polarbear Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 After much hunting and gathering i've managed to amass a decent stash of Cuban custom rolls (Hamlets, Mons, Rienaldos) and was curious how these age or if theyre worth aging. Most people I've spoken to about the subject tend to smoke them right off the table in Havana and dont age them for long, if at all. All the ones i've smoked have been great, but curious if they have some decent legs on them and are worth putting a few away for a while. Also, I've heard with some Non Cuban customs that they go through a sick period around 6 weeks after they are rolled and tend to stay that way for around a year. As i dont have enough of them to smoke one a month to judge how they progress I was hoping some of the members who have experence with Cuban Customs could help. Any advice appreciated Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramon_cojones Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 related topic, anyone know where i can find a hamlet salomone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 In my experiences most Cuban customs age very well. As they are not aged once rolled they do hit a sick period but that really depends on how the moisture content is. My batches from 2013 were rolled while it was monsoon season in Cuba and they really weren't even approachable until very recently, and I'm still not touching them yet. My 2012 stuff was great ROTT (I was smoking them 4 days after they were rolled) but they started to go a bit mute after the 5 month mark. My 2011 stuff is just amazing right now, and the few 10's and 09's I have left continue to improve. These are all from the same roller and materials so it's been a pretty good benchmark to test. Last year I took 10 robustos and sealed them in a jar a couple days after they were rolled, and I plan on cracking that jar at it's 1rst birthday an d sharing with friends. I am excited to see how 1 year un disturbed will treat these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aes8 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 related topic, anyone know where i can find a hamlet salomone? Buy your own in November Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramon_cojones Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 get your herfing palate ready for saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aes8 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 get your herfing palate ready for saturday I'm ready. Tell Hiroshi to bust me off 11 Benjis for that cab of RA898s. Are shoes still mandatory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maplepie Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 My rule on custom mades is 1 month - 1 year, i won't touch them. The unpredictability lay there. Unless told otherwise, that's my plan and i stick by it! Works out pretty well all the time, anyways 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habano Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I'm ready. Tell Hiroshi to bust me off 11 Benjis for that cab of RA898s. Ouch. $1100? Damn near the price of two boxes. I hope you didn't pay that much for them yourself. As for the OPs question, I'll usually go about three months off the table and then wait a year before I try smoking another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramon_cojones Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I love how when someone's looking for a particular vintage cigar the price is high but when someone is selling the same sticks it's always you overpaid bro. I'm ready. Tell Hiroshi to bust me off 11 Benjis for that cab of RA898s. Are shoes still mandatory? lol you used to come presentable i don't know what happened Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aes8 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Ouch. $1100? Damn near the price of two boxes. Go and find me a box of 01 RA898 for $550-600. No that's not what I paid but its what I a want for them and I have NO problem putting these back in the humi for another 5 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallclub Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 $1100 for a cab of '01 RA 898 sounds ridiculous to me. The quality of this cigar doesn't justify such a price. (the RA 898 is notably overated on cigar forums). Not mentioning the fact that there are plenty of bad boxes with many plugged cigars… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiroshiro Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Hahahaha I'm not even here and I'm mixed up in this business. We can continue at the four seasons on Saturday haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shlomo Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 back to the op, it really depends on many things forme, but generally 1-2 months after rolling i smoke them. let them rest over a full year after that and smoke again. i much prefer the customs i have had when they were young however. i have some that are hitting 5 yead marks and last few i had last summer were underwhelming also worth noting is where the tobacco came from. i like havana house selected tobacco more than some others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habano Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I love how when someone's looking for a particular vintage cigar the price is high but when someone is selling the same sticks it's always you overpaid bro. I don't believe anyone is looking for this particular cigar and I am surely not selling them. I have a couple boxes of the RA898's and around this time last year I paid $650 a box with shipping. So unless something has changed or I and aes9 have the last of the boxes on the planet, $1100 is well over market value. Could they be worth $1100 to the right person? Maybe, but I think that is why these never sold in the first place on another board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blakes Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Mo money than sense.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleDD Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Since we are on the topic of fresh rolls, are any of you concerned about beetle larvae? If so do you freeze the sticks before introducing them into your humis? I've never dealt with fresh rolls before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puros Y Vino Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Since we are on the topic of fresh rolls, are any of you concerned about beetle larvae? If so do you freeze the sticks before introducing them into your humis? I've never dealt with fresh rolls before. Yes. Very concerned. Any customs I've purchased get the "deep freeze" treatment for at least 5 - 7 days. In regards to "aging". I have some Hamlets from 2011 that smoked nicely fresh and are performing well with some age too. I do notice my Monsdales are going through a sick period now. Their aroma went from a typical cigar smell to a more vegetal / ammonia smell. IMO, when you get a new batch of customs or a new box you should always smoke at least one to benchmark how they perform. Then sample them every 6 months or so to note any differences from the previous sample. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aes8 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 We can continue at the four seasons on Saturday haha Are you wearing shoes? It's going to be 80+. I was thinking of changing into flip flips. lmk My apologizes to the OP for the thread jack, bad form. I'm a huge fan of aging almost all cigars especially customs. I'd give customers at LEAST one year of aging. I smoked some Reynaldo's that were in the sick period and they were so awful I though I was poisoned. 18 months later and they were incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HabanoHam Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I'm glad this topic was covered. I have a few customs on the way and will definitely be firing up one upon arrival and then freezing the rest so they can be put down for a year of rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlohaStyle Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 You need to consider age of the tobacco the rollers are using too. Odds are if you are getting fresh customs directly in Havana that they are probably using fresh tobacco and the sick period above is good to go by... smoke within a month then let sit until a year. But if you get them in LCDH's around the world, when a roller is visiting a shop etc... they could be using older tobacco. For instance, when Hamlet visited Vancouver in 2011, he said that he was using aged tobacco. He said there was leftover tobacco from his previous trip to British Columbia that he was using and it was now aged a couple years. (I wrote down 4 year old tobacco in my notes) I can imagine this could happen with other rollers in other stops... You could also run into a shop that has had custom cigars sitting on their shelf for awhile. When in doubt, just ask. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckSARTech Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 I'm glad this topic was covered. I have a few customs on the way and will definitely be firing up one upon arrival and then freezing the rest so they can be put down for a year of rest. LOL. Who said you're getting any more?!?!?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckSARTech Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 To the OP, there's some good advice in this thread here. Your initial statement of leaving them once they hit about 6 weeks from the bench is a good one. With customs, I smoke them with delight right fresh in Cuba, and then once at home, but only up to about 4 weeks / 1 month max usually. Then, I mostly leave them until they hit about 18 months - that way, I avoid that sick and/or dull period, blend dependant, that kicks in from 6 mos to 1 year. I find them best then about 3 yrs on, but start to fade after 5 years (longest so far are 2008 customs, smoked this past Christmas). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.15b5f6bc4159a73805a9f118f79a68ca.png)
.png.b3f36db1fa6419bcbd6e13572153fd45.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now