chr0nic Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Hello friends, I have a bit of a question for you all, I want to grab some opinions... I grabbed some of the Czar's aged stock- in particular a sampler and half a box of Boli CE's from 2001... plus a few months ago I got some Punch (wow, mental snap... I've forgotten the type!) from 1999. I guess my question is this; I've got a humi full of 'new' sticks, and now a bunch of 'older' stock. My argument for buying the vintage stuff was so that I could smoke it and allow my 'new' cigars to get some age. Though now that I *have* the older sticks I'm all protective over them, like a magpie with silver foil. Forgoing tips like "everyone's different" and "do what you want"- what would be the wiser move? Has the ages stock gotten 'as good as it is going to'? Would it be smarter to keep the aged stock and buy some stock that is, for the most part, great without any age on them at all? I've searched (and read) a lot of questions similar, but due to the recent 'stock' pickup's I really wanted to ask this fresh. Hope it's okay. Cheers for any\all advice!!
ramon_cojones Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 What are you waiting for smokem if you gotem! The aged ones are ready to go, enjoy them now and let the freshies age unless you like how they taste too. Smoke what is smoking well now, age is just an arbitrary number.
Lotusguy Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 If I have more than one box of something, I smoke the older ones first. Otherwise, I smoke what tickles my fancy - aged or not. I do make it a point to not smoke anything with less than one year on it, though.
Yoruba Hacker Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Totally makes sense to go older to younger, but I gotta admit, the older a box gets, he less inclined I am to despoil them. Especially a full box. Illogical, but I suspect not uncommon.
Coolio Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 I'm in the same boat Ryan, I bought an aged sampler and am now sitting there asking myself the same questions. I ask myself exactly the same questions when I'm comparing sticks that vary in value, "should I smoke the cheaper sticks first and let the older sticks age as long as I can etc etc" It's a tough call. I'm going to firstly go through my current stash of approx 2 yr old sticks, and when they are finished smoke the aged sampler, then move onto the stuff I've bought recently. The SD4's I bought a few weeks ago already have 18 months on them, so by the time I get round to smoking them they'll be 24 months. I reckon the secret is to get a rotation of stock going and you definitely need a wine fridge for that! I picked one up this week (thanks to Rob and Smithy!), turned it on yesterday, couldn't wait to get my boxes in there, and am now hovering over it checking the RH level every hour (having trouble getting it below 74% so plan B is to move them back out till I get it under control). Already my Mrs reckons I may have OCD! Dave.
dvickery Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 whenever i open a new box...almost always from my older stuff...exception would be when i want to smoke a certain cigar...then it will be the oldest box of that kind. derrek
Daidemo Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 I understand that you are in the phase of building your cigar stock – we all have been there. It is a good decision that you bought some older cigars for allowing younger to get properly aged. If you will continue doing this you will have sooner than you think great stock of cigars, mixture of aged and new ones. There is no reason not to smoke older right away; maybe you can leave few of them for comparison with younger/different cigars which you will accumulate in the process.
chr0nic Posted July 13, 2012 Author Posted July 13, 2012 Excellent... some good advice here, thanks guys Given the 10 - 15 year estimate that Hovy mentions (I'm sure there are variances, but still...) it looks like I'll enjoy some vintage stuff for a while then... and then when stocks get low, perhaps eek them out and try save a few. Cheers
Fuzz Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Ryan, if you are unsure about when to smoke your cigars, I will be more than happy to offer my services as a cigar taste tester. I will carefully rummage through your hoard and randomly taste cigars and give you a full and complete diagnosis of their "readiness" to smoke.
chr0nic Posted July 13, 2012 Author Posted July 13, 2012 Ryan, if you are unsure about when to smoke your cigars, I will be more than happy to offer my services as a cigar taste tester. I will carefully rummage through your hoard and randomly taste cigars and give you a full and complete diagnosis of their "readiness" to smoke. That's quite a magnanimous offer, Fuzz I'll tell you what- if you're ever in the area (Glenwood) and want to 'sample' one of the Boli's \ 'Punch mystery cigar', I'd be more than happy to let you 'evaluate' one with me. With a beer or equivalent. Let's herf it uppppp! Until then, see you on the 24th
Fuzz Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Glenwood, eh? Literally a stone's throw from Parklea Markets, right?... Yes, see you on the 24th!
icproperty Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Why keep them when you don't know what tomorrow brings (unless your a collector) I have a box of Dunhill Churchill 1985 from Cuba and when I feel im in the right mood I'll smoke one. I've got 8 left. P.S I'm not sharing :-) 1
Dbone Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Totally makes sense to go older to younger, but I gotta admit, the older a box gets, he less inclined I am to despoil them. Especially a full box. Illogical, but I suspect not uncommon. LOL yeah. Some of my oldest personal stock is from 2006. I pass them over regularly for newer stuff. It's like I'm saving them in hopes of better days down the road. Makes no sense. The laymen would not understand this train of thought and would say just smoke them. It'd be better of I had someone handing me a cigar of mine to smoke. When I have to decide, it CAN get complicated LOL
NitrousPurger Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 "live like today is your last day" is a good excuse to always smoke the aged stuff first. And if you feel bad when eventually your aged stock is gone... just remind yourself that that is a "first-world pain" haha!
Yoruba Hacker Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 LOL yeah. Some of my oldest personal stock is from 2006. I pass them over regularly for newer stuff. It's like I'm saving them in hopes of better days down the road. Makes no sense. The laymen would not understand this train of thought and would say just smoke them. It'd be better of I had someone handing me a cigar of mine to smoke. When I have to decide, it CAN get complicated LOL Paralyzing. Soon you'll come to the conclusion all your stuf's too good to smoke!
Charltonc Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 I smoke what I am in the mood for. I do not have a big stock, but I have some ten year old cigars and fresh cigars I rotate, unless the fresh need a long nap.
LGC Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Smoke the aged stuff... while checking in on the "younger stuff" from time to time. Decades of aging does not always benefit every cigar equally. There's nothing more frustrating than having a great box of cigars go flat on you. If the box smokes well, and you think it has peaked, hit it hard. Although, I have a hard time keeping up. Smoking only a handful of cigars per week makes it difficult to rotate through stock sufficiently enough to keep tabs on progress. Depending on a single, "special" stick to celebrate an occasion is always a bad idea. You never know how it will perform until you smoke it. Sometimes, getting out of bed each day is a good enough reason to celebrate with a good cigar. Life's too short to continuously save the "good" stuff for another day...
audio1der Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Honestly, 2001 is fairly aged; it will take a LOT more time to notice a difference over where they are right now.(and even if you did wait and they did change, how do you know you'd prefer the change?) I'd smoke them if you're enjoying them. Don't listen to that guy above^ He has only 138 posts :-p
mk05 Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 Well, Brandon has given some very sage advice and perspective on cigar culture here, and that is how I view it; I don't collect for collecting's sake. I hoard because I believe they will be magnificent in a certain timeframe, to all be smoked in that time - whenever that will be. Although he makes "checking on his stock" thing to sound like a chore the way he describes it. Bwahahahha Specifically speaking on your OP... half a box of Boli CE's from 2001... plus a few months ago I got some Punch (wow, mental snap... I've forgotten the type!) from 1999. Bolivar will tend to finish its 3rd fermentation, or in normal speak "be completely married and ready to smoke," after around 7-10 years from what I have seen, and have a pretty lenghty half life. The Boli's don't lose the juiciness too rapidly, so you'd be OK "letting it ride" for more. For example, '05 PCs are still strong they need more time, whereas '05 gigantes are fire. I went through a cab of CEs from 2001 a year ago and they are rather excellent. '97 CE were brilliant, pure hot air vapor and Graham cracker. Marvelous. Buy a box of 09 CE and compare with your 01s. See how much flavor it has traded for strength. Guess for yourself how you see the cigar leveling in the future. That's really the "fun of it" for me. Not collecting. So this all depends on your preference. Some people like the lingering flavor profile with very little harshness or strength. Others prefer the youthy juiciness and trade pounds of flavor for the hurtin through the nose. I have no punch experience outside '70s coronitas del punch, so someone else will have to give you specific thoughts on that one. But if you sourced the Punch 11/12s from a sale off a vendor that's a sum of 500+501, just smoke them now. You'll be chucking out a half of them and crying in bliss from the other half...from what I hear.
Habanakane21 Posted July 13, 2012 Posted July 13, 2012 If I have more than one box of something, I smoke the older ones first. Otherwise, I smoke what tickles my fancy - aged or not. I do make it a point to not smoke anything with less than one year on it, though. +1
Ophidion Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 I generally try sticks from fresh boxes every three months or so unless they get to a point where I can't stop thinking about them. At that point I'll burn a ton and make sure to leave 5 to see what another few months will do to them (case in point a box of ago 11 bpcs that aren't going to last much longer). I have aged stuff (6-12 years) but I mostly save it for friends to enjoy with me. Most oft stock is between 1-3 years old and I don't really feel bad smoking them. Especially those RACF... God they are amazing.
nikesupremedunk Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 LOL I thought I was the only one going through this dilemma but I think everyone that bought some of the aged stock from czar recently is having the same problem. This is my first chance to smoke a fully aged cigar that I've always heard of on here. Since I have 2 of each, I'm going to taste one of each and then save the other half for when the mood strikes in the future. I'm dying to try the Punch RS11's and probably will smoke it tomorrow. I'd say at least try one of each now and then save the rest if you want for a special occasion.
ramon_cojones Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 When you have a lot of stock they tend to age by default!
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