Aging (Cuban vs Non Cuban) "non cuban does not have a nice ring to it"

[SethLG]

I know many people like to compare Cubans with non Cubans and see which is better. I know I have, and I know almost everyone on this blog probably has. The thing I wonder is when we do compare these two cigars, one thing I notice is that we are not treating them in the same way. Is this true for you all? I can compare a Cohiba lancero to a My Father by Don Pepin lancero but I feel that when doing so, we have aged the Cohiba for a period of time, while most non Cuban cigars are not looked at and aged the way Cubans are.

I buy both Cuban and non and there is no year and month on non Cubans at the bottom so how do I know, really, when these were boxed and rolled? Should we not look more at comparing Cubans when they are young to non Cubans?

I don't want anyone to think that I am saying Cubans are overrated, I am not, I enjoy my shopping experience here at FOH. I am just wondering all of your opinions.

I know that there are some Cubans to me which I think are incomparable and there are also some Honduran and Nicaraguan cigars which are the same.

[jawofboston]

I think that, by and large, non-Cuban cigars are made with tobacco that has been aged in bale longer than most Cuban cigars. Pepin, Oliva, Patel, and especially Padron use some very old tobaccos in their cigars. So yes, I think comparing is difficult, but probably in the opposite direction of what you're thinking: NCs have the benefit of more age.

[LeafLover]

Don't mean to go off topic, but I had to mention that your Avatar rocks.

I want to be "The Most Intersting Man in the World" when I grow up.

[jdeese88]

He once had an awkward moment just to see how it feels. In museums he is allowed to touch the art. His mom has a tattoo that says "son." A man whose donar card includes his beard. He is "the most interesting man in the world."

Stay thirsty my friend

[SethLG]

Yeah, you are right, that the tobacco has been aged for sometime, it is just interesting that Cuban cigars are aged, while non Cubans have aged tobacco, I have aged lots of non Cubans before and it is interesting to see the outcome. When the Oliva V was released I put 7 down and have aged them, and the difference in their smokes have changed dramatically over time. I almost prefer them young in some ways.

As to other replies, gotta love the most intersting man in the world, it is so clever for a beer company to have their slogan be "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, it's Dos Equis." Gotta love it.

[Colt45]

The thing I wonder is when we do compare these two cigars, one thing I notice is that we are not treating them in the same way.

At the end of the day, trying to make direct, hard and fast comparisons ends up being a fruitless endeavor - at least to me. They are all made from

tobacco and are obviously alike in that regard, but after that, I try to take each on it's own merits.

Earlier this week I smoked a Domaine AVO 30. While doing so, the thought never dawned on me to try to compare it to anything - I simply enjoyed it

for what it was. Construction is one area that I do find I can't help but compare between Cubans and Non........

[thechenman]

For me, aside from a few NCs, aging them is more of an afterthought, where the opposite is the case for CCs. Now there are those that believe no aging is needed, and I find that to be true more often than not with NCs, but not CCs. That goes back to the comment made earlier that NCs for the most part are made with more aged tobacco whilce with CCs, lets face it, HSA is not going to age tobacco like the Padron or Fuente. It just isn't economically feasible for them. That said, I think this is why most people tend not to age NCs. Being older tobacco, they don't change as much when laid down for an additional 2 or 3 years; whereas with CCs, often a dramatic change is noted. Just by $0.02.

[SethLG]

I would agree that non Cuban cigars do not need to be aged, because of the tobacco, but the concept of tobacco blending with other tobacco in the cigar is what I think also plays a part in Cuban cigars, and that is something that I have been doing with non Cubans as well.

Its the aging and mingling of those tobacco leaves in the filler.