Vintage cigars


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As my knowledge of cigars is expanded extremely from being a part of FOH which is a great place to learn and meet great people but I was wondering if smoking vintage cigars from the 70s 80s and so on is there still favor and complexity or is it just a smooth tobacco flavor .aka hot air is it worth the hunt and the money for them please common with your thoughts and experiences

Thanks dave

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Well stored, cigars can last almost indefinitely. Flavors evolve and generally smoothe out but I've had 1930s Clear Havanas that still showed evolution.

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i have never bought or chased vintage cigars much ... if they fall into your lap for about the same price as a similar young cigar being the exception .

always aged my own cigars and pretty much all pedestrian (single banded or no band ) smokes at that ... pretty happy with what i have 20 years into my journey .

large ... i would highly recommend aging your own and not chasing vintage ... but thats just me .

derrek

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I've never spent the coin on seriously old smokes because of the chance they might have passed their prime. The oldest I've bought (lately) have been from the late 90s.

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In my experience Vintage stock must come from sources where they have been guaranteed as having been correctly stored.

...otherwise you can easily end up with expensive "ghosts" ...transparent dimensionless examples of their former selves ;)

Vintage cigars can be the very best...or the very worst !

...You rolls the dice and you takes your chances.

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I'll reiterate the above in that aged/vintage cigars can possess great qualities and be quite enjoyable (and perhaps worth the coin based on someone's particular circumstances).

For this to be true though they need to have been good/great cigars to start with as has been said many times, a bad stick (i.e. poor blend/flavors or lack of) will still be a bad stick with age.

They need to have been properly cared for and they need to be monitored so one knows when they've peaked. Poorly kept cigars and cigars without the necessary 'legs' will lose whatever key characteristics they possessed initially.

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I love well aged and vintage (10+) smokes but usually only purchase when I stumble (or a friend does) and get a chance to examine the box. Bought some of the well circulated Magnum 46s (2005) and they're just warm, bland air to smoke.

I've been lucky enough to get hold of some cigars (898s, lusi etc) that recent examples seem to be blended differently. Definitely chase down some of those should they come up.

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I've been very fortunate to have great friends who have shared some incredible vintage cigars with me. The 1980's Monte I smoked recently was anything but bland and weak. Ultra smooth, but still bursting with layered flavours from the first draw. Buying can be tricky, as you have no control over storage conditions or provenance, but when they're good, it's a treat.

I am happy I waited until I was more experienced in getting to know my palate before venturing into really well aged stuff, and I can't justify spending fortunes on aged stock while I'm still "young" and able to age my own.

Whenever I do get a gift of something great, I am truly grateful for the experiences it brings.

rye respect your opinion a lot seen you on Instagram and also on the form thanks for your insight there's just a lot of cigar sizes they don't make anymore that I'm on the hunt for and also I've only been smoking Cuban cigars for about two years so curious about age cigars it's ripping me up inside lol thanks again brother
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Highly recommend understanding the hobby throughout and your palate first before diving into the unknown. Unknown because you don't know the provenance if you didn't do it yourself, regardless of what is told to you.

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post-17691-14136874918767.jpgpost-17691-14136875043121.jpg here my two wineadors and there 5 Desktop humidors some where floating around lol I been aged cigars for about 5yr-nc's it's only about 2yrs on the cc side of things I been smoking on and off since my 20s it's the pass 5yrs I been taking it seriously

Thanks for every one insight on it please more comments I love reading other peoples opinions on all sides

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Some of the best cigars I have sampled have been cigars from the 70's 80's and 90's, but they were all classics, and kept pristine by trusted botl's.

Cohiba corona

OR coro

80's monte 2

96 hu Connie 1

94 RASS

70's boli pc

60's hdm dc

Dunhill varaderos

1985 monte Especiales

Diplo 7's

Green box sir Winnies...to name a few.

All produced before I started the cuban cigar journey. The generosity of brothers either handed them out or ppp'd them. There were some others that were musty or dry or muted, but overall many winners, even some of the mm smokes from the 70's and 80's.

Provenance and storage is everything.

Hard to believe that 04 is ten years ago.

To me, vintage is pre 1995.

There are still some vendors with old stock, or ones that come into old stock, but I would not buy unless I sampled the cigars and trust the vendor.

I enjoy my 2013's and my 1998-on cigars too much to bankrupt myself on cigars that may or may not be to my liking. I do not chase anything but appreciate the sharing of others, and will share mine in a heartbeat. I am herfing as I write this, and someone gave me a 97 slr lonsdale and a 1984 RASS. I already had old sticks ready to give him even before his gesture.

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I've smoked some aged (28 years old is the oldest) and lots of recent. My opinion is its a matter of preference. Some people like a milder and smoother cigar. For them, an aged cigar is great. I personally prefer the rough and hairyness of a young cigar. I bought a few box of old cigars at a good price so i bought them. I wouldn't hunt and pay 1000 dollars for an aged box either.

At the end of the day the enjoyment all also depends on what everyone else has said before... good cigar to begin with and stored in good conditions. Just like they do today, Cuba could and would make a **** box of cigars back in the 80s.... maybe that's why the box of cigars is still around and hasn't been sold/smoked yet !?!?!?

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I guess there is something in what you said about trying to find boxes before they vanish completely. Some of the classics that were deleted after the millennium really are worth (Imo) chasing.

Partagas Astorias, Coronas, Lonsdale, seleccion privada #1

Diplomatico 1345

Quai d'Orsay Panetela, Gran Corona

Sancho Panza Molinos, Corona

H.Upmann #1, Lonsdale

ERDM coronas, pc, gde, elegantes, gran corona

LGC #1

Partagas sdc 123

It's a risk when buying cigars always but if you do your research, find out good retailers etc then you can still get these classics. If you don't enjoy them your going to have zero worry moving them on too

Imo unless money is no issue, and you can't simply walk into a London or Geneva store and pick up something and pick up a safe bet for storage and provenance, it's far more of a safe bet to chase the dwindling classics than true vintage cigars

Unless that's what you want to do, how you enjoy the hobby is completely down to you! If you enjoy the chase off vintages then go for it :)

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I love well aged and vintage (10+) smokes but usually only purchase when I stumble (or a friend does) and get a chance to examine the box. Bought some of the well circulated Magnum 46s (2005) and they're just warm, bland air to smoke.

I've been lucky enough to get hold of some cigars (898s, lusi etc) that recent examples seem to be blended differently. Definitely chase down some of those should they come up.

The '05 Mag 46 were notorious for being dogs. A good example of a cigar that should age well that didn't because it was not a good cigar to begin with. '08s another story. I have been given a few tremendous old smokes. An '86 Sir Winston comes to mind. Potent tobacco with a smooth depth, it was a real treat. Bolivar, Cohiba, Monte Cristo, and Partagas make up the lions share of my humidor and they all benefit from some age. But like the '05 Mag 46, a **** Monte 2 is a **** Monte 2, even at 6 years. Buying old stock is a poor gamble unless you are dealing with the big guys in the business who have long histories of cigar experience. Like the places in London. Watch your wallet!

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I was going to post some points, but Ray said everything I would say. I won't reiterate what's been said over and over already.

Considering the turnover in membership, a comment from someone like you Brandon is never trite! -Ray

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I've had generally good experiences with buying from the PCC aged program. That's typically stuff that's 10-15 years old and sometimes less. It's about double the price of the same box of current production, so from a time-value-of-money point of view a doubling in 10 years is not so bad. I'm newish to the hobby to, so I buy multiple boxes of current stuff, one to enjoy and one or two to lay down, and then add a few of the aged program boxes. I haven't' traded for any aged nor have I bought any from private sources; just the goodies that Rob inspects.

I'm different from Lord A, in that I like very few fresh-off-the-boat cigars. While there are quite a few that I do enjoy (Punch DC's 2012, Punch Punch 2013, Sir Winstons 2014, etc.), in general I fall in with the camp that says let them all sit 3-5 years and call that a 'current' cigar.

IMHO, that 3-5 year rest smooths out just about everything, not absolutely everything, but nearly so. Gone are those final thirds that get too harsh to smoke, or the odd jab to the palate. Flavors are still intense and complexity is not lost.

With the 10-15 year old aged stuff from PCC/Rob, the palette of flavors remain equally broad and complex, but the smoking experience tends to be even gentler on the palate, and the undercurrent of tobacco flavor that is the backbone carrying all the others in a new smoke, is quite diminished. So I've been very happy with the smaller part of my collection that I've bought already old: HdM Churchills, Punch Churchills, Punch DC's, Punch Punch and a few others.

I would recommend the PCC aged program as a way to plump up a relatively new humidor with a few golden oldies, but spend the majority of my coin on new production stuff that I hold for 20 years. Buy everything 3 boxes at a time or more! cigar.gif

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