you can smoke a cigar any time you like, but there are a few points I want to offer.
Any cigar (CC) will need a year from rolling to settle and find itself.
If you want to enjoy the full potential of a cigar, it will need some years to mature.
Some marcas are blended to a short maturation (ST LUIS REY, San Cristobal ) and others need longer. (Bolivar, Montecristo }
Some people are incapable of discerning the difference between a young cigar and an aged one, based on little experience or a poor palate.
I have not tried any of my most recent Monte 1 cigars, the box of 2014 I have open is doing nicely.
My box of 2018 is still very sharp and will benefit from a few more years.
Certainly valid points, and is the generally accepted rule of thumb.
For me, I can't detect any difference between fresh and around 5 years aged cc's.
Beyond 5 years I typically begin detecting a unique aged and musty taste, which tends to become stronger the more they age, and I typically don't find aged cc's to be better than fresh ones, just different. Of course, there have been some exceptions.
There have been some exceptions of course, but that's my general experience with about 75% of the aged cc's I have had, and I have had enough that I feel I have a pretty good feel for them.
Everyone's experience with any cigar is just so different and unique to them, that I find it hard to say that something is always the case.
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