To Rest or Not to Rest

jlzimmerman

Do you rest your cigars before you smoke them, and if so, for how long? I rest mine, unintentionally, only because I buy them faster than I can smoke them. I guess my average rest time is 2 months, although there are some I want to get to even before I let them rest for a few weeks.

But is is really necessary? Most of our cigars are aged properly even before they're shipped to the U.S. And as for me, half of my smokes come from my local Smoke Inn which have had most of their cigars resting for God knows how long. The way I'm going, it is very feasible that some of my cigars will end up resting in my humidor for almost a year before I smoke them.

Markbb

Yes I rest mine and the hymidor smells awsome, I rested some Rocky Patel 92s like smoking silk.....

bass8844

i find that with most of my smokes, the longer the rest, the better. But if anything, the rest will allow the humidity levels to stabilize and for the oils to redistribute.

ashmaster

I absolutely try to rest my smokes for 30 days before smoking them. The key word is try!!!! Once in awhile curiosity gets the best of me, like when I got my hands on the Camacho 10th anni Corojo a few days back, yummy.

j0z3r

I suppose it all boils down to preference, as so many things do. So if you like your cigars fresh after shipping and don't feel a need or want to let them rest then more power to you. Personally, I'm in the same boat as ashmaster, which is to say I try and rest them but sometimes a certain cigar just looks and smells so wonderful that resting is just not an option.

edit: I went back and noticed you referred to purchasing about 1/2 of your smokes from a local place. I think that is probably fine in most cases without additional resting unless, like kuzi16, you like to re-acclimate a cigar to your preferred humidity, again all about preference. My local guy keeps his walk-in humi at a good RH and cigars that are right out of there smoke very good and burn perfectly (assuming the cigar is not fundamentally flawed that is.).

Joe

kuzi16

I rest for 6 weeks. I like humidity a bit lower than most shops keep their cigars. this takes a bit of time.

handypantz

I try to rest my cigars for as long as possible. Hopefully for at least 6 months but I smoke them faster than i buy them...so usually its like a month or 2

phisherman

Rest, rest and then rest some more. I like mine aged over a year; but it doesn't alwyas happen. I have some cigars that have been in my humidor over 2 years. Some just build up such anticipation; smoking them becomes anti climatic. Kinda screwed up; but that is how my mind thinks from time to time.

LarryD

Cigars seem to be like wine in that respect. Some are good enough to opo the cork as soon as you get it home, others need more time in the bottle. Overall it seems they all benefit from a bit of time to relax. Then some tmes you have no choice due to their condition but to rest them. I try to rest my internet purchases for 6 weeks by don't hesitate to fire up the local purchases right  away.

pilot711

As I buy sticks I rotate them to the bottom and always have about a years worth on hand. That way everything has aged just about a year before I smoke them. If I buy a box or 10 or whatever I will sometimes smoke one right away them move the rest to the bottom because I just can't wait to try them and to compare.

cigarsmoka

I like my RH a little lower too. A lot of retail shops I go to keep their RH slightly higher than usual - so I guess it all depends on your preference (like was mentioned) and if it is in the cigars best interest.