The "Aging" Concept...

Aged to 21 seems perfect for cubans - at least for me tastes vary.

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Viva la differance! - GIS for cuban girl
 
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But just look at the oil on the surface of those - thats how you know they have been kept right.

Or maybe this is a time to put cello on


Blueface said:
Awesome!!!
Just sit tight another 40 or so years and look what you have to look forward to.
Yummy!:r

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Gave this topic some more thought as I was enjoying a 35 year old RyJ Petite Corona today (vintage 1973). Very complex smoke by now, as should be. But power wise, didn't seem to loose much when compared to recent vintages. True to form, it actually gained in power as it approached the nub.

While I see a number of posts stating that aged cigars loose "power", after smoking a well aged cigar (hopefully 35 year old cigar old enough to be considered "aged") I can easily disagree with these claims. And after more analysis I can only say that there is no loss of power, at all. Logically, can't be. Nicotine does not go away, aged or not aged, it stays in the tobacco leaf forever. But it does get "masked" by the development of flavors and complexity and takes a back seat to those. Exactly the same way an aged Pinot Noir does not loose much "power" but gains a lot of complexity, just as an example. The proverbial "iron fist in a velvet glove" (for any wine geek out there). Where in a young cigar nicotine is the "loudest" component your palate senses (similar to tannins in wine), in an aged smoke it is the (further) developed flavors of the leaves that take the center stage, nicotine playing a supporting role.

Whether one prefers nicotine first or flavor complexity first is the real deal breaker here and in my case it all depends on the mood, company and sun spots that day... Although that said, I have yet to come across a cigar I didn't prefer with some age on.

Will smoke a 10+ year old Sancho Panza Molino tomorrow (hmmm, today, its almost 2AM now) to get another data point.
 
houdini said:
I understand that many of the great cigars we all smoke and love here argueably taste better with age....What I dont understand is when guys state that certain incredible cigars are horrible unless they have some age on them.

Thats not an incredible cigar to me. I expect a cigar to be a great one whenever I smoke it...If it gets better with age..cool! Its a contradiction to me otherwise. Any thoughts?
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From my experience, the worst thing about "fresh" cigars is ammonia toward the last 1/3 of the cigar. I notice it much more in young CCs, but also in NCs especially fuller flavored cigars. So when I say "__________ cigars are horrible when fresh", what I mean is that I can taste ammonia.

I bought a cab of RASS from Mar 07. The first 1/2 of the cigar truly is incredible. Then the ammonia aftertaste kicks in and tells me that they need more beauty sleep. :D
 
Blueface said:
As I have always stated, it all boils down to preferences and having so many variations/choices is just a wonderful thing.

I happened to actually read my MRN Encyclopedia and couldn't help but highlight the following found on page 11:

"When will a Havana 'peak' in taste?"

It should be noted that as a cigar matures in time, it does not necessarily taste better to an individual smoker.

A young cigar is "punchy", a cigar at first maturation is "flavoursome", at second maturation "classy and elegant", and in the third maturation is "ethereal". These are absolutely different virtues of a great cigar and cannot be compared.

In short, when Havanas ages, they just become different.

Which is better depends on personal preferences. And when it comes to personal preferences, they may change in time.

Sometimes you may want a "punchy" cigar as an "eye-opener". Sometimes you may want a "flavoursome" cigar after a heavy meal. Sometimes you may want a "classy and elegant" cigar to brighten up your spirit. Sometimes you may want an "ethereal" cigar when you are "in the mood".

So here is the answer to the most commonly asked question: "When is the age that a certain Havana 'peaks'?" There is no such thing.

I swear I never read this before.
I swear MRN never spoke to my dad or me before he wrote this, and frankly, it pisses me off as he copied from us.:r
Since MRN is a respected source, I would help it adds credence that this "age" argument can never be settled.
It is a thing of preference and no one can tell someone else what it is they prefer. One has to find that on one's own. The same aged cigar may be great to one and stink to another and visa versa on a young one.
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Your posts on this topic are great, thanks for your perspective. It again comes down to that thing of trusting your own senses/experience instead of being swayed by what others say. I think as humans, we're naturally influenced by what we read and hear, other peoples' realities can become ours. Political consultants thrive on this idea.
Since you bring up MRN, when you read his book you get the notion that unless you're aging a cigar, sometimes for decades, that you're wasting it. See his writeup on the RASS. It's like you should feel guilty for smoking a fresh cigar.
 
Today I finally understand aging.

I had an aged La Aroma de Cuba (courtesy of NCRadioMan's bomb) and it was my favorite cigar to-date at the time.

Today I had one fresh off the B&M shelf out of a full box (I think new stock, since they were out the last time). It was NOT the same. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't great like the last one.

Time for me to buy a bigger humi and start aging my cigars.
 
I am always interested in this subject. I am still relatively new to the world of cigar smoking (about 6 years). I am a fairly patient person and I like the investment of time and energy I put into my cigars. It makes it much more of a hobby to care for them before smoking them. I do cheat like everyone else but other than the min 2 week resting period on any shipped cigar my general rule of thumb is to wait 6 months. For this reason I require anything new I try to be good at 6 months or no more are ordered. For instance, the gurkha I just tried failed pretty miserably.

So am I cheating myself on some brands? Kidding myself?
 
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