The need for aging
bigharpoon
Posts: 2,963 ✭✭✭
in Cigar 101
This is something I understand but I just don't understand. New cigars go in the humidor and the flavors smooth out over time and the enjoyment factor goes way up. This seems to be the general consensus around here and standard operating procedure. My question is...why is this necessary???
When beer hits the shelf it is ready to drink. When wine hits the shelf it is ready to drink. So why is it when cigars hit the shelf you are supposed to bring them home, store them in your humidor for months on end and smoke them a long time from now? Why are they not all pre-aged so when you buy them they are at their best and ready to be smoked immediately?
Having a humidor is a great thing. It allows you to take advantage of sales and buy more cigars than you can smoke, but buying cigars that need this step to be at their best and can't just be smoked? I don't get it.
When beer hits the shelf it is ready to drink. When wine hits the shelf it is ready to drink. So why is it when cigars hit the shelf you are supposed to bring them home, store them in your humidor for months on end and smoke them a long time from now? Why are they not all pre-aged so when you buy them they are at their best and ready to be smoked immediately?
Having a humidor is a great thing. It allows you to take advantage of sales and buy more cigars than you can smoke, but buying cigars that need this step to be at their best and can't just be smoked? I don't get it.
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It is kinda like wine where a lot of good vintages are aged. Also, think Whiskey. Some of them are aged 21 years or more to help make it smoother. You can smoke a cigar right out of the box and not age it yourself. Aging also helps to mellow the taste.
I'm sure there are others that can explain this better that I just did.
I think many folks on this forum will suggest that some sticks are better for aging than others, and in my opinion it has a lot to do with personal taste/preference.
By letting it sit in your humidor for a bit, you can allow the cigar to settle at a humidity that YOU prefer.
Every cigar also has a "shelf life" per say. Yes almost all premium hand made cigars contain aged tobacco that is usually ready to smoke right away, but more times than not, a little more aging can help the flavor come together a little more. Some cigars lose flavor as they age, esp. mild cigars. But most fuller bodied cigars will develop a smoother taste and the flavors can "round" out a little.
Again with the wine thing: you can drink it right away, but most wines do benefit from a bit of cellaring. The same thing goes for cigars.
Hope that clears things up a bit!
Fermentation 1: leaves are cured in a barn for 45 days. This is where they turn from green to brown.
Fermentation 2: Leaves are moved to pilones (stacks). Heat sweats out much of the by product of the tobacco. This leaves the tobacco having a less edgy taste and brings out its sweeter qualities. Heavy tannons are broken down at this stage. Depending on the type of toabacco, this process can be repeated 3 or 4 times and can take up to three years.
Maturation 1: Leaves are dried to an internal r/h of 15% and packed in bales where they age. This is what is truly known as tobacco aging. When people say the "found an old bale of tobacco", it is at this step. During this time, tannons are further broken down and the tobacco settles. As you might imagine, Fermentation 2 is very hard on the leaf.
Fermentation 3: The leaf is taking from the bales inmaturation 1, and given to the rollers. To make the leaf pliable, it must be rewet. Reweting the leaf restarts a final fermentation and activates a process similar to Fermentation 2, but on a much less complex level and without the aid of a pilone.
Maturation 2: After being rolled, the cigars enter the aging room at the factory where they sit for anywhere from 30 to 120 days. Here the the temperature is controlled to allow Fermentation 3 to end. As the cigars enter the aging room, they have a very amonic smell and when they are down with Maturation 2, they should have lost it completely and much of the water that was present in the tobacco ont he way in, should have left the cigar. Watching a cigar maker in his aging room is amazing. He feels his cigars, listens to them while he rolls them between his fingers and smells them. The cigars tell the maker when they are ready to be packed.
Maturation 3: The third maturation lasts as long as five years. During this time, the the most important thing that occurs is the marriage of the tobaccos within the cigar. The oils from the leaves meld and the cigar takes on a more rounded flavor. To a lesser degree, the tobacco continues to age like it did in Maturation 1 with tannic breakdown.
Maturation 4: Occurs 5 to 15 years after packing. Not much more marrying but defined by extreme tanic breakdown in the leaf. Depending on the type of cigar, oils can dissolve.
Maturation 5: Over 15 years, extreme tannic breakdown and near total dissolution of oils
For the most part all cigars are the same up to maturation 2, after that, each cigar takes a more unique path. For example some cigars may enter maturation 3 in 3 years or even 2 rather than 5. It depends on the tobacco, cigar, and storage conditions. Once you practice and study, you can get the hang of how a cigar will aged based on its components and environment. Our cigar consultants are good at helping customers with this when they want to age something. In my humble opinion, all cigars are best toward the end of maturation 3 and the beginning of maturation 4. Once you get too far into maturation 4, the cigar looses many of its best qualities. I think there is such a thing as too much aging. I like my smokes married and rested. It is also worth noting that after maturation 3, the ability to detect specific aromas becomes increasingly difficult. The cigar is still complex, but the flavor is delivered in a more uniform, rounded package.
Okay, more ranting. Interesting tid bit of info for those interested. People talk about "green" or "young cigars". There are two types. One type is when a Fermentation 2 is not done to completion. If this tobacco is made into a cigar, it is unfixable and you are stuck with a bad smoke. It will have an extremely dirty and tannic taste and awful finish. If fermentation 2 is not done to completion, the cigars will taste like crap. The second type of youth is when a factory skips maturation 2. If you ever opened a box of cigars and smelled amonia, it is because the cigars did not get enough time in the aging room and they are still winding down from fermentation 3. Fortunately, the cigars are not ruined, but you need put them away for at least two or three months to let maturation 2 complete.
"Long ashes my friends."
I don't have the space or income to buy and age cigars as they probably should be. But then again, I am not what I would call an aficionado anyway...more like an "Enjoyamundo"
I never can identify all the nuances of cigars, I just can identify what I like and dislike...hence the "RRS".
Re: the question about specific offenders, no one has consistent trouble but many cigar brands have been ruined. For example, lets say a guy is selling 500 boxes a month a brand and size and then it gets a 95 rating. Then the demand boosts to 5000 boxes a month. Now he needs to ramp up production and fill a ton of standing orders. In a hasty move he cuts maturation time after rolling and ships it right to the US and then to customers. Customer picks it up and smokes it and scratches his head in disbelief that this is a 95 rated cigar. It tastes terrible. Does this sound familiar? With the schip tax on april 1st, there was a lot of panic to get cigars imported, no doubt you will see some bad sticks in the next 90 days from certain manufacturers. You will be fine buying from us at CCOM since we are aging everything that came in the past few weeks a full 120 days before it lands and we also are deep on exisiting inventory to ensure you guys only get stuff that is ready to rock. No way I am going to knowingly sell a bad cigar, but be warned, others will and you will see them around May/ June time.
Last comment - on buying a box smoking one and then letting sit, smoking another and letting it sit... this is a great method. i do this all the time, especially when I am not certain how a cigar is going to age. By the time i figure out where the sweet spot it, I have a half box and I plow right through them while they are in their price. One thing I start a few years ago, was I splurged on an extremely expensive box of cigars, something I really wanted but would not buy for myself usually. I bought it for my birthday. Since then, I smoke one cigar out of the box every new years and every birthday. So in 12 years, the box will be finished. It is a bit of a treat to myself each year and I take notes on each one I smoke. Lots of fun. I highly recommend.
I think this is a wise approach for all of us. If Alex had spent all of his time talking, he would never have gained the knowledge that he obviously has obtained. I'm no expert, but maybe one of my opinions or observations may give someone with more experience something that they may otherwise have overlooked. Again, just my opinion.
LOL I have tried that with a couple of my favorite brands, but it doesn't work too well with me. I open my humi and let the cigars decide who is going to be smoked at that particular time. If I have a box of a favorite, and only a few of each of the others in the Humi... then I always seem to go to one of the box stick's.
I want to put away a box of the C.Com Brazilian's but if I want to pull it off, the only way I will be able to do it is to buy two boxes and smoke from one. Then I will be able to leave the other alone, at least until the first box is gone
Can you say self control ?
I can say it... I just can't practice it !
Outstanding knowledge for those of us just starting out in this hobby. Thanks!
most cigars on the non-Cuban market are shipped from the factory when they consider them ready to smoke. in theory, all cigars you get from cigar.com are ready the minute they hit your mailbox.
the reality is that at times the transit time, or conditions, will not promote the best experience. a few weeks in the humidor will solve this.
another reason why people age cigars is because they like the way they taste after a few years.
Arturo Fuente will sell OpusX when they are ready to smoke. many people like them as fresh as you can get them.
others like them with a bit of age on them. this is all personal taste.