Which cigars to age? Noob question

S

Seymour_cigar

Young Chimp
Hi folks,

Been here awhile listening and learning. It's fantastic site.

Since I am an cigarette smoker I haven't jumped right in and have limited my cigars to 1-2 a week.

But I find myself sliding down the slope. There are several B/M within an hour or so of home so i am always buying a few a few to try. Besides the ones i have smoked I have accumulated another 30 or so smokes.

I dont have a lot of Unfavorites right now. Although I seem to be gravitating from Coronas/Churchills to Robustos.
I am kind of leaning toward Maduro's also.

Here is the list:

BRAND NAME LENGTH RING
A. Fuente Chateau Fuente 4.5 50
Ashton Classic 5.5 44
Camacho SLR 4.5 50
Camacho Coyolar 4.5 50
Carlos Torano Exodus 1859 Silver 6.125 46
Carlos Torano Exodus 1859 Silver 7 50
Carlos Torano 1916 Cameroon 6.5 54
Cusano 18 Maduro 5 50
Don Tomas Sungrown 5.5 50
El Rey del Mundo Robusto 5 54
H/M Excalibur 1066 King Arthur 6.25 45
Gispert Robustp 5 54
Gispert Toro 6 50
Gran Habano Corojo #5 6 54
Hoyo de Monterrey Dark Sumatra 4.5 50
Joya de Nicaragua Antano 4.5 52
Joya de Nicaragua Antano 4.75 42
Joya de Nicaragua Antano 4.75 60
Montecristo #3 5.5 44
Oliva Serie O 5 50
Padron 3000 5.5 52
Partagus Naturales Natural 5.5 50
Perdomo Lot 23 5.75 54
Perdomo Fresco 5 50
Punch Rare Corojo 6.125 50
Rocky Patel Edge Missle 5 48
Romeo y Julieta 1875 Cedro Deluxe #1 6.5 44
Romeo y Julieta 1875 Cedro Deluxe #2 5.5 44
Saint Luis Rey Rothchilde 5 54
Sosa Wavell 5 50


THanks

Duane
 
If you like them now, they will all benefit with time under thier belt. I know the Edge's are totally different after a year and much better. I have a few years on some Padron's, Torano's 59's black and silver and some Camacho's and Gran Habanos and few more on your list and they are really, really good. I personally, wouldn't let a mild cigar sit for more than a few years.
 
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Seymour_cigar said:
Hi folks,

Been here awhile listening and learning. It's fantastic site.

Since I am an cigarette smoker I haven't jumped right in and have limited my cigars to 1-2 a week.

But I find myself sliding down the slope. There are several B/M within an hour or so of home so i am always buying a few a few to try. Besides the ones i have smoked I have accumulated another 30 or so smokes.

I dont have a lot of Unfavorites right now. Although I seem to be gravitating from Coronas/Churchills to Robustos.
I am kind of leaning toward Maduro's also.

Here is the list:

BRAND NAME LENGTH RING
A. Fuente Chateau Fuente 4.5 50
Ashton Classic 5.5 44
Camacho SLR 4.5 50
Camacho Coyolar 4.5 50
Carlos Torano Exodus 1859 Silver 6.125 46
Carlos Torano Exodus 1859 Silver 7 50
Carlos Torano 1916 Cameroon 6.5 54
Cusano 18 Maduro 5 50
Don Tomas Sungrown 5.5 50
El Rey del Mundo Robusto 5 54
H/M Excalibur 1066 King Arthur 6.25 45
Gispert Robustp 5 54
Gispert Toro 6 50
Gran Habano Corojo #5 6 54
Hoyo de Monterrey Dark Sumatra 4.5 50
Joya de Nicaragua Antano 4.5 52
Joya de Nicaragua Antano 4.75 42
Joya de Nicaragua Antano 4.75 60
Montecristo #3 5.5 44
Oliva Serie O 5 50
Padron 3000 5.5 52
Partagus Naturales Natural 5.5 50
Perdomo Lot 23 5.75 54
Perdomo Fresco 5 50
Punch Rare Corojo 6.125 50
Rocky Patel Edge Missle 5 48
Romeo y Julieta 1875 Cedro Deluxe #1 6.5 44
Romeo y Julieta 1875 Cedro Deluxe #2 5.5 44
Saint Luis Rey Rothchilde 5 54
Sosa Wavell 5 50


THanks

Duane
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I would definitely rest the SLR, Punch Rare Corojo, Padron 3000, HDM Dark Sumatra, the Camachos and the Fuente a year or so. The only one that would see much benefit from more than that would be the Padron imho.
 
NCRadioMan said:
I personally, wouldn't let a mild cigar sit for more than a few years.
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Just curious, where do you think all that nicotine "dissipates" to?

I have cigars aging going back 10-12 years, some more than that, everything from mild to big bodied, and well, I do see flavor development and nuance get better with age, but strength not changing.

Cigars are not wine where tannins eventually bind and fall out (sediment, which requires decanting in older wines, along with other solids), thus a wine may loose its young "exuberance", structure in general speak, and become mellow, but I have yet to hear of nicotine dropping out. Physical impossibility?

If you have information on how this happens, chemically speaking, I would really like to know.

TIA.
 
doc8466 said:
If you keep buying at a pace faster than you can smoke them, you'll age some without even trying. :ss
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Bingo: thats the trick buying more than you'll smoke.

Looking at your list, I'd suggest smoking them now, make a note of the ones you like and the the next time your at the B/M pickup three or four so you can smoke them over several months, you might see some changes. Usually a month or two is not what we call aging cigars, usually thats just letting the cigars rest and acclimate to your humidor, althought it can help. Years is usually what is meant by aging. I have smoked cigars with as little as a year in the humi and it seems they have improved, sometimes a little of the harshness associated with a young cigar has mellowed out quite a bit.

Once you have a couple cigars you know you enjoy, maybe pick up a box, smoking one or two a month you'll get an idea how a certain cigar changes over time.

Also if you havent already started dating your cigars, I usually write the month and year on the cello with a sharpie, its nice when you pull a single out of the humi and notice its been in there a couple years.


Enjoy your cigars experimentation, is part of what makes it fun.
 
The Joya de Nicaragua Antanos can benefit from a years rest if you like the more laid back flavor of the aged smokes. Try a fresh one and see if you like the 'in your face' flavor and power hit. When they are more aged, they have a less powerful hit but a more controlled flavor very similar to JDN Celebracions. I buy several boxes of the Consuls and one of the Machitos at once and smoke a box of Consuls fresh and about half of the Machitos are smoked fresh. The others get a rest and the smoked ones get replaced on a following order. Gran Habano #5's also attain a more refined and smoother taste after some resting time. I like them both ways so I smoke them both fresh and rested.
 
It depends on what you're looking for......

The JdN Antanos will mellow a bit with age......IMHO they are best right off the truck; I LOVE the Antano "kick in the pants" when they are new. However, they are still good smokes with age, just different. I just don't think they gain much in complexity with age.

The Fuente Sungrowns IMHO will benefit greatly from aging. They mellow out a bit, but turn into a much more complex, enjoyable smoke. I'm working on some Cuban Belicoso SGs right now with about three years on them and they are greeeeaaaat!

:ss
 
Padrons are really good fresh, but aging them gives them a different flavor profile and takes the bite away if you don't like the bite.
 
Age the ones you like, and see how that changes them. One "aging strategy" is to buy a box and smoke one every month, or every two months, while taking notes. That way you'll see how they develop, and will notice when they are at their best.

Although, if you do this, I'd recommend you to buy two (or more) boxes and stash one away unopened. That way you'll have a whole box (or more, depending on how many boxes you bought) of nice, aged cigars when you notice that they are hitting their peak. It's kinda frustrating to notice that after two years your cigars are starting to get *really* good when you have only two more sticks left in the box... :)
 
doc8466 said:
If you keep buying at a pace faster than you can smoke them, you'll age some without even trying. :ss
Click to expand...


Yes, exactly. If I didn't have too many cigars, it would be too hard to keep myself from smoking them right away. But since I do have too many cigars, I don't feel like I'm depriving myself; they're just aging accidently.

And one of the great things about this hobby is experimenting. Smoke a cigar that you like now. Make some notes about the experience (or do a review!). Then maybe the next time you smoke one of those will be 6 months from now, and you may find that it's gotten better. And the next one will be 9 mos from now, and it's even better. Or you might find that it's lost something. And then you'll know which cigars benefit from aging, and from how much.
 
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