How would you guys describe the sick period from a flavor perspective?

How sick and what do we have?

Do a search in the forums. This subject has been discussed in and out quite recently...

The "sick period" follows a "herf" which is the ingestion, voluntary or not, of bongwater, and the feeling you get afterwards...or, if not bongwater, the ingestion of the fast-food burrito you eat after employing the use of the bong.

The term seems to have its origin an imprecise use of the English language by a Swiss cigar merchant to describe the evolution a cigar might go through as it ages. No doubt, there is a scientific explanation, but there is no science to the phenomenon of at what rate a cigar matures, because it depends on the relative age of the tobacco used, how long it's been rolled together with other tobacco, storage conditions, and a variety of other factors.

But refer back to the definition for something certain.

quote:

Originally posted by P.A.D.R.E.:
How sick and what do we have?

I'm curious about RASS and PSD4's. Both boxes are about 9 months old. The PSD4's taste like Partagas, but seem....weak to me.

I've never had a RASS before, but both from this box I've had seem to have a, youthful bite to them.

PSD4's are weak in comparison to the "classic" partagas in terms of body. I would say that something like a 898V is a full bodied smoke while a PSD4 is a bit closer to the medium side of things, as is the PSP2.

That sounds pretty accurate to me. A little research and you will find novels written on these two on this site, which should give you a ballpark feeling about them. PSD4's, IME, when they go sick, taste like you are smoking a nearly tasteless cigar, and they offer a kind of cottonmouth sensation which combines to be a waste of a cigar. The RASS are really not to be smoked for SOME time after you get them. Another waste to smoke that one early. You must be like me...you buy a box of cigars, THEN you decide to find out about them. When you reverse it, you know better what to expect.

I've never believed that Cuban cigars are special in that they go through a so-called "sick period" that Dominican or Nicaraguan ones don't. All cigars go through a "sick period" but there's nothing subtle about it and it's easy to recognize. If you don't smell ammonia, they're not sick. Most manufacturers age their cigars before shipping to ensure that you don't have this problem. Others sometimes do -- particularly the conglomerates. In any event, if you do smell ammonia, all that means is the cigars need some aging time, which could range from a few months to a year. Of course, you can get rid of the smell quickly by leaving a few sticks out in the open air for a few hours but that doesn't mean that they're still not in a period of accelerated fermentation brought on by the rolling process.

I think the idea of a sick period came from the text on the inside of the Rafael Gonzales dress box, which, to this day, still states that "In order that the Connoisseur may fully appreciate the perfect fragrance, they should be smoked either within one month of their shipment from Havana or should be carefully matured for about one year." Which, of course, given the illusory nature of box codes, would be impossible to ascertain.

It's my understanding that the term "sick period" was coined by Gerard Vahe, but I don't know his context.

Min Ron NEE defines "sick period" as "the period when an ammoniac smell is still detectable in a newly manufactured cigar.

If this definition is accepted, I have experienced a different phenomenon with certain Cuban cigars that I refer to as the "dumb period." Cigars that go dumb are well past the ammoniac stage. In the dumb period they not unpleasant, but they are bland and uninteresting. I noted this with a couple of boxes of Partagas Serie D #4. Each that I tried between one and three years post box date was humdrum. Three years out, each one was spectacular with Partagas spice and pepper.

I have experienced a similar dumb period with Cohiba Siglo VI.

No, it's not impossible to ascertain - a date on a box correlates generally to production...normally within 60 days. So it's a general guideline. The reason for the shpiel on the RG boxes? Who knows. But refer to the thread about ageing...when was it we decided that we needed to hold on to cigars for years before smoking?

quote:

Originally posted by ryj7x47:
No, it's not impossible to ascertain - a date on a box correlates generally to production...normally within 60 days. So it's a general guideline.

I've heard tell of cigars sitting in aging rooms for long periods of time -- well beyond 60 days -- before workers got around to packing them into boxes and then dating them. I've also heard of boxes being stamped with erroneous codes, which I certainly would not put past the Cubans, even with today's notable advances in quality control.

As you suggest, I'm sure that it's often a good general guideline, but anything manufactured in a Communist country is suspect in my book. Then again, if someone is planning to age their cigars for 5+ years or more, I guess a discrpeancy of 60, 90 or even 365 days isn't of much consequence.

Budweiser needs to step in and institute better Born On Dating

quote:

I've heard tell of cigars sitting in aging rooms for long periods of time -- well beyond 60 days -- before workers got around to packing them into boxes and then dating them.

That is rare these days, except for special release items. For regular production items, over the past ten years, the average has been about 60 days.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by VanFittyFi:

If this definition is accepted, I have experienced a different phenomenon with certain Cuban cigars that I refer to as the "dumb period." Cigars that go dumb are well past the ammoniac stage. In the dumb period they not unpleasant, but they are bland and uninteresting. I noted this with a couple of boxes of Partagas Serie D #4. Each that I tried between one and three years post box date was humdrum. Three years out, each one was spectacular with Partagas spice and pepper.
[QUOTE]

Yup, this accurately describes what I've experienced. Thanks for the clarification; I just couldn't seem to find the right words.

Now, this begs the next question in my brain. Why does it seem that the NC's do not experience this same sick/dull period?

quote:

Now, this begs the next question in my brain. Why does it seem that the NC's do not experience this same sick/dull period?

Because they're boring to being with?

If you think NCs are boring, try any Tatuaje cigar. They don't have the "twang", but are so flavorful and big, they've be got their own thing that covers the full spectrum of flavors, and are powerful smokes. The only NC that has the "twang" are Kauai Cigars. They use tobacco grown on the island from Cuban seed, but the soil composition is very similar to Cuba in terms of minerals. I think it's the minerals that give Cubans the "twang". Kauai cigars really taste like Cubans. They're the only ones that do, regardless of other companies claims.

Also, I think that Cuban cigars are made very fast to accomodate the world market, and may not be "pre-aged" as long as NCs. That might explain the difference in sick periods.