Smoking your rare cigars

[CWS]

I honor of this thread I broke the seal on my cab of Verocu easties and lit one up. Damn, what was I waiting for.

I used to save cigars for special occaisions then realized each day is special. Yeah I pull out biggies on my birthday and Christmas but I also do the same on Tuesday because I did 3.5 miles in 40 minutes. I love cigars.

 

[funkejj]

Though I'm not gonna' lie, I have been holding out on a certain 1926 40 years for quite sometime, just can't bring myself to do it yet. Waiting for perfect conditions.

Ok I have read more than once that if you wait to long like 6 to 8 years that the Padrons actually start to "go bad" per say. I have never waited that long to smoke one. but hear that you need to smoke them within 6 to 8 years. I may be wrong but have read that in more than one place.

 

[Poriggity]

I never understood saving cigars for special occasions. Life's too short, and you could be dead tomorrow. Then what will your family members do with those "rare" cigars that mean nothing to them.
Scott

 

[Electric Sheep]

Example, you have said cigar, whatever your special cigar(s) is and basically you're saving it, look at it once a month in your humidor, thinking, waiting, aging just for that special occasion. Now, 5 years down the road, you finally take it out, clip it, light it and it's OK. Not spectacular, not awesome, but OK, or good. The reason I say this is that you've put that cigar on such a pedestal, and had such high expectations of it because you've basically worshiped that cigar for so long, that it just doesn't deliver what it may have if you treated it more as a regular cigar, or above average and just enjoyed the damn thing.

That happened to me so many damn times that I just said "EF IT" and started smoking everything. I haven't been actively "collecting" cigars in a while now, probably a year and a half or so, something like that. I now am just saving more for "stockpiling" purposes to be able to smoke and share because in the end, THAT is the fun part; hanging out with the guys and enjoying cigars.

I got other hobbies that allow me to collect shit. I'll stick to cigars for smoking. :smokingbo

 

[CWS]

Ok I have read more than once that if you wait to long like 6 to 8 years that the Padrons actually start to "go bad" per say. I have never waited that long to smoke one. but hear that you need to smoke them within 6 to 8 years. I may be wrong but have read that in more than one place.

Well the 1978 HDM I smoked last weekend was spectacular. Cigars ar elike wine. They age and improve. They can go past their prime but ...
Aging cigars is not the same as saving one special cigar for the perfect moment. They rarely come guys. Enjoy.

 

[cc jefe]

I smoke htfs on a weekly basis. Its just no big deal to me. It's not like Htfs are way better then other great smokes in current production right now, so I smoke em. Had my last Frank few days ago. Boy was it good. Just let em free boys, let em free.

Well put, and agreed bro! Smoke em' if you got em'...

 

[itsme_timd]

I've got a box that I keep my extra special cigars in. But most of the ones that are extra-special to me have more to do with the source (generous gift from a fine BOTL) than the cigar, but it's a combination of the two.

I try to smoke some rare cigars from time-to-time just because. Maybe after a hard day or some other time I need a little treat or pick-me-up.

And sometimes you get lucky... just this past weekend I went to a shop and found a whole box of MB2's hiding out on the top shelf! So that made it OK to fire up the one I had left.

 

[jayro75]

Ok I have read more than once that if you wait to long like 6 to 8 years that the Padrons actually start to "go bad" per say. I have never waited that long to smoke one. but hear that you need to smoke them within 6 to 8 years. I may be wrong but have read that in more than one place.

I have a couple of '03 PAM Piramides and have to say they are some of the best Padrons I've smoked. I've read what you are saying but as of now I disagree with it.

That being said I believe in lighting up what you've got. As someone else said you could be gone tomorrow and your family will have to figure out what to do with your sticks. In my case it will be a fight between my father and father in-law for who gets what.:grin:

 

[Hendy]

Well, some of my brotha's got thier hands on some of my CFCF 22 sticks. Some other brothers will get thier dirty mits on some of the others in July of next year. They'll have 2.5 years on them by then.

 

[smokinghole]

This thread seems to have gone through all the of reasons to not save the smokes.

This might be a new one, ever since I started working at a B&M saving "rare" cigars became a non issue for me. Not because I had access to the back room on a regular basis as an employee, but because I realize that the "rare" sometimes really aren't that rare. Plus even if it is that rare something just as special will come out in short time. It's the nature of the biz. Just look at how the Tat blacks started. Then the Frank, now Boris and Drac. In a few months I'm sure Pete will have another special release stick after these have sold out. I like small batch offerings because it removes the guise of the cigar being the same thing year after year. It's not the rarity that draws me it's the potential unique blend that could only be made into 1000 or so boxes. You can't try them all but you can try a lot.

Now I just grab smokes depending on what I'm doing/have time to smoke. I'm not going to take a DPG blue Exclusivos for a day at school with a 2 hour break between classes. I will take a LGC Serie R Limitada to a family BBQ and walk around with it for 3.5-4 hours though!

 

[Ratbert]

Brothers, this thread could not have been more directed at me! I have always sat on my special cigars, waiting for a moment that may never arrive. I smoke everyday sticks while the aged and rare just sit in the cabinet, waiting on me.

You guys have opened my eyes, and this weekend while watching football I'm going to dig in and light up some very nice smokes.

As my wife says, "Always live for today, because you never know what tomorrow may bring, or what it may take away."

 

[SmokinginWNC]

This thread is incredible. I always felt guilty for smoking my rare cigars, so quickly. However now that i see others do the same.......It's a relief. Smoke 'em while you got 'em.

 

[Kurtdesign1]

I think what needs to be said here is that there is a difference between aging cigars & hoarding them for the perfect moment. There's NOTHING wrong with not smoking a special box of cigars if they're less than perfect. The converse to that is waiting to burn through a stash of cigars that are already smoking brilliantly.

The "Rosetta Stone", so to speak, regarding when to burn through them, is to figure out when they are smoking well. Trust me, I've been on the sharp end of the stick when it comes to enjoying the cigars from a box, deciding to age half of them only to find out years later that they are NOTHING compared to what they were previously. So take it from me when I say that the decision to smoke something "special" should be the cigars, NOT YOURS!

 

[BrandonJ]

I just had a hard lesson...
Reading that Chuck busted open his Tat Easties... I decided today I will smoke the only Westie that I have... Went to look in my desktop and the wrapper is split foot to cap...

I guess ya just never know... I keep that darn humidor as close to perfect as I can too... Sad times...Lesson learnededed.

 

[Kurtdesign1]

Dude, still smoke that cigar! As long as the binder is in good shape, a cigar can be smoked without a wrapper. I take it off all the time to experiment or to "open up" plugged cigars.

 

[ctaylor]

There is nothing more enjoyable than relaxing and enjoying a rare cigar. It is a sickness for me, i search online check out all the local shops looking for that special cigar. After I find the cigar, (most recently it was the Don Arturo Gran Aniverxario which I found at Holt's in Philly) I will leave the cigar my humi and try to forget about it as long as possible. If it is a cigar so rare I won't find another I can hold off longer. In this case, I smoked it after about 5 months of rest. After all the purpose of these treasures is to smoke them.

 

[nickgonzo]

Update: I smoked the Fuente 858 SG on Sunday and just uploaded the pics and the review. The thread got moved to the reviews section, oops. haha check it out

 

[ksflyfisher]

I smoke cigars to smoke cigars. When I first started, my collection was small. As I would buy cigars I would try to buy some nicer sticks. They would usually get burned right away as I didn't have enough other cigars to save them.

Now as my collection has gotten bigger I have been able to save some longer. I'm relatively new to this so I wouldn't say I've aged them, just trying to.

Having said that I enjoy cigars and really enjoy good cigars. I smoke a particular cigar when I want to. Just this last Saturday while at a college football game I had a Opus X while tailgating and a PSD4 afterwards. These were both firsts for me and were a gift from a fine BOTL. I am glad I did. I figured enjoying the company of good friends, it was only fitting to smoke something special.

But as the saying goes, "to each their own". And that is the beauty of choice.

Jamie

 

[cc jefe]

Alright, all this talk about burning rare cigars has got me pondering. Tomorrow morning I have to run around a bit and take of a few things, so afterwords, I am going to burn my Hoyo de Monterrey Particulares...pictures and review to follow...