Or pick you favorite cigar. Put it in your humi for 6 months, then go buy the same cigar and smoke them side by side and find out what the hype is all about.
Jerry
Posts: 261 | Location: Auburn, CA | Registered: January 23, 2004
If you want to know what your cigar will taste like after aging, just go to your local cigar store and ask him what cigars in his shop have been there for 6 months or more. I’m sure that one or two of your favorite cigars will have been there at least that long. Some of my favorite cigars have been in my man “Isam’s” walk in humidor for 6 months to two years. I admit that I smoke the more expensive cigars, and maybe that’s why I can usually find some “aged” cigars in stock. (The Akron/Canton area is not exactly rolling in the dough anymore since the rubber companies left town). After you try some properly aged cigars, you can make the decision whether or not to age your own cigars. I personally feel that my brands smoke better after 6 months to 1 year of a lay down period. Lately I’ve had good luck in trying some slow movers that Isam has put on clearance sale. Some of the old CAO’s that were a bit harsh when new, are now quite good, especially at 1/3 the original cost. I now check that clearance bin every time I visit to see if any hidden gems are in there. If you make friends with your local cigar shop owner, you will be repaid in “special services” that online companies can not match.
Posts: 187 | Location: Akron Ohio USA | Registered: October 22, 2003
There is a difference between letting cigars stabilize and ageing them. Stabilizing cigars takes a few weeks or so and is only to ensure that they are properly humudified all the way through. This can be pretty essential straight from the tobacconists humidor because they sometimes keep the RH pretty high. Aging cigars takes several months to years and really just refines the flavor on some cigars.
Hard work may pay off eventually but laziness always pays off now.
In a past CA article, Carlos Fuente described the effect of aging as "rounding" the flavor of the cigar, whatever that means.
In my own experience, I find that a cigar I've had in my humidor for a few months is smoother tasting than one I've bought and smoke at my local shop. A recently purchased cigar seems to have sharper, tastes than one I've aged a short while. I typically try to hold a cigar for six months before smoking them.
Not sure on what happens but they are better after maturing in your humidor. Mild to medium smokes don't seem to improve too much with age but full bodied smokes seem to grow smoother but more complex with age. At least that's my experience.
...come in here dear boy, have a cigar, you're gonna go far.....
Posts: 775 | Location: Evans, GA USA | Registered: April 02, 2004
It is nice to see somebody from the Canton area. I went to Mount Union College from 1996-2000. Do you play poker? I have poker tournaments every Friday where the winner takes all.
Top 5 Albums (Lately):
No top 5 albums currently. I have been listening to jazz on my Sirius radio.
Posts: 456 | Location: Cleveland | Registered: January 03, 2003
No, I don't play poker too often, just some Texas Hold Em a couple times a year. I bowl up in your neck of the woods at Cloverleaf Lanes on Rt. 21. Thursday nights starting in the fall for 32 weeks. You can find my team by looking for the big cloud of smoke around our lanes. 4 of the 5 members of our team smoke 2-3 cigars each while bowling.
Posts: 187 | Location: Akron Ohio USA | Registered: October 22, 2003
Should I let my recently purchased cigars stay in my humidor a few weeks before smoking them?
Also... does 'laying them down' for a period of time help them to burn more evenly? I have had problems with my smokes tunneling or plugging. Seems I always have to keep my torch handy after the initial lighting.
I have read about not letting the flame directly touch the end and 'toasting' it prior to drawing air through. Or am I just doing it all wrong?
Thanks for the help.
I'm not a n00b, I just smoke that way.
Posts: 26 | Location: USA | Registered: June 12, 2004
You should almost always lay down a new box for at least a month or two. I always smoke one when they arrive to get a taste of what is to come. After two months, you usually have a totally different tasting cigar in front of you.
Laying them down also decreases burn problems as the cigars become evenly humidified.
Lighting a cigar can have a lot to do with how it burns. Don't touch the torch flame to the cigar. Keep it about an inch from the cigar. Torch the foot and then GENTLY take a few slow draws. This should be all it takes to get her going good. Be gentle and the cigar wont get hot and bitter on ya.
If you do all the above and they still don't taste right you can lay them down for long term (>6mos) and see if that makes any imrovement.
If all of the above has been tried and your cigars still suck - kick yourself in the A$$ for buying crappy cigars.
Hard work may pay off eventually but laziness always pays off now.
I mostly smoke Cubans, which may be a bit of a different ballgame, but I never think of aging in terms of weeks or months - it's a process of years. Most of what I am smoking now is 6 years old, and is very different from a new cigar of the same model. If you "age" the cigars for 4 months and can't tell the difference, it may be that there is no difference. In my opinion, you should really explore what I would consider short-term aging (at least 2 years) before you dismiss the topic.
I think it makes enough of a difference that I am buying cigars now that I don't plan to touch for at least 10 years.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Posts: 1168 | Location: Geneva | Registered: May 03, 2002
I have to agree with Delamont about the aging. If you think about it, unless you buy your cigars straight from the roller in front of you, the sticks probably have been laid down for a few months before you actually smoke it. Cigars are now packaged that they retain their humidity levels while being shipped and if you buy from a good store, their humidor (the store shelf) is probably better than your humidor. Unless it is an Opus or something else they cannot keep on the shelf, the cigars probably get another couple of months resting at the store.
I would also argue that unless you are talking about a premium stick, who cares. You don't let a $7 dollar of wine age, so why would you age a dog rocket?
Posts: 36 | Location: Boston, MA | Registered: February 03, 2004
quote:Originally posted by Ahowarth: I would also argue that unless you are talking about a premium stick, who cares. You don't let a $7 dollar of wine age, so why would you age a dog rocket?
No amount of aging will help a dog rocket. But I think that aging can and does help cheaper smokes, maybe even more than others. For example, I have been told that aging Connies for a year or more can really make a difference. But that's because Connies many times are too fresh when they arrive. So, the aging does them good.
On the other hand, aging an Ashton VSG for 3 months is probably not going to make a difference. I would think you would need to age it for at least a year to make a difference.
Which brings us to the question of what aging really is. Letting a cigar stabilize for a month or two is really not aging. Aging is a long term process counted in years, not months. But for many NC cigars, especially the milder ones, aging for any real length of time will not help and may actually make the cigar worse. Cubans (so I have been told) and the stronger NC's benefit the most from aging. But laying your cigars down for a month to stabilize them is not the same as aging.
Rob G
Posts: 796 | Location: New York | Registered: November 11, 2003
But I think that aging can and does help cheaper smokes, maybe even more than others. For example, I have been told that aging Connies for a year or more can really make a difference. But that's because Connies many times are too fresh when they arrive. So, the aging does them good.
wow this actually helped out alot. good way to xplain. i was wondering if there was really a difference.
