Home Cigar 101

Can you assume some cigars will be great right away?

PAtoNHPAtoNH Posts: 429
I've had cigars that taste great the day they arrive and ones that tasted awful. Of the awful ones, I'm always surprised when 2 - 6 months later I give it another try and find them to be amazing.

I had a box of Partagas Series S Perfectos that I hated on first taste… a year later I have the last one in the humi and they've aged so nicely I am saving it for a special occasion. What a turnaround!

Any ideas on why this is? Is this always a wild card even with brands/blends you are familiar with? Can you give some insight and add order to this chaotic world!

Comments

  • rsherman24rsherman24 Posts: 7,165 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Great question. I have started aging them at least a month or two before I even try them anymore. Like you said, I have tried some the day I got them and they were great. Others I have probably ruined my opinion on them smoking them early.
  • 0patience0patience Posts: 10,665 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ROTT (right off the truck), it is a gamble. Some are fine, some may need to rest or acclimate for a bit. I find it best to let them rest for a bit, but since I have no patience, I often will fire one up the day I get it, especially if it is a box I really like. Many times, I'll get that "bad beer face" when smoking one ROTT. ; )

    And there is a differnce between resting and aging. I'd say a couple weeks is resting and a year would be aging. But then again, I could be wrong.
    In Fumo Pax
    Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.

    Wylaff said:
    Atmospheric pressure and crap.
  • MartelMartel Posts: 3,306 ✭✭✭✭
    0patience:
    ROTT (right off the truck), it is a gamble. Some are fine, some may need to rest or acclimate for a bit. I find it best to let them rest for a bit, but since I have no patience, I often will fire one up the day I get it, especially if it is a box I really like. Many times, I'll get that "bad beer face" when smoking one ROTT. ; )

    And there is a differnce between resting and aging. I'd say a couple weeks is resting and a year would be aging. But then again, I could be wrong.
    I've wondered if there's much to the idea of acclimating. For instance, I just got bombed by Nathan. He dated his sticks, so I know they all have at least two months on them, some more. Do they need to acclimate to my environment before I smoke? How is this different from ROTT? I mean, I can see that they are not the same as ROTT from the warehouse (maybe) but then again, they did go through who knows what in transit. I also have little patience with these things, and a couple of those sticks are making my mouth water already!
    Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

    I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot.  I will smoke anything, though.
  • CigaryCigary Posts: 630
    Experience with a brand and doing a dry draw can give you a heads up on the cigar.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    PAtoNH:
    Any ideas on why this is? Is this always a wild card even with brands/blends you are familiar with? Can you give some insight and add order to this chaotic world!
    most of it has to do with the process. and some of it has to do with what you look for in a cigar.

    some makers will not use an aging room to let the cigar settle after the wrapper is applied (padron, and most cuban cigars). and some will only release a cigar if it has been in the aging room long enough that it tastes right (Drew Estates). Some will put a cigar away for a set amount of time. (Fuente)

    if the cigar you purchased is like the DE stuff then it will almost always be better fresh.

    if your stuff is like the Padron or cuban cigars then it will most likely be better aged.

    if your stuff is like fuente, then it depends on the blend.

    if you have no info on how the companies age their stock post roll then use info on the blend.

    in general, the milder stuff will be better fresher and the fuller bodied stuff will have more potential for aging.
  • PAtoNHPAtoNH Posts: 429
    Do you find that, in general, buying from a B&M that the cigar is ready to go vs. purchasing online?

    I rarely buy anything other than singles at B&M due to cost considerations and often burn them within a few days and am generally pleased. Ordering a box/bundle of the same cigar online I'll often find they need 3 to 6 months in the humi to get to where the B&M cigar was on day of purchase.

    I wasted a La Aurora Salomon that I was too eager to smoke Rott… wouldn't draw, cut it twice, wouldn't stay lit… disaster in general. I put the remaining 7 in the bottom of the humi and will try one again in the Spring.
  • 0patience0patience Posts: 10,665 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think all depends on how they are storing the cigars. I've seen some B&Ms that will run their humidity fairly high, or what I would consider high and their cigars seemed a bit "mushy". Other B&Ms I've had extremely good luck lighting one up right there.

    I think on "mail order" boxes, it depends on how they store and set up the boxes and shipments to go out. I've received some boxes that I could have humidified a good sized humi with the cigars alone.

    I've grown accustomed to letting the cigars rest a bit when I get them. More because it's a gamble and some cigars I'm not willing to gamble on.
    In Fumo Pax
    Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.

    Wylaff said:
    Atmospheric pressure and crap.
  • EchambersEchambers Posts: 4,184 ✭✭✭✭✭
    0patience:
    I think all depends on how they are storing the cigars. I've seen some B&Ms that will run their humidity fairly high, or what I would consider high and their cigars seemed a bit "mushy". Other B&Ms I've had extremely good luck lighting one up right there.

    I think on "mail order" boxes, it depends on how they store and set up the boxes and shipments to go out. I've received some boxes that I could have humidified a good sized humi with the cigars alone.

    I've grown accustomed to letting the cigars rest a bit when I get them. More because it's a gamble and some cigars I'm not willing to gamble on.
    Agree with 0patience and others. A lt of it has t do with how they were shipped and stored prior to you getting them. If they have sat in the back of a ups truck then they likely are dry and need at least a little time to come up to a proper humidity. Likewise if they have been sitting in a warehouse for months. On the other hand, if they have been well treated in a B&M they may be just great. My advice: if you buy a box, smoke one right away, then every few weeks. Hide a couple at the bottom of your humi for a year or two and see what happens.
    -- "There's something that doesn't make sense. Let's go poke it with a stick."
  • PAtoNHPAtoNH Posts: 429
    Cigary:
    Experience with a brand and doing a dry draw can give you a heads up on the cigar.


    So, you'll cut a cigar and if it draws too tight or if the flavor is??? you'll drop it back in the humi?
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,591 ✭✭✭✭✭
    PAtoNH:
    Cigary:
    Experience with a brand and doing a dry draw can give you a heads up on the cigar.
    So, you'll cut a cigar and if it draws too tight or if the flavor is??? you'll drop it back in the humi?
    I don't mean to butt in and answer for cigary but,.........I think he means the flavor he gets from the "dry draw" combined with his prior experience will tell him whether the stick seems good enough to light up. Some guys have enough experience to tell. Not me. But I think I got lucky and I had an experience like this myself just last night. I normally won't even try one until it's had at least a couple of weeks rest but I was inspecting a new box of cigars that I have had for only a few days and I took one out of the cello and it smelled great so I fired it up. (I only smelled the wrapper and the foot. I didn't cut it and try the draw as I normally toast before the cut anyway.) I was well pleased with the flavors and I'm hoping they will even get better. (It was a Cusano 59 Rare Cameroon in case anyone's wondering.) Perhaps this box was well rested at the warehouse before shipment and had no major temp or humidity fluctuations in transit but that's just my guess. These distributor's warehouses are humidity controlled so I'm guessing the main problem with ROTT sticks being yucky is the temperature and humidity fluctuations in transit. Summer heat would be the worst. Right? As far as B&Ms go, they are all different so you gotta look around for their hygrometers. See if they are reading within the range that you would keep your own stash.
  • PAtoNHPAtoNH Posts: 429
    Thanks everyone! Great comments, very helpful.

    I like trying out different smokes and if I like a cigar I'll try one of their other lines or sizes if it comes up for sale at a decent price. I'd love to better my odds at getting good smokes.

    I received a free San Lotano sampler last summer that was awesome Rott… I smoked the Habano Toro on the day of arrival and was blown away. I guess my takeaway should be: Buy more San Lotano Habano Toro cigars.
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,591 ✭✭✭✭✭
    PAtoNH:
    Thanks everyone! Great comments, very helpful. I like trying out different smokes and if I like a cigar I'll try one of their other lines or sizes if it comes up for sale at a decent price. I'd love to better my odds at getting good smokes. I received a free San Lotano sampler last summer that was awesome Rott… I smoked the Habano Toro on the day of arrival and was blown away. I guess my takeaway should be: Buy more San Lotano Habano Toro cigars.
    Yes! Buy more of 'em for sure. But the oval shape was a weird feeling for me. I might enjoy getting used to it though as those are some good sticks. LOL
  • CigaryCigary Posts: 630
    Bob....you're scaring me! Exactly what my brain was saying when I wrote that answer. I have too many cigar tools to ever let a plugged cigar scare me and I can open even the worst cigars out there that are unsmokable by others standards. There will by times when I can tell by a dry draw that there could be trouble ahead...then I get my tool out and then open it up and smoke it. I keep every humidor at it's custom RH for what I have in there and rarely ever have a bad cigars.
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,591 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cigary:
    Bob....you're scaring me! Exactly what my brain was saying when I wrote that answer. I have too many cigar tools to ever let a plugged cigar scare me and I can open even the worst cigars out there that are unsmokable by others standards. There will by times when I can tell by a dry draw that there could be trouble ahead...then I get my tool out and then open it up and smoke it. I keep every humidor at it's custom RH for what I have in there and rarely ever have a bad cigars.
    Tell me about your tools for opening up a tight draw. Is it a custom tool or could I buy it online? I'm in the market for a draw poker.

    And I sent you a PM to ask you different question. Could you please take a look at your inbox and let me know your thoughts on that as well. Thanks.
  • jd50aejd50ae Posts: 7,900 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Bob Luken:
    Cigary:
    Bob....you're scaring me! Exactly what my brain was saying when I wrote that answer. I have too many cigar tools to ever let a plugged cigar scare me and I can open even the worst cigars out there that are unsmokable by others standards. There will by times when I can tell by a dry draw that there could be trouble ahead...then I get my tool out and then open it up and smoke it. I keep every humidor at it's custom RH for what I have in there and rarely ever have a bad cigars.
    Tell me about your tools for opening up a tight draw. Is it a custom tool or could I buy it online? I'm in the market for a draw poker.

    And I sent you a PM to ask you different question. Could you please take a look at your inbox and let me know your thoughts on that as well. Thanks.
    Years ago a girlfriend suggested a darning needle and it worked. I did however find a very thin one and sharpened the point.
  • PAtoNHPAtoNH Posts: 429
    I have to admit to poking into a cigar with a variety of thin, sharp objects… the frustration of it always leaves me wishing I'd just started over. Plugged cigars never bring me joy, but they are part of the deal with a handmade so I accept it for what it is. There are a few cigar brands that I've loved but abandoned after having too many problems with draw. That said, I've found that 6 months or more in the humi seems to work out many of those issues so I'll let 'em sleep a bit if they seem prone to this problem.
  • CigaryCigary Posts: 630
    Bob Luken:
    Cigary:
    Bob....you're scaring me! Exactly what my brain was saying when I wrote that answer. I have too many cigar tools to ever let a plugged cigar scare me and I can open even the worst cigars out there that are unsmokable by others standards. There will by times when I can tell by a dry draw that there could be trouble ahead...then I get my tool out and then open it up and smoke it. I keep every humidor at it's custom RH for what I have in there and rarely ever have a bad cigars.
    Tell me about your tools for opening up a tight draw. Is it a custom tool or could I buy it online? I'm in the market for a draw poker.

    And I sent you a PM to ask you different question. Could you please take a look at your inbox and let me know your thoughts on that as well. Thanks.
    There are some very good tools I use....DrawPoker from Thompsons...$20 Another is this one: This has a wood with the metal rod.... image Here's a link for different kinds...I have about 4 of them. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cigar++draw+tool&id=2CAEFECF685363FBA21DB383BBBF967C5E3B8AD5&FORM=IQFRBA
  • Lee.mcglynnLee.mcglynn Posts: 5,960 ✭✭✭✭
    Anejo
    Money can't buy taste
  • PAtoNHPAtoNH Posts: 429
    Lee.mcglynn:
    Anejo


    these?
    http://www.cigar.com/cigars/viewcigar.asp?brand=326
    which are you favorites? why?
  • PAtoNHPAtoNH Posts: 429
    too rich for my blood but I'll keep an eye out for a single if the opportunity presents. Thanks for the suggestion.
Sign In or Register to comment.