Cigar aging experiment

[tempbond]

So what if I told you that instead of waiting 5 years to have some great cigars, you might have to wait 1 month instead or even better, a day or two ?

I finally got around to try a little experiment I've wanted to do for about 5 or 6 months now. Hope you enjoy it !

MY EXPERIMENT

***** Please read post #91 on page 5 for an update *****

***** December 29 2011 : please read post #100 on page 5 for an update *****

[Tarks]

Interesting experiment to say the least. Personally, I would have used a better, more consistent cigar for the test. JLP's are so inconsistent that they will without doubt affect the results.

[matt14]

Heat I can see maybe working through `fermentation` i guess would be worried about the sticks cracking though, possibly.

Freezing would maybe breakdown the cell structure of the leaf so another possible.

MSG, adding a flavour enhancer, not sure about that. There has been a massive push in Asia away from using `Chinese salt` in cooking. But mixing in a chemical enhancer with the tobacco smoke should have an effect. Would say that it is not `really` the tobacco you would be tasting but an artificially enhanced taste.

Interesting experiment though.

Personally everything I own is aged in Ziplocks, my personal preference, but interested in seeing the outcome of this.

Matt

[tempbond]

Interesting experiment to say the least. Personally, I would have used a better, more consistent cigar for the test. JLP's are so inconsistent that they will without doubt affect the results.

This is just for fun : if you are willing to sponsor me, I'll go to the LCDH and buy 8 Esplendidos to make the experiment more reliable...LOL

I know JLPs aren't that great, but I'm really not willing to do this with any other of my cigars !

[Tarks]

This is just for fun : if you are willing to sponsor me, I'll go to the LCDH and buy 8 Esplendidos to make the experiment more reliable...LOL

I know JLPs aren't that great, but I'm really not willing to do this with any other of my cigars !

Hahaha! My suggestion is to use a more consistent cigar than a JLP, not necessarily a premium cigar. Like perhaps a Boli PC.

[docbp87]

Wow. This is pretty fascinating. Looking forward to seeing what happens.

[kmagurk]

can't wait to see the results. I once froze a box of hoyo churchill's because i thought they had beetles , they didn't, and i forgot them for about 1 1/2 months . after i thawed & slowly brought them back they were great. I had myself convinced it was because they had been frozen,butt I have never had the nads to try it again

[Smallclub]

I know JLPs aren't that great, but I'm really not willing to do this with any other of my cigars !

The real problem is that JLPs are made of short filler/chopped tobacco. I regularly purchase vintage boxes of tripa corta (short filler) cigars and I can tell you that they don't age like long filler cigars do.

And,

your blog reads:

It is believed that during the fermentation process of tobacco leaves, MSG is formed and that's what in part gives a deeper flavor to the tobacco. The longer the fermentation or curing of the tobacco, the more MSG there will be and so more flavorful cigars will be produced.

Believed by who? What is your source?

And, if you add MSG to your cigar because you think it lacks something you may as well add honey if it lacks sweetness, black pepper if it lacks spices, liquid nicotine if it lacks power…

this would be of the same scientific interest…

btw, do you have some aged Piedra Cremas to compare with the result of your experiment?

[Diamondog]

One hell of an experiment....can't wait to see the results...

[MrGlass]

Even if it doesn't work out well, you definitely deserve points for having the balls to try this.

[aes8]

MRN addressed this type of "processing" in his book. Let's just say he was not a fan.

FWIW, I see this as a artifical process that takes away from the art form that some of us pratice, i.e. selecting certain macara/vitola to age, only sampling between every 6-18 months. Only when we deem these as ready will we announce their "arrival" and then generously hand them out at various HERFS to those we feel worthy.

Sorry if this comes off as crass, I guess I'm just old school.

You should try this with something that isn't a throw away cigar if you are serioius about your experiment

[tempbond]

Hahaha! My suggestion is to use a more consistent cigar than a JLP, not necessarily a premium cigar. Like perhaps a Boli PC.

Sorry, but for me, a Boli PC is good cigar that I wouldn't "harm", especially now since they've been discontinued.

[cckandb24]

Right on for trying this out,Im rooting for the high heat, hope it works. I feel like some people are being fun sponges and trying to point out every little flaw in your test. No one really wants to wait five years to make an ok cigar great if they knew how to do it in 6 months IMO.

[tempbond]

The real problem is that JLPs are made of short filler/chopped tobacco. I regularly purchase vintage boxes of tripa corta (short filler) cigars and I can tell you that they don't age like long filler cigars do. So why do you buy them if it's not worth it?

And,

your blog reads:

It is believed that during the fermentation process of tobacco leaves, MSG is formed and that's what in part gives a deeper flavor to the tobacco. The longer the fermentation or curing of the tobacco, the more MSG there will be and so more flavorful cigars will be produced.

Believed by who? What is your source? My source??? I just read it somewhere on the web, don't remember where, just thought I'd try to see if it's real or bullshit. I ain't preaching here buddy, I'm testing someone elses suggestion/hypothesis, that's all

And, if you add MSG to your cigar because you think it lacks something you may as well add honey if it lacks sweetness, black pepper if it lacks spices, liquid nicotine if it lacks power…

this would be of the same scientific interest… MSG is a flavour ENHANCER, not a flavor by itself, so it doesn't add a new flavor, it amplifies the ones that are already there

btw, do you have some aged Piedra Cremas to compare with the result of your experiment? No I do not, I will compare to the control cigars to see if there is better flavor

[tempbond]

MRN addressed this type of "processing" in his book. Let's just say he was not a fan.

FWIW, I see this as a artifical process that takes away from the art form that some of us pratice, i.e. selecting certain macara/vitola to age, only sampling between every 6-18 months. Only when we deem these as ready will we announce their "arrival" and then generously hand them out at various HERFS to those we feel worthy.

Sorry if this comes off as crass, I guess I'm just old school.

You should try this with something that isn't a throw away cigar if you are serioius about your experiment

Lighten up a little will you? This is just for fun, I'm not NASA ! As for my choice of cigar, I ain't rich, if I was I would have tried it with BHK 52s: would you have consired it more serious then?

[tempbond]

Right on for trying this out,Im rooting for the high heat, hope it works. I feel like some people are being fun sponges and trying to point out every little flaw in your test. No one really wants to wait five years to make an ok cigar great if they knew how to do it in 6 months IMO.

To you and the others like you, thank you for your support !

[maverickdrinker]

interesting experiment. looking forward to seeing the results

[Ghabanos]

So what if I told you that instead of waiting 5 years to have some great cigars, you might have to wait 1 month instead or even better, a day or two ?

I finally got around to try a little experiment I've wanted to do for about 5 or 6 months now. Hope you enjoy it !

MY EXPERIMENT

Good on u... Seems fun

[Smallclub]

… No one really wants to wait five years to make an ok cigar great if they knew how to do it in 6 months IMO.

Wrong. You must live on another planet. There are plenty of people willing to wait the time it takes to age their wine or their cigars.

As far as I know all attempts to accelerate the aging process of wine have been failures.

As for cigars, the faster they age (like singles in a desktop humidor that is open 1 or 2 times a day for instance), the more they lose in the process.

I haven't "read it on the web", I experienced it.

Patience is the key in this hobby.

[sv_ontour]

Haha awesome! Looking forward to the results.

[Stalebread]

Bro, I dont understand why your sh!tt!ng all over this? I would love to find something to produce the same effect on my cigars that 5 years humi time would, but in a couple months instead. We know you don't think it'll work, now let the man try his best. No need to continually come on here and crap all over his attempt. Why not applaud his attempt and hope it works? No need to be such a grump about it.

In no way am I trying to speak for Smallclub as I post these thoughts.

It could have something to do with -- as Wilkey said in another thread -- Tradition. Roots. History. Many here claim a great respect for the tradition of Cuban cigars. Aging your cigars in an electric blanket sort of flys in the face of that tradition.

Aging your cigars is part of the process along with smoking one every six or 12 months to see how they're coming along. For me it is an enjoyable part. Accelerating the ageing process from, say, five years to a few months might be seen as a quik fix, sidestepping the process in exchange for somewhat instant gratification.

A lot of what we know or think we know about tobacco, cigars, ageing, smoking has little or no basis in science. It -- what we think we know -- is based on personal experience or an opinion (sometimes a commonly held experience or opinion) that gets repeated, and eventually perceived as fact. But rarely challenged. A while ago it was lithium in the Cuban soil. Then it was rinsing your cigars before smoking. Now it's that MSG in released or created during the curing process. Someone heard it and repeated it and the notion worked its way onto the internet where it is seen by some as being a fact. Maybe it is, maybe not. When they are so cloudy or unproven, or suspicious, I'm glad that someone has the balls to speak up and challenge some of our fondly held but perhaps incorrect notions about the cigar world.

When Tempbond posts his results, I'll read them. I'm sure they'll be interesting but I suspect I'll continue to age my cigars over a period of time.

[Diamondog]

Wrong. You must live on another planet. There are plenty of people willing to wait the time it takes to age their wine or their cigars.

As far as I know all attempts to accelerate the aging process of wine have been failures.

As for cigars, the faster they age (like singles in a desktop humidor that is open 1 or 2 times a day for instance), the more they lose in the process.

I haven't "read it on the web", I experienced it.

Patience is the key in this hobby.

People have learned to enjoy it because you have no choice if you want aged cigars....I personally do enjoy the "entire" process of the hobby probably more so because there is no alternative and better to make peace with it then not....if we did not experiment and test different ideas we would have never evolved....would I try this, no, personally couldn't be bothered but thats not to say something positive and/or interesting couldn't come of it...If I could have perfectly aged 5 year old Siglo VI's in a fraction of the time, who would I be to complain lol...

[tempbond]

In no way am I trying to speak for Smallclub as I post these thoughts.

It could have something to do with -- as Wilkey said in another thread -- Tradition. Roots. History. Many here claim a great respect for the tradition of Cuban cigars. Aging your cigars in an electric blanket sort of flys in the face of that tradition.

Aging your cigars is part of the process along with smoking one every six or 12 months to see how they're coming along. For me it is an enjoyable part. Accelerating the ageing process from, say, five years to a few months might be seen as a quik fix, sidestepping the process in exchange for somewhat instant gratification.

A lot of what we know or think we know about tobacco, cigars, ageing, smoking has little or no basis in science. It -- what we think we know -- is based on personal experience or an opinion (sometimes a commonly held experience or opinion) that gets repeated, and eventually perceived as fact. But rarely challenged. A while ago it was lithium in the Cuban soil. Then it was rinsing your cigars before smoking. Now it's that MSG in released or created during the curing process. Someone heard it and repeated it and the notion worked its way onto the internet where it is seen by some as being a fact. Maybe it is, maybe not. When they are so cloudy or unproven, or suspicious, I'm glad that someone has the balls to speak up and challenge some of our fondly held but perhaps incorrect notions about the cigar world.

When Tempbond posts his results, I'll read them. I'm sure they'll be interesting but I suspect I'll continue to age my cigars over a period of time.

So why are AGED boxes advertised by cigar vendors, be it online or in a B&M ? And why are people buying them, at a premium price at that ? Because it's fun to be able to smoke aged, great cigars without the wait !

Now if you think those people are sort of cheating the cigar tradition, I don't understnad that. Ah, and for me, the enjoyable part of all this is the SMOKING, not the waiting

We might not agree, but thank you for your interest and comments nonetheless.

[Strada]

Good experiment Temp, keep us posted with the result!!!

[Vortigan]

Wow! Balls of steel or what! Very much looking forward to the results my friend.