Generally how long till flavor loss

[Cohiba007]

I keep all of my cigars in their boxes sealed inside my Aristocrat. There are a few boxes whose lids don't quite close. Those cigars seem to be almost flavorless after a few years. That got me thinking. Those who don't store their cigars in boxes, but just in a humidor have the same, if not more oxygen hitting them. And some folks age cigars for many years this way. How much effect does this have? Is this just the fact that maybe the box was a bad batch, ie no barnyard smell to begin with, or does oxygen exchange really make a huge difference?

Ps, said box was Alemania RE so not from here and box may not have been inspected prior to shipment

[investandprosper]

I keep all of my cigars in their boxes sealed inside my Aristocrat. There are a few boxes whose lids don't quite close. Those cigars seem to be almost flavorless after a few years. That got me thinking. Those who don't store their cigars in boxes, but just in a humidor have the same, if not more oxygen hitting them. And some folks age cigars for many years this way. How much effect does this have? Is this just the fact that maybe the box was a bad batch, ie no barnyard smell to begin with, or does oxygen exchange really make a huge difference?

Ps, said box was Alemania RE so not from here and box may not have been inspected prior to shipment

Sounds like they may just be in a sick period. Give them some more time to come out of it, don't bother smoking them while there is no aroma. I find with my cigars that if the aroma is gone, so will the flavor be. I just wait and smoke others until the aroma comes back, along with the flavor. I have a box of Siglo IVs that did this, and they are smoking absolutely beautifully now. Same with a box of CoRos. Hope this helps.

[Justin01]

TTT, interested in this as well.

[Colt45]

The general consensus is that the less exposure to air / air movement, the slower the aging. Some members zip lock boxes to intentionally try and slow down the process.

But I think you have to start with a good box to begin with either way. I've had many nicely aged, great smoking cigars which were kept loose in a humidor.

[Justin01]

Thanks, Colt.

[mash]

A good cigar stored loose for a few years, or even much longer, should not become flavorless. Particularly if it's stored in an environment where the humidity and temp are well controlled. Aristocrats do a great job of the former, and if temp controlled, the latter as well.

[n2advnture]

I have cigars from the 60's & 70's that have a TON of life left in them. With that said, I have some from recent years that are lack luster.

I think if you start with crap, no matter how much age you add, you just have old crap.

For cigars that I deem "ageable", I vacuum seal them to reduce the amount of oxygen exchange (have some discount this method for nearly 10 years although some discount this method as bogus - I've done identical boxes, one wrapper and one not wrapped and noticed a significant difference in complexity).

Anyway, being a recent RE, it may be going through an additional fermentation in the box. So, let them sit and try again in 6 months.

To me, this is the most fun of the hobby (2nd only to meeting fellow cigar smokers).

I hope this helps

~Mark