A different aging question

[Wicky]

Forgive me if this has been gone over before but...

I know a lot of NC tobacco is aged for years before it is rolled and some for months afterwards.

My question...

Is there a standard as to which Cuban tobacco is aged before it is rolled? And is there a given settling period before the cigars are boxed and date coded? As a relative newbie, I've always wondered about this.

Thanks,

Rob

[Trevor2118]

From http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/info-toba...n_&_Sorting

Storage & Aging

In the warehouse, the leaf is stored to age. From 2006, Habanos has increased the minimum aging time as follows:

•Fillers..........Ligero - 3 years

•Fillers..........Seco - 2 years

•Fillers..........Volado - 1 year

•Binders........Generally - 1 year

•Wrappers.....Generally - 1 year

•Wrappers.....Limited Editions - 2 years

•Wrappers.....Cohiba Maduro - 5 years

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Colt45]

Unless it has changed (and that's always a possibility), the standard over the past couple of years has been three years aged ligero,

two years aged seco, one year aged volado. Wrappers I'm not sure of, but I don't believe they are aged much beyond harvest / processing

time.

I'm also not sure how long cigars are held over after boxing, but I don't believe it's ever been a major consideration. Current economic conditions

may keep boxes in storage longer than normal, but I don't think it's an intentional aspect of "aging"

P.S. After posting, I see Trev has provided the info you need

[Wicky]

Thank you brothers.

It would be nice to think Cuba is storing the finished product for a reasonable amount of time prior to boxing.

[CanuckSARTech]

Wicky, Trevor's webpage is invaluable for this kind of information. However, if you'd like a great reference book for this sort of thing, then I highly recommend a book/binder that Habanos S.A. themselves did a few years ago. It's called, "The Complete Guide for Habanos' Enthusiasts". Its a black hardcover, almost like a binder, with various fold out pages of the different marcas and such. But there's a great insert book called "Cultivating a Tradition of Perfection", with a hundred or so pages, and it has beautiful pictures and diagrams to fully illustrate everything about Cuban cigar production, right from start to finish.

I've had this book for a bit, and it's an awesome resource. Right up there with MRN's Encyclopaedia, and Rius' "Great Habanos Factories".

[El Presidente]

Thank you brothers.

It would be nice to think Cuba is storing the finished product for a reasonable amount of time prior to boxing.

Need for hard foreign currency precludes the above normally