Cigar age
- Thread starter ncardw
- Start date
vendors year round deal fresh product, and often have a nice lesser selection of 24months matured stock avail at standard cost.
quite abit of aged @ 7years stuff has lately been brought to market - much of which is welcomed and solid smoke.
thusly , my box stockpile sums up unremarkably to a standard 85/15 mix of fresh & matured gotos / matched aged preferred marcas and shapes
quite abit of aged @ 7years stuff has lately been brought to market - much of which is welcomed and solid smoke.
thusly , my box stockpile sums up unremarkably to a standard 85/15 mix of fresh & matured gotos / matched aged preferred marcas and shapes
ChuckMejia
The General
Thusly
This is one question I have wondered about... Do conditions too wet ruin the aging process of cigars? Sure... too low of RH storage would cause issues (that makes sense). However, it seems like there is a lot of grognard bullshit around "aging" cigars. Wouldn't mind hearing some thought from some of the FOG's on what could cause a cigar to die off sooner because it was not cared for properly...
The Munt
Observe everything. Listen intently.
That's a fair question, and I'm no expert, but I've heard too cold means no agey agey and too hot your in beetle country, so I'd imagine it would be the same with moisture.. Not enough and your drying them out, too much and they are not going to smoke well?
Always a gamble when your buying aged, but reputable vendors and collectors are the only way to go if you don't age them yourself IMO.
Always a gamble when your buying aged, but reputable vendors and collectors are the only way to go if you don't age them yourself IMO.
Nacho Daddy
Irrepressibly Irreverent Inveterate Ignominy
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Generally I have found that cigars will survive within a certain range of heat and humidity.
between 50% and 75% humidity and 60 and 85 degrees is the comfort zone.
Occasional spikes or dips will affect cigars depending on length and severity..
Just like ageing,these problems come on slowly.
Too dry will ruin the flavors and aromas,and leave a cigar oxidised and lifeless.
Too moist encourages mold and can sour a cigar from the reaction of the leaf with moisture.
up to a point heat will not have a negative effect on tobacco,and cold will prevent the tobacco from holding enough moisture to mature,so it is roughly the same as too dry.
Anything less than 5 years I consider to be " maturing " cigars.
Ageing starts after 5 years.
between 50% and 75% humidity and 60 and 85 degrees is the comfort zone.
Occasional spikes or dips will affect cigars depending on length and severity..
Just like ageing,these problems come on slowly.
Too dry will ruin the flavors and aromas,and leave a cigar oxidised and lifeless.
Too moist encourages mold and can sour a cigar from the reaction of the leaf with moisture.
up to a point heat will not have a negative effect on tobacco,and cold will prevent the tobacco from holding enough moisture to mature,so it is roughly the same as too dry.
Anything less than 5 years I consider to be " maturing " cigars.
Ageing starts after 5 years.
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
To be clear...while cigars "can survive" under certain temps and RH let's not kid ourselves by thinking cigars will benefit being stored under 60%...they don't. They will lose their essential oils and they don't come back. Does this mean some would rather have their smokes at a certain RH under 60%? People tend to smoke what they like and at a degree of temperature or RH that THEY enjoy but that doesn't mean it's the best thing for the cigar esp. when you factor in bouncing numbers up and down. Keeping a stable environment is what is best for any cigar...the 70/70 applies here even though most will keep their humidors at 65/70. Anything over 75 degrees can have negative consequences so that means to counteract that temp you'd have to bring the RH down into the mid 60's. At the end of the day it's all about keeping our cigars thriving and safe from beetles and from them being too dry to smoke.
Nacho Daddy
Irrepressibly Irreverent Inveterate Ignominy
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"Anything over 75 degrees can have negative consequences so that means to counteract that temp you'd have to bring the RH down into the mid 60's."
And this is the key to the whole idea of storage.it is called RELATIVE humidity for a reason........
Well put,Gary.......
And this is the key to the whole idea of storage.it is called RELATIVE humidity for a reason........
Well put,Gary.......
to add to this - age-old discussion:...
are we talking CC's only or can NC's be aged as well ?
discussion:...are we talking CC's only or can NC's be aged as well ?
Anything can be aged. I have deadstock shoes from years ago (they're not better now though.)to add to this - age-old
are we talking CC's only or can NC's be aged as well ?
You're going to hear differing opinions on this but my opinion is that good NC tobacco matures well, some even age well (using Nacho's definitions)
In regards to this specifically, Padron and Drew Estate both freeze their cigars before shipping. I think both 1926 bands and T-52 age wonderfully. I know its a quick freeze and not extensive but it proves that cold doesn't kill the aging process. Just my .02.
Mr. McSquirelly
Joe Bananas
Just out of curiosity and because I've never smoked a Habanos with more than five years on it, does age make a huge difference? For instance (and this will be a layered question), I have three boxes of RASS (hypothetical). Box (A) has been resting for 12-18 months from its box-date stamp. Box (B) has been 'maturing' for 4.5 years. And Box (C) has been 'ageing' properly for 9 years. I decide to sample all three in a row--of course, thoroughly cleansing my palate in between each. To the untrained palate, will I notice distinct differences in profile and flavors across that 10-year span. Will Box (A) taste remarkably different than Box (C)? And finally, will Box (C) have the best flavors and profile of the three? I hope this question doesn't confuse the hell out of you guys!
And BTW, from all I've read about maturing/ageing, @Cigary43 and @Nacho Daddy have outlined all you need to know in a nutshell.
And BTW, from all I've read about maturing/ageing, @Cigary43 and @Nacho Daddy have outlined all you need to know in a nutshell.
The Munt
Observe everything. Listen intently.
Absolutely nothing wrong with freezing your cigars for beetle abortions... but I'm referring to long term storage. Bear in mind that some really dried out cigars can be bought back to life after a long period in the right conditions. Same goes for aging, freezing won't ruin your cigars but they certainly won't help develop any mellow flavors while frozen or fridged. Never a problem down under that's for sure, always got the cooler on !