Extreme Aging

[zackly]

Towards the back of every issue of Cigar Afficianado there is a tasting review of vintage cigars, Connoisseur's Corner. Most are classic Cuban brands, some 60 years or older! They garner incredible ratings. I've seen @ least one score a perfect 100 points.
I am wondering if cigars are like red wine, where only certain vintages continue to improve with time?
I'm considering doing some long term aging in an extra humidor that is currently not in use. I have a great, cool & dry basement. I would put some beads in the box and let it rest, checking it only every few months.
Is this a reasonable idea? Any particular cigars that you would reccomend for this project? Thanks!

[madurolover]

Originally Posted by zackly

Towards the back of every issue of Cigar Afficianado there is a tasting review of vintage cigars, Connoisseur's Corner. Most are classic Cuban brands, some 60 years or older! They garner incredible ratings. I've seen @ least one score a perfect 100 points.
I am wondering if cigars are like red wine, where only certain vintages continue to improve with time?
I'm considering doing some long term aging in an extra humidor that is currently not in use. I have a great, cool & dry basement. I would put some beads in the box and let it rest, checking it only every few months.
Is this a reasonable idea? Any particular cigars that you would reccomend for this project? Thanks!

Are you talking Cubans or non?

[Yawgeh]

I don't really feel comfortable making any specific recommendations, but I would say that you should take a box of your favorite maduro/oscuro cigars and try aging them for a good while. Those strong sticks tend to have some wonderful mellowing that makes them much more complex after a few years.

[zackly]

Originally Posted by madurolover

Are you talking Cubans or non?

Non-Cubans

Do you think it makes a difference?

[Herf N Turf]

How old are you? Personally, if I aged cigars for 60yrs, I'd only be able to smoke them when I came back as the horses ass my gf keeps telling me I will be in the next life.

[zackly]

Originally Posted by Yawgeh

I don't really feel comfortable making any specific recommendations, but I would say that you should take a box of your favorite maduro/oscuro cigars and try aging them for a good while. Those strong sticks tend to have some wonderful mellowing that makes them much more complex after a few years.

I'm not much a fan of the "dark side" of cigar wrappers. I prefer natural,
sun or shade grown.

[zackly]

Originally Posted by Herf N Turf

How old are you? Personally, if I aged cigars for 60yrs, I'd only be able to smoke them when I came back as the horses ass my gf keeps telling me I will be in the next life.

If I put 60 years on them I'd be enjoying them in 2069 when I'll be 119 years old, so more realistically (hopefully) 5-10 years.

[madurolover]

Originally Posted by zackly

Non-Cubans

Do you think it makes a difference?

Yes I think it does. The reason being is that most non-Cuban cigars aleady have a good bit of time in the aging room before they ae sent to the retailers. Most non-Cubans I have smoked with over 5 - 7 years on them have lost some of what made them special. That is not to say that none are worth aging but not too many of them.

Cubans on the other hand are generally shipped very young (except for EL's, and special releases). For some reason it seems that quite a few Cuban cigars seem to age more gracefully than their non-Cuban counterparts. Usually a Cuban cigars flavors will evolve with age without losing all of their strength. I have smoked a few seriously old Cubans that were complete powerhouses but with flavors that were melded together very nicely. When I say age I am talking a minimum of 5 years, anything less is "rest".

Seems that the more you smoke the more adept you get at telling when a cigar has "aging potential". It is not something I can explain but you will be smoking a cigar and think "man this cigar will be spectacular in a few years".

The only suggestion I have is to buy a box of something and smoke one, put the box away and in 6 months smoke another. Take notes and compare to see if you notice any changes. Keep doing this until you notice the cigar starts going downhill. Then you will kniow the peak age of that particular cigar.

[Criminal]

I've aged the following cigars, and found them to greatly improve with the age (anywhere from 2-5 years):

- Padron Anniversarios
- Opus X
- La Aurora 100 Anos
- Torano Virtuoso

What I would gather from this is a couple of things. First, you must start with a quality cigar. Aging a crappy cigar is just like aging a crappy wine. It ain't gonna get better. Second, again like wine, it seems some of the more bold-flavored cigars are the best to use to experiment with aging.

But, what the hell, it all depends on how much patience you have. Sometimes, it was hard not to break into the "aging box" in my humidor.

[tx_tuff]

If you like Sun Grown wrappers I would age some large ring gauge VSGs. They do great with some age (3 or 4 years on the ones I had). The smaller ring gauge VSGs are better without a lot of age.

[GoonerMD]

Doesn't the aging process also produce bloom, which is desirable?

[madurolover]

Originally Posted by GoonerMD

Doesn't the aging process also produce bloom, which is desirable?

Bloom (or plume) is a nice thing to see on cigars. Although it does not actually add anything flavor-wise it is an indication that a cigar has been properly maintained over a period of some time. It usually will take a few years for bloom to appear and not all cigars will get it no matter the age and conditions.

[Tarks]

Ahhh plume. Such a sexy word isn't it?

[Phantom57]

Ageing a cigar will make it milder and more mellow. Cubans started the idea, because they roll and ship tobacco that is not fully fermented, and you have to finish the process for them. They are using every decent scrap of quality tobacco to satisfy demand. NCs, in general are aged and fermented properly, and are ready to smoke.

[madurolover]

Originally Posted by Phantom57

Ageing a cigar will make it milder and more mellow.

Not always though. I have smoked some real powerhouses with 10 - 15 years on them.