How long can you wait before breaking a box?

[MontrealRon]

Being a wine collector long before taking up cigars,

I have been used to long-term defering of pleasure.

There are still some bottles that I have been holding for over twenty years.

As a proponent of serious aging for cigars as well - sorry, Jimmy! -

I have some boxes that were purchased five or six years ago that are still intact.

Not counting multiple box purchases of the same cigars,

who has got full boxes that they bought young,

and have been aging for years, still untried?

And what might they be?

For example, I have a box of Partagas Serie D No. 1, LE 2004 -

still untouched, though they are starting to whisper my name...

[CIGARHead]

I dont have a single box (except for ones that are doubles/triples) that I havent smoked out of. My personality and glut wont allow me to leave a whole unopened box of cigars for 5 years.. just cant do it..plus, I think its nice to sample from a box throughout the years to see how they evolve.

what a kick in the nuts to have waited on smoking a box for 10-15 years to find out they are either past their prime, or just plain ****!

[cgarner]

30 days. I'm weak.

[Mel]

I dont have a single box (except for ones that are doubles/triples) that I havent smoked out of. My personality and glut wont allow me to leave a whole unopened box of cigars for 5 years.. just cant do it..plus, I think its nice to sample from a box throughout the years to see how they evolve.

what a kick in the nuts to have waited on smoking a box for 10-15 years to find out they are either past their prime, or just plain ****!

Way to say it GARHead! Whos says a cigar is better later than it is now. My short answer to the original question is, till after work. Why is it that some believe that 24 gars in a box ages less well than 25?????

[jdbrown]

Sometimes I break into that day. Sometimes 30 days. I think my oldest box I have never touched was purchased in 02. Have plenty of stuff 3-5 years unopened. I agree with CIGARhead that its nice to sample along the journey to see how they evolve...I have also smoked an entire box in 3 weeks...I have no rules!!!!

[LeafLover]

Off the truck sometimes. Days and months is my idea of aging. I do however, make an attempt to smoke aged cigars. My purchasing practice is to request/look for the boxes that have an older box date.

Patience is not one of my stronger suits. I just don't have it in me.

[anacostiakat]

I wait a minimum of 30 days to 60 days if I am gonna break into them. It just depends on timing, etc.

I tend to like them with 3 - 5 years on them. But I will smoke through a box of recent vintage if I am trying them and like them. Or if I have more than one. Or are gonna get more.

I have a number of boxes that are in the 3 - 7 year range.

[brutusthebuckeye]

nice to sample along the journey to see how they evolve.

...I have no rules!!!!

I am the same....

[Buch0]

I have to say off the back of the truck sometimes aswell. One or two straight up is no drama, need to see how they are smoking at the present If the first one is off balance and doesn't know where its going, I will sit the box down for atleast another 6-12 months before I have another one.

[jwm8592]

Another spin off of this same topic is what is the oldest aged box of cigars that your still smoking? If you come across a great box of smokes with or w/o some age on them do you just push right on thru, and rather quickly smoke the entire box, or perhaps do you allow even just a few to ride/rest for years down the road. Personally, being that I consider myself still somewhat of a novice, only having been smoking for around 5 years or so, the oldest aged box I have is a box of 2001 Boli Inmensas that are to die for, w/approx. 15 smokes still remaining. I do smoke them, but usually has to be some type of an occasion, not just because the sun came up... I can hear some of you using that reasoning , hey to each their own.

[cgarner]

I smoke what ever is smoking good. I don't let my cigars sit around long. However I'm starting to build my collection. So I'm sure that will change soon.

[laficion]

I've found the the way to age mine and that

is to buy them already aged.

NOTHING stays that long in my humidor.

[sje]

Great Thread,

for me, (because i am a self confessed Nutter)

2 jars Monte Millennium (still resting) from 1999/2000

1 Jar Cuaba 1999/2000

Partagas Pyr 2000 (and they look soooo sweet)

Part SD1 SD2

Montes 2 1 box from 2004

Monte 2s about 5 boxes from 2005

and many others that don’t come to mind

so although Patience is a strong point for me i do buy singles and 10 counts of the same marcas etc from standard lines to smoke while the others rest.

BUT

my problem is i get to a stage where i think Will i ever smoke them ? if not are they worth keeping ? do i trade or sell ? etc.

at times i have sold some amazing stock that because they are no longer in my Humidor i regret it big time.

as suggested (self confessed Nutter)

Spiro

[Wil]

Only have a couple of boxes at the moment, but my preference is to try things over time. As Mel said, what difference does it make if there's 24 in the box, or 23...? At the end of the day, you might end up with a box that's past its prime.

[Ken Gargett]

when i started, i quickly realised that i really enjoyed cigars with some maturity. so i tried, as best one could, to bite the bullet and buy excess of needs with the intent that i will at some stage have a rotation of mature smokes. still a work in progress but trying to ascertain exactly how certain cigars are developing, are they at their peak or past it, should they never have been put aside at all - all part of the fun.

[Bartolomeo]

Started a new concept in the last two months for me

1. Smoke only aged cigars now other than some recent production singles floating in my humi

2. All 07-09 boxes are in one humidor aging, not touched to a later date down the road

3. Since I just started in August, obviously I have not had time to age my own boxes but I have a credit card that takes care of that for me

4. Its neat to smoke aged stuff now and then kind of age my own stock at the same time

This concept will probably last me another 60 days then I will come up with something else

I will say this, I wait 30 days to touch a stick that comes from overseas and usually about a week from US trades

Bart

[Colt45]

I'm with Austin and Mel on this one (lord help me). I like to sample one early on, then another within a year (give or take) after that, to at least get a

feel for what they are and might become. As mentioned, imagine waiting five years to find you've a box of duds.

I do take plenty of time to work my way through a box which in my opinion has not reached it's peak.

[CIGARHead]

I'm with Austin and Mel on this one (lord help me). I like to sample one early on, then another within a year (give or take) after that, to at least get a

feel for what they are and might become. As mentioned, imagine waiting five years to find you've a box of duds.

I do take plenty of time to work my way through a box which in my opinion has not reached it's peak.

Ross, did Mel put you up to sayin' that?

I agree, if a cigar has potential, but still is lacking and I feel it will improve over time, I'll give then 6 months -1 yr. My whole point is how do you know what you have until you try it....it's kind of like marrying a 26 year old chick and not having sex till she's a cougar.

[jacksfull]

I have never put full boxes back for very long, but I do have some singles and box remnants between 10 and 15 years old. Truth be told, I have to keep reminding myself that I bought those cigars to smoke. The longer I wait, the harder it is to pull the trigger, especially with discontinued types. What a waste it would be to let them outlive me! Still, the temptation to hoard them is there.

[rallones]

Most of my boxes (90% of which are 6+ years old) are still full. I have never smoked a cigar right off the truck because I first started out getting smokes from overseas and got into the habit of letting them re-acclimate before digging into them.

The age or scarcity of a cigar has no impact whatsoever on my decision to smoke it or not. If I think it's ready (a subjective process that sometimes entails nothing more than a gut feeling that a particular cigar needs to be smoked), I'll fire it up. I prefer the aged profile, so most of the smokes I choose tend to have 7+ years on them. I had a SLR petit corona from '04 a few weeks ago, however, that was very good.

All that being said, I have a box of Partagas Tres Petit Coronas from 1997 that taste (to my palate) very raw and wild. I had a Partagas EL Piramide from 2000 the other day that tasted much more evolved and balanced than the '97 TPCs do. Still strong as hell, but balanced. The '97 TPCs seem to have the legs to age indefinitely.

The inexact nature of this hobby makes it more fun.

[Colt45]

Ross, did Mel put you up to sayin' that?

No, but doesn't it make you feel just a little dirty that Mel agreed with you?

[CIGARHead]

No, but doesn't it make you feel just a little dirty that Mel agreed with you?

Yes. I've taken two showers today and still feel filthy.

[wp2]

At least 45 days off the truck.

I have a bunch that are approaching 10 years.

I believe in aging some, smoking some young.

[thechenman]

I tend to follow KGs approach. I buy singles, of packs to find what I like. Of those I like I will buy boxes. I will always try to buy more than I consume so I can smoke as well as age some in our kind host's online humidor. This keeps me from breaking into my stock reserved for aging. I always wait 30 days to let cigar purchases acclimate to the settings of my humidor.

[android]

I'm a bit of all mentioned...Have lots of aged stock, smoked right off the truck, and I like to sample through ageing.