigars often... HaHa just kidding :)
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Almost everything is ROTT for me unless I get so many in that I forget about some. Usually I get more than singles so while the 1st is ROTT I normally have more that go in the humi for days, weeks, months, and in a couple years I'm sure I'll be able to add years to that. The exceptions are if I get singles in a trade and my trading partner says they need rest, or when I buy a $25+ smoke like an Opus X lost city then I'll give them a little time as to not ruin an expensive smoke by jumping the gun. For pretty much everything that is $15 and under especially if I have more than 1 it's ROTT because I'm very impatient and I smoke a lot of cigars.

Oh if you are smoking ROTT then have a single flame torch handy for touchups, learn to purge the cigar by blowing through it if you taste any bitterness (keep your hand away from the foot), and once in a while expect the cigar to actually explode out of the wrapper because it's been over humidified (this is rare probably less than 1/100) but it does happen and I'm pretty sure it's over humidification. Minor burn issues an occasional bitterness are usually the only negatives I see from ROTT.
 
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I use 3-3-3:

3 weeks to try the first one and unless I’m floored with it then wait
3 months later to try #2, again, unless I’m floored with it, I then put them down for
3 years - at that point I try to fit them into the rotation
 
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If I buy a single, it's usually at a B&M and it gets smoked that day or within the next few days if I'm buying for multiple days. In those cases I may or may not use humidity control. My online purchases are either 5 packs or boxes. I usually smoke one soon after I receive them. They are dry boxed/bagged so I get an idea of where they are. Sometimes I receive cigars ready to smoke after settling in a consistent temperature for a day or two and a long rest isn't really needed to enjoy them. Many cigars are already aged so you don't have to always buy for future enjoyment. Get too many in storage and you may miss their prime too because you can only smoke so many, so often. To each their own.
 

YamRZ350

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I rarely buy singles, so new to me stuff is usually ROTT and then let the rest sit for at least a few weeks or months depending on how many I've bought. Boxes sit (sometimes many) months. I don't keep enough around so I go through them pretty quick.

I cant get my head around sitting on boxes for years / decades. Especially if I really enjoy them. I don't have the quantity or the self control for that. lol
 
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Some of them are best smoked when you get them. Others take time.

There is no magic formula and everyone tastes them different. I am sitting on some intentionally, some cause I can’t smoke that fast and others that I smoke till gone because any age on them makes them yak IMO.

like others have said - do what makes you happy and fulfills your desired smoke and flavor. who really cares how someone else enjoys a cigar. We don’t enjoy them the same.
 
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I buy em in 5 packs or boxes. If its suitable on arrival I'll smoke one. I find most places juice em up so on arrival they're way too moist. So one goes in a dry box for a week or two the rest go in the humidor.

But my new thing is letting them marinate until the cello changes color.. few years.

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