Aging Cigars

First_Warrior

I  suppose there is aging thread butI have been unable to find it so here goes. I date every cigar that I receive by writing the date on a small price sticker or writing on the cellow. I regularly put 10% of my cigars in my aging humidor. I save my sticks in that humidor for a year or more before burning.
I cannot stress quite enough how much aging makes a difference in the mellowness, and smooth ness of a stick. The sharpness fades and the flavor comes forward. The nicotine recedes and becomes flavor.
Even 6 months makes a world of difference.
So my advice to newcomers is to date their cigars and put a few to rest for a few months and taste the difference. 

dirtdude

Great advice Rodger,  while I insist I haven't smoked long enough to worry about aging I am constantly pulling cigars out that have been resting a couple years. Wouldn't know if you don't date them,  of course you never know how long they have been resting in somebody elses humi or at the B&M

ForMud

That was the most frustrating part for me so far, not having enough stock to still be able to smoke and store at the same time. Now I look back 90% of the sticks I bought back then weren't worth smoking/storing anyway. 
It was some of the ones that were gifted from you guys early on that really opened my eyes to what were worth squirreling away.
I'm just now coming across a few sticks of my own that are a year old. Not very good sticks mind you, but it does give me some satisfaction knowing that I can make it to a year of storage without smoking them.
Now I guess the next step is the two year mark. 

YankeeMan

I do something similar to First Warrior.  I put half of what I get into the aging humidor.  I rotate them every so often, then I replenish my smoking humidors. 

Some I leave for a long time.  Last August when my son made major, I smoked a cigar I got at the 2010 Cigar Fest that AJ Fernandez rolled for me.  It was really great.  That was the longest I've aged anything, usually do about 8 to 10 months.

Hawkeye

I need to start writing dates on my stuff as well.  I really appreciate it when I get a stick and it has a date on it.  Having a set amount of each purchase/box set to age is a nice way of doing it as well.  

BKDog

It's not really ageing if we're talking less than a few years, but it's semantics I suppose because the fact that you've placed them in a humid stable environment is what really has an effect. The difference between a 61% and 68% over the time of 3 weeks or more can have a significant impact on how a cigar tastes. It takes something like 4 times as long for a cigar to become hydrated as it does for it to become dried by the same amount.

BKDog

Cigars do age after they are rolled and become cigars, it's just a very slow process.

peter4jc

BKDog said: It takes something like 4 times as long for a cigar to become hydrated as it does for it to become dried by the same amount. 

I've often wondered how long it takes to stabilize and/or change a cigar through and through, and have been told by anyone I asked that that is the great unknowable answer.  So my question is, where did you gain this knowledge, and if you know, why would it take longer to hydrate a cigar than for it to dry out.

BKDog

peter4jc said:

BKDog said: It takes something like 4 times as long for a cigar to become hydrated as it does for it to become dried by the same amount. 

I've often wondered how long it takes to stabilize and/or change a cigar through and through, and have been told by anyone I asked that that is the great unknowable answer.  So my question is, where did you gain this knowledge, and if you know, why would it take longer to hydrate a cigar than for it to dry out.

Well, you could drop it in a mud puddle and prove this theory wrong, but when we're talking about steady humidity from a 65-70% environment, I like to think it makes sense. And I got the information from reading a boatload of Boveda write ups from the people who have laboratories and all that stuff. There are videos on it as well. And, in the world of everything internet, everybody is an expert, so I reckon there will always be contested opinions.

I suppose we could also factor in periods of year and location, and maybe in the Bahamas your cigar will not dry out as quickly as in northern California.  Therefore, on any given day, any claim to average out drying and hydration times would be a moot point. But, if the laboratory peeps did some work and concluded all of this based on their experiments, I'd assume they used averages and evened out the hydration time and drying time in a scientific way.

Good question!

BKDog

Here's something more explicit @peter4jc :

"Why a month? Cigars lose moisture 4x as fast as they can safely gain moisture. Exposing your cigars to a safe, stable level of perfect humidity with Boveda minimizes the chance of the wrapper cracking as the filler gains moisture and grows. Nothing good happens quickly with cigars, so be patient."

https://bovedainc.com/reviving-cigars/

Bob_Luken

The fact that I have purchased cigars and waited five or six years is due to strict willy-nilly-ness. 

peter4jc

BKDog said:

Here's something more explicit @peter4jc :

"Why a month? Cigars lose moisture 4x as fast as they can safely gain moisture. Exposing your cigars to a safe, stable level of perfect humidity with Boveda minimizes the chance of the wrapper cracking as the filler gains moisture and grows. Nothing good happens quickly with cigars, so be patient."

https://bovedainc.com/reviving-cigars/

So where's your distrust of corporate bias?  Boveda says exactly what we'd expect them to say.      They want us to think theirs is the only 'safe' way to humidify.

I can see where adding moisture to quickly would have the possibility of swelling a cigar, in a hypothetical sense.  I've just never seen it happen, even in the overly-humid conditions of my basement in summer.

I still don't buy the idea that the tobacco in a cigar cares or knows that it's losing moisture vs. gaining moisture, and the idea that one happens faster.  I can see that at the extremes, losing moisture is safer than gaining.  And I still think there's some bias in Boveda's 'truth'.

But what do I know?  I only know what works for me in my environment.

Patrickbrick

I am still at the frame of mind where I don't need to label when I get them.  I try separate what others send me however.  I have a system.

Patrickbrick

Peter, stop trying to nerd out so much and just smoke the damn things.  I'm pretty sure you have given me similar words of wisdom.

Yakster

You can use the yellowing of the cello to help gauge the age of a cigar, if your cigar is in cello.

peter4jc

Yakster said:

You can use the yellowing of the cello to help gauge the age of a cigar, if your cigar is in cello.

Not too long ago, I read (but can't remember where - I think it was Saka on facebook) that there are two different types of cellophane wrappers being used.  One yellows more quickly, the other barely at all.

I saw today in one of my facebook cigar groups that somebody was selling a 10'er of Pork Tenderloins he bought at an event about 16mos. ago.  The cello was a dark gold.  Somebody else w/ the same cigar w/ the same age on them posted a pic of his and the cello was clear.  Sorry, Patrick, I'll stop nerding out and starting vicious rumors.

Guitarded

I wonder if the "new" cellophane is an engineered plastic that is cheaper, and not a plant based material that is porous? 
I did a little research a while back to find what real cello looks like under a microscope, but couldn't find a pic. 

Patrickbrick

I bet that the private seller swapped out the cellow to get more cash. This is not uncommon.

deadman

I use a small sticker for the date or if given the cigar, I put the name of who sent it.

skydiverD

I use a permanent marker, remove the cello,  and write it directly on the cigar. adds flavor. Anyone who doesn’t do this is a P***y. 

BKDog

I just print out my American Express statement and everything is dated for me.

Makes more time to enjoy coffee and cigars.

Willy_MN

skydiverD said:

I use a permanent marker, remove the cello,  and write it directly on the cigar. adds flavor. Anyone who doesn’t do this is a P***y. 

Sky, I started doing the same thing, but I use a paint marker.

peter4jc

I put the month and year on the bottom of each box with a Sharpie.  But it's kind of irrelevant; I like knowing how old a cigar is, but the bottom line is how enjoyable was the cigar?  Ya know?  I may have a cigar that has 4 years on it... does that make it better than it was at 3 years?  Does that make it better than another cigar that only has a year on it?  We get fooled into thinking age of a cigar is such a big thing; it may be, or it may not be, depends on the cigar.  Aging can (and should) improve a cigar, there's no disputing that, but how much and is the improvement imagined because, "Ooh, Ooh, this one's got X years on it"?  

Some cigars, like the Leccia White, or Ramon Bueso Project, are pretty much not worth the time to smoke when new.  But after a year or two, they become very enjoyable.  Other cigars just won't be any good no matter how long you age them.

Yakster

Willy_MN said:

skydiverD said:

I use a permanent marker, remove the cello,  and write it directly on the cigar. adds flavor. Anyone who doesn’t do this is a P***y. 

Sky, I started doing the same thing, but I use a paint marker.

 I use a soldering iron tip to wood burn in the info directly on the wrapper.

Willy_MN

Yakster said:

Willy_MN said:

skydiverD said:

I use a permanent marker, remove the cello,  and write it directly on the cigar. adds flavor. Anyone who doesn’t do this is a P***y. 

Sky, I started doing the same thing, but I use a paint marker.

 I use a soldering iron tip to wood burn in the info directly on the wrapper.

That's a good idea too...get a little sneak peak on the aroma of the wrapper burn that way too. Smart!!!

Amos_Umwhat

And still no one's mentioned duct-tape, number one in every mans tool box.

Yakster

Don't some of those Ezra Zion sticks come with duct tape or bailing wire wrapped around them?

Amos_Umwhat

Yakster said:

Don't some of those Ezra Zion sticks come with duct tape or bailing wire wrapped around them?

Manly men doing manly things in a manly way.  Sounds toxic!  Ooh baby!  Intoxicating.

Yakster

Dang, I found a cigar with a duct tape band here. Someone beat Ezra Zion to it. From the review, not recommended.

Amos_Umwhat

Dang!  I went to the link, there's really a link!  I just figured you'd wrapped some duct tape around a Oliva 2nd.  That's what it looked like.  Who knew? 

Yakster

Cheap Humidors brand Duct Tape Cigar.  Who'da Thunk It.