Fresh cigars vs. Aged

[Danbreeze]

Happy Friday Fellow Gorillas!!

I have a question I have been pondering for the last couple of days that I could use your help with. I have been reading alot lately about aging cigars and the postive benefits of the "sick period". I was wondering if there are some cigar brands out there that you have noticed smoke about the same whether they are fresh or aged. Or does aging benefit every cigar??

[zemekone]

I think aging benefits all cigars, but more the case for Habanos...

[kenstogie]

It never hurts but often helps alot. Especially if they are young.

[NCRadioMan]

The "sick period" is usually associated with habanos.

I feel every cigar benefits from aging.


NCRM's

[adamh_25_]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

The "sick period" is usually associated with habanos.

I feel every cigar benefits from aging.


NCRM's

....Some cigars (NC is all i know so this is what im talking about) are good aged and good "fresh." A lot of NC's are aged before shipment though so many are already aged, but some more so than others. Good example, the CAO Brazilia. I've had some right out of the box at the B&M and some with age on them. All of which are good. The NC's that need age are ones that taste a tad bit greenish right outa the B&M. Many need more of a "rest" than an age to be good. But many more...like padron....are great fresh and greatER aged.
Adam

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

The "sick period" is usually associated with habanos.

I feel every cigar benefits from aging.


NCRM's

Especially Cremosas.

If you can age them until after you're dead and gone for decades, that's the best recommendation.

Aaron's

[68TriShield]

Fuentes are aged(tobacco) 4 to 7 years depending if it's green band or black,Padrons are similar in aging. The only NC that stands out in my mind as improving w/ age is the Ashton VSG. I had one that rested about 3 years and the flavor profile changed completely for the better...Dave

[Hammerhead]

IMO, there hasn't been a single cigar I've tried that hasn't benefitted from aging. Whether it's simply for a month or so to stabilize RH between the B&M and my 'dor, or longer, my observation is that in most cases at least three months minimum helps very much take the 'edge' off many cigars that are otherwise harsh.

Case in point, I smoked an ERDM Robusto Oscuro I bought about six months ago. The first two lit up was harsh. This one - from the same box - was delicious, enough that I went out and bought a box a week later.

[RGD]

I don't normally plan on aging cigars for like 5+ years like most on here - heck I may not live long enough to smoke and enjoy them - and that would certainly piss me off -
Had I of been at the point I am now in my cigar life back when I was in my 20/30's - be a whole different point of view.

Ron

[croatan]

I think some age helps all non-Cubans. I've had plenty of cigars that were decent when young and very good with a few years of age on them. Most bad cigars young are, in my opinion, still bad cigars with age. Some cigars, like the Opus X, I can't stand young but do like after a year or two. That being said, I think you're probably reading more about aging in the Habanos forum, where 1) people tend to take more time to age the cigars and 2) I think age plays a bigger role in the cigar's development. Most non-Cubans, while improving with age, I don't think typically blossom the same way aged Cubans do; however, this is just based on my own personal opinion from smoking quite a few non-Cubans with five to ten years of age on them versus Cubans of the same vintage--I've only been smoking cigars for about ten years and haven't bought any vintage stock, so I can only comment on what I've aged personally and then smoked.

[sirwood]

Originally Posted by Aaron

Especially Cremosas. If you can age them until after you're dead and gone for decades, that's the best recommendation. Aaron's

HA! This made me laugh !!

I think most cigars can benefit from age, especially cubans AND some strong cigars. I think part of the benefit of aging cubans is that they rush them out the door so fast because they need the money!

But, on occasion, I do like the 'twang' of fresh cigars...

[mrputts]

they are good outta the box and better with some age.

some cigars have a grassy taste that dissapears with just a small amount of age. i dont know about any long term aging yet. im still building up my arsenal so i can have that priviledge later in life.

[n2advnture]

Originally Posted by zemekone

I think aging benefits all cigars, but more the case for Habanos...

"Rule of thumb" - smokem within a couple months of the box code or wait at least a year. (18 months for PSD4s) However, the 05s & 06s smoke better fresh BUT nobody knows how they'll age yet.

~Mark

[MikeZ]

I'm by no means an expert but here is my observation.

All cigars will benefit from aging. Cuban cigars more so than NCs because they have been traditionally rolled with younger tobacco. This because of the high demand for Cuban cigars around the world means that until very recently, they could rarely ever stockpile sizeable amounts of tobacco for aging. So new Cubans usually have young tobacco and spending considerable time in your humidor will help. Non Cubans on the other hand, especially those by the premium and larger companies generally are made with tobacco that already has a couple years of ageing. These too will benefit from continued aging in your humidor but generally smoke better at a younger age than comparably aged Cubans.

Aging the Cubans gets all the attention usually and I think this is because 1. They need more aging before coming to full potential for reasons mentioned earlier and 2. it's the cigar experts/afficianados of the world that concentrate on Cuban cigars and they tend to have the means to lay in sufficient supplies of cigars so that they can be aged and compared to their younger counterparts.

I feel that until the most recent years there hasn''t been any real competition to Cuban cigar quality coming out of the other popular tobacco growing countries (Dominican Republic and Nicaragua for the most part). I'm referring to Arturo Fuente, Padron, Dunhill and a few others. It's great to see this changing as the lessons learned from the last cigar boom/bubble/burst are resulting in better tobacco and better construction.

Unfortunately, I've noticed that these high quality cigars are fetching higher prices than their still generally superior Cuban cousins. I can't get myself to pull the trigger on a box of Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No 2s or Belicosos when they cost the same as a box of Cuban Montecristo No 2s.

I best stop blabbering now. Thanks for reading this far.

-Mike

[larryinlc]

This is the reason I like to buy stock from members here who have decided for whatever reason to sell stuff that's been collecting humidust deep inside the cabinet for long periods of time. Case in point...I purchased a box of Macanudo Gold Labels from Mo that had been stored for three years. I make no secret about my liking of this brand, and I have a couple new boxes aging as I write this. I tried a couple new Gold Labels, but there is simply no comparison to the aged example of this cigar. The difference is shocking. Almost like two completly different smokes. If you've got the room and patience....age them. You'll be glad you did.

Larry