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expiration date?

this may sound like a pretty stupid question, but i was thinking how long can cigars last in a humi? is there a certain time period before they actually start going bad and expire? or are they smokeable forever? i was bored and just had that weird thought in my head!

Comments

  • laker1963laker1963 Posts: 5,046
    kevster77:
    this may sound like a pretty stupid question, but i was thinking how long can cigars last in a humi? is there a certain time period before they actually start going bad and expire? or are they smokeable forever? i was bored and just had that weird thought in my head!
    Some sticks will last for a long time, some not so much. If the right stick were placed in a well seasoned and maintained Humi...who knows what the limit would be.
    I know I have heard of 5 year old plus sticks smoking and tasting great.
    There are also some bundles of fillers out there which have 40 - 50 years on them or better, or at least that is what they claim.
    Being an agricultural product, they must have some kind of "shelf life" but I think it is more to do with the individual "ingredients" of the cigar and the way it is stored that would be the deciding factor. IMO
  • When it comes to premium cigars, the more time spent in a well maintained humidor, the better. This process is called "aging" and the tobacco in the blend melds together flavor-wise, creating a mellow yet more pronunciated flavor in a cigar. This can definitely vary from stick to stick, but I have never heard of a cigar that actually got worse from age. I myself have never aged a cigar for over a year, but I would guess there are several guys on this forum who have cigars with at least 5 years of age on them.
  • jsnakejsnake Posts: 5,979 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Nice question. I tend to save 1 cigar of each blend that I really enjoy and would like to experience them later after some aging. Does anyone here push past 5 years?
  • Sol1821Sol1821 Posts: 707 ✭✭
    i think alex wrote somthing about aging in one of his blogs?
  • Garen BGaren B Posts: 977
    I remember Vince O posting about smoking some cigars from 25 years ago a while back. You might want to ask him in his Sunday News and Smoke thread.
  • You guys smoke any of those 92 bolivars? the nc ones, I got a 5 pack and they lost a ton if not all flavor. It was almost like smoking hot air hahaha this was about 06-07 so the cigars had been aging for 15 years prolly
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    here is a bit i posted a while ago about rest and age.



    For me there are three stages: fresh, rested, aged.

    There is a bit of overlap in these.

    Well, not fresh. To me, a fresh cigar is one from the shop or right out of the mail box. 0- 4 weeks.

    A rested cigar has spent some time in MY humidor. It is at MY humidity. It isn’t aged but it isn’t brand new or fresh. 2 weeks on up to about a year is rest for me. I will almost never smoke a cigar that is younger than 6 weeks. I find that I enjoy them more with some resting.

    Aged... that is a harder question.

    This all depends on the fullness or strength of the cigar.

    This all depends on the fullness, or strength, of the cigar. A cigar with a Connecticut shade wrapper can have an aged taste as early as one year (or maybe even before) I find for this mild wrapper type any more time ages away the flavor. They become so smooth that it becomes harder to taste. The burn is great though.

    A medium strength cigar can take longer to age… but again after a while it’s not going to make much difference.

    A full strength cigar can take the longest.

    Scratch that. Tubos take the longest. Some say that cigars in tubes can take 10+ years to age. The near air tight container makes all the difference.

    In theory, a cigar can be good indefinitely if kept up on. In practice, a cigar is a 100% natural (organic in some cases) product. There are no preservatives. This means that from the moment the leaves are picked they begin to break down. How the breaking down process is controlled is up to us and this is what makes a cigar good/bad. This breaking down of the oils in the cigar is what makes it less harsh. Eventually you will get to a point where there is nothing left to break down or it has broken down too far. I don’t know why you would want to, but you can “over age” a cigar.

    I am conducting an experiment in aging. I had 5 El Cobres. I smoked one before I started doing my reviews. A few weeks later I smoked and reviewed this one:
    http://www.eotacforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=359883
    About a year after placing them in my humi I reviewed this one:
    http://www.eotacforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=423011

    Three or so years from now (5 years from time in humi) I’ll smoke and review the fourth one. Five years from that (ten total years of age) ill smoke the last. I know you guys can’t wait for that. … Better hop in your time machine.

    I also have a few in tubes that will see 10+ years.

    When I have a kid …er- IF I have a kid I will run out a few days before the birth and buy 3 cigars. One I will smoke on the day of the birth. The others will be shared on their 18th birthday.

    But… 18 years? Isn’t that too much age? In Cigar aficionado there is a “connoisseur’s corner” with some damn fine smokes in there. I picked up the one on the floor next to me (Oct 07) and opened up to said corner.
    - HDM double corona 1992 (15 years age) rated 99
    - Davidoff Château Margaux 1988 (19 years aged) 98
    - Cohiba robusto 1991 (16 years aged) 96
    Too old you say?
    I hope some day to have a 20 year old Cuban.
    so where does age start? depending on the cigar, 1- 5 years.
    Personally, I tend to smoke most at about the 6 month range. Special ones will last longer. As with many things in the cigar world, it comes down to your own taste.
    link




    in reference to the "over age" paragraph...

    for the most part, unless the cigar is super strong, i would say that 10-15 years is a bit much on the age department.


    of course this is all just opinion
  • JZJZ Posts: 827
    kevster77:
    this may sound like a pretty stupid question, but i was thinking how long can cigars last in a humi? is there a certain time period before they actually start going bad and expire? or are they smokeable forever? i was bored and just had that weird thought in my head!
    I believe all of yours have expired unfortunately. Send them to me and I will be sure to dispose of them properly free of charge!
  • ha! pretty smart idea, but i think i'll take my chances with them.
  • JZJZ Posts: 827
    My services are available should the need arise!
  • smbrinksmbrink Posts: 406
    I met a guy once that had 30 year old Gurkhas . They weren't well maintained when he received them tho, so they felt more like small bludgeons than cigars. He said that he was going to try to revive them.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    gurkha, as we know it today, was purchased by Kaizad Hansotia in 1989 (20 years ago) and didnt see much success in the US until 1995 (14 years ago) when it started dealing with Miami Cigar Co.

    the cigars did exist before 1989 but they were an Indian (as in from India, not native american) company and did not sell much, if at all to the US.

    there is a good chance that these cigars were either dry cured or machine made. the texture and feel that you describe could be on account of that. you can also be assured that the image and branding of the cigars has changed in the last 30 years -- let alone the last 20 years. they may be unrecognizable to most.
    "reviving" them may not do a damn thing.


    ...if he even has actual 30 year old Gurkhas.
  • JZJZ Posts: 827
    30 miinutes, or 30 years I have yet to find one that I like. There are a few however that I will be trying at some point so there is still some hope. (some hope)!
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    kuzi16:
    here is a bit i posted a while ago about rest and age.



    For me there are three stages: fresh, rested, aged.

    There is a bit of overlap in these.

    Well, not fresh. To me, a fresh cigar is one from the shop or right out of the mail box. 0- 4 weeks.

    A rested cigar has spent some time in MY humidor. It is at MY humidity. It isn’t aged but it isn’t brand new or fresh. 2 weeks on up to about a year is rest for me. I will almost never smoke a cigar that is younger than 6 weeks. I find that I enjoy them more with some resting.

    Aged... that is a harder question.

    This all depends on the fullness or strength of the cigar.

    This all depends on the fullness, or strength, of the cigar. A cigar with a Connecticut shade wrapper can have an aged taste as early as one year (or maybe even before) I find for this mild wrapper type any more time ages away the flavor. They become so smooth that it becomes harder to taste. The burn is great though.

    A medium strength cigar can take longer to age… but again after a while it’s not going to make much difference.

    A full strength cigar can take the longest.

    Scratch that. Tubos take the longest. Some say that cigars in tubes can take 10+ years to age. The air tight container makes all the difference.

    In theory, a cigar can be good indefinitely if kept up on. In practice, a cigar is a 100% natural (organic in some cases) product. There are no preservatives. This means that from the moment the leaves are picked they begin to break down. How the breaking down process is controlled is up to us and this is what makes a cigar good/bad. This breaking down of the oils in the cigar is what makes it less harsh. Eventually you will get to a point where there is nothing left to break down or it has broken down too far. I don’t know why you would want to, but you can “over age” a cigar.

    I am conducting an experiment in aging. I had 5 El Cobres. I smoked one before I started doing my reviews. A few weeks later I smoked and reviewed this one:
    http://www.eotacforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=359883
    About a year after placing them in my humi I reviewed this one:
    http://www.eotacforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=423011

    Three or so years from now (5 years from time in humi) I’ll smoke and review the fourth one. Five years from that (ten total years of age) ill smoke the last. I know you guys can’t wait for that. … Better hop in your time machine.

    I also have a few in tubes that will see 10+ years.

    When I have a kid …er- IF I have a kid I will run out a few days before the birth and buy 3 cigars. One I will smoke on the day of the birth. The others will be shared on their 18th birthday.

    But… 18 years? Isn’t that too much age? In Cigar aficionado there is a “connoisseur’s corner” with some damn fine smokes in there. I picked up the one on the floor next to me (Oct 07) and opened up to said corner.
    - HDM double corona 1992 (15 years age) rated 99
    - Davidoff Château Margaux 1988 (19 years aged) 98
    - Cohiba robusto 1991 (16 years aged) 96
    Too old you say?
    I hope some day to have a 20 year old Cuban.
    so where does age start? depending on the cigar, 1- 5 years.
    Personally, I tend to smoke most at about the 6 month range. Special ones will last longer. As with many things in the cigar world, it comes down to your own taste.
    link




    in reference to the "over age" paragraph...

    for the most part, unless the cigar is super strong, i would say that 10-15 years is a bit much on the age department.


    of course this is all just opinion
    Well the tubo thing is a good thing to know. I'm glad to know that all of my GOF's and some opus's will last a long while!
  • Hawk55Hawk55 Posts: 846
    and a damned good opinion. Love reading this response. Very good!!
  • aron325aron325 Posts: 158
    when advice is needed in cigars kuzi is god. it is amazing how much i have learned from him lol.
  • VulchorVulchor Posts: 4,848 ✭✭✭✭
    JZ:
    30 miinutes, or 30 years I have yet to find one that I like. There are a few however that I will be trying at some point so there is still some hope. (some hope)!
    AMEN, AMEN AMEN!!!!I have never understood the Gurkha phenomenon. I must admit, in the last 2 months I have smoke 2 Centurians and thought they were both quite good....HOWEVER, these are the only ones I have ever felt even close to this way about, and therefore must beleive they are merely someone elses cigars disguised as a Gurhka.
  • JCizzleJCizzle Posts: 1,913 ✭✭✭
    See, this is a good excuse to buy a sh!tload of cigarsl; you won't have time to smoke them all, so they'll be resting and aging for years due to sheer volume. ;-)
    Light 'em up.
  • cooch36cooch36 Posts: 714 ✭✭
    JCizzle:
    See, this is a good excuse to buy a sh!tload of cigarsl; you won't have time to smoke them all, so they'll be resting and aging for years due to sheer volume. ;-)
    Thats my logic. Now convincing my girlfiend is another mater.
  • cooch36:
    JCizzle:
    See, this is a good excuse to buy a sh!tload of cigarsl; you won't have time to smoke them all, so they'll be resting and aging for years due to sheer volume. ;-)
    Thats my logic. Now convincing my girlfiend is another mater.
    +1, although my girl smokes too so it's really just down to convincing myself.. Which isn't hard lol
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