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Aging Cigars

First_WarriorFirst_Warrior Posts: 3,140 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited January 2019 in Cigar 101
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. 
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Comments

  • dirtdudedirtdude Posts: 5,641 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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
    A little dirt never hurt
  • ForMudForMud Posts: 2,336 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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. 
  • YankeeManYankeeMan Posts: 2,654 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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.
  • HawkeyeHawkeye Posts: 246 ✭✭✭✭
    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.  
    Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular.
  • BKDogBKDog Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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.
    "Love is a dung heap, Betty and I am but a c.o.c.k. that climbs upon it to crow."
  • BKDogBKDog Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cigars do age after they are rolled and become cigars, it's just a very slow process.
    "Love is a dung heap, Betty and I am but a c.o.c.k. that climbs upon it to crow."
  • peter4jcpeter4jc Posts: 15,320 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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.
    "I could've had a Mi Querida!"   Nick Bardis
  • BKDogBKDog Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    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!

    "Love is a dung heap, Betty and I am but a c.o.c.k. that climbs upon it to crow."
  • BKDogBKDog Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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."



    "Love is a dung heap, Betty and I am but a c.o.c.k. that climbs upon it to crow."
  • peter4jcpeter4jc Posts: 15,320 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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."



    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.
    "I could've had a Mi Querida!"   Nick Bardis
  • PatrickbrickPatrickbrick Posts: 7,722 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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.
    "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give".  Winston Churchill.
    MOW badge received.
  • PatrickbrickPatrickbrick Posts: 7,722 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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.
    "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give".  Winston Churchill.
    MOW badge received.
  • YaksterYakster Posts: 25,531 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You can use the yellowing of the cello to help gauge the age of a cigar, if your cigar is in cello.
    I'll gladly bomb you Tuesday for an Opus today. 

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  • peter4jcpeter4jc Posts: 15,320 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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.
    "I could've had a Mi Querida!"   Nick Bardis
  • GuitardedGuitarded Posts: 4,643 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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.  :/
    Friends don't let good friends smoke cheap cigars.
  • PatrickbrickPatrickbrick Posts: 7,722 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I bet that the private seller swapped out the cellow to get more cash. This is not uncommon.
    "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give".  Winston Churchill.
    MOW badge received.
  • BKDogBKDog Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I just print out my American Express statement and everything is dated for me.
    Makes more time to enjoy coffee and cigars.
    "Love is a dung heap, Betty and I am but a c.o.c.k. that climbs upon it to crow."
  • Willy_MNWilly_MN Posts: 409 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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.
    Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations.
    #f**kyourhashtags
  • Willy_MNWilly_MN Posts: 409 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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!!!
    Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations.
    #f**kyourhashtags
  • Amos_UmwhatAmos_Umwhat Posts: 8,405 ✭✭✭✭✭
    And still no one's mentioned duct-tape, number one in every mans tool box.
    WARNING:  The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme.  Proceed at your own risk.  

    "If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed.  If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." --  Mark Twain
  • YaksterYakster Posts: 25,531 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2019
    Don't some of those Ezra Zion sticks come with duct tape or bailing wire wrapped around them?


    I'll gladly bomb you Tuesday for an Opus today. 

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  • Amos_UmwhatAmos_Umwhat Posts: 8,405 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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.
    WARNING:  The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme.  Proceed at your own risk.  

    "If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed.  If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." --  Mark Twain
  • Amos_UmwhatAmos_Umwhat Posts: 8,405 ✭✭✭✭✭
    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? 
    WARNING:  The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme.  Proceed at your own risk.  

    "If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed.  If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." --  Mark Twain
  • YaksterYakster Posts: 25,531 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cheap Humidors brand Duct Tape Cigar.  Who'da Thunk It.
    I'll gladly bomb you Tuesday for an Opus today. 

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