Coming up to 10 years of "smoke now" cigars

[El Presidente]

For those that can remember, 2006 was touted as the first year of the "smoke now" Cuban cigar. By "smoke now" I mean, more and more cigars were produced that were able to be enjoyed relatively immediately/short term as opposed to having to be layed down for 5 years or so.

I remember first noticing this in RASS and D4. Others around the world noticed it in these and other cigars and it caused quite the controversy at the time as some noted connoisseurs and opinion makers proffered an opinion that there was an intentional/possible blend change or a change to "cooking/fermenting" of the tobacco to result in such a change. It was opined by many that Cuban cigars from that time (and onward) would not age as well as Cuban cigars from years prior.

I had no factual information to share at the time and still don't. It has always been my personal belief that after the disastrous flirtation of doubling production in 1998/99, it took 5 years for Tabacuba to actually build up tobacco stores in order to provide the proper aging for Ligero (2 1/2 years and seco 18 months). Just my opinion.

However the "proof is in the pudding" as they say and while we may not know what (if any) changes were made internally tot he production process, we should be able to assess how 2006 (and subsequent years) have aged. Let's restrict the discussion to regular production cigars as opposed to LE's and Regionals as they are a different kettle of fish.

So in your opinion (those who have been aroud for a long while) if you can, answer the below (or one of) questions for us in order to see if we can gain some insight.

1. Have you noticed a blend change from your regular production cigars purchased post 2005/6 compared to prior?
2. How have your post 2005/6 regular production cigars aged in comparison to years gone before?
3. If any change has been noticed in the above two questions, do you believe it to be an improvement (step forward) or a disappointment (step backward)?

Take your time. This was a big issue 10 years ago but the decade post experience should provide some answers.

[danny]

I usually found most Cohibas I've had to need some age but I've been blown away by recent CoRos and Esplendidos. Absolutely amazing. But overall, I think more cigars are ready to smoke right off the bat than they were in years prior. Makes it that much harder to keep stock in anything and have found myself having to buy more and more..... =(

[bbguardsp]

New seed varietals are still being developed to this day but the current plantings have stabilized and the growers have the experience now for a select few seed types that they know can grow in their respective soils. Hirochi told me himself about the new strain Corojo 2012 and he is very optimistic. So I think 2006 was when multiple things happened to provide a step "forward". Demand was down and supply of leaf for aging went up. The newer seed types had time to be better understood by the growers. And new rollers from the boom had more experience with less stress to overproduce.

98-02 saw alot of "green" tobacco. Not just "young" but underfermented. If a cigar starts green it will remain green forever. It has to have the bones provided by proper fermentation.

Recent examples of Cuban cigars smoke very well "young" but they are not "green". They possess properly processed tobacco and in the long term will age better I believe as the raw materials are in much better condition.

[Cisco]

I find this to be a very interesting topic and I am eager to read some opinions from some more experienced members. I'm sure Ken can attest to the fiasco that is White Burgundies and what has happened with them and I hope this is not happening with these cigars. White Burgundy wines were renown for their aging abilities but for some reason, from the mid-nineties and on, the wines are oxidizing in the bottle at a young age, even under pristine cellaring conditions. Some in the wine communities believe that this is mainly due to a change in winemaking to make the wines more accessible when young. The thing is, the issue was not noticed until about 2005 when a clear trend was seen with oxidized bottles. The fallout from this is that many of us that used to buy these White Burgundies to age, are now regretting our purchases and have stopped buying for the long term altogether, as the wines are just too risky to keep.

I can see a parallel here with Cuban Cigars post 2006 and frankly it is something that has concerned me. Are my boxes of CoRo going to flat 10 years out? Should I cut back on my collecting of cigars to age as they are not as age worthy as in the past? It's interesting, ask someone who has been smoking RASS for many many years (read pre 1999) and they will usually say that RASS need time to really shine, but is this true today with the changes post 2006? I have had some RASS from 2013/2014 that are smoking great. Will these cigars only get "better" or am I better smoking them as they are right now? WIll I have the same regrets as I did with my White Burgundies years later? I guess it's heuristics for now as there is not enough data yet but It'll be interesting to see where opinions lie.

[bbguardsp]

It would be interesting to get some experience from someone who smoked cubans through the 60s - early 90s when they were fresh and could enlightened us how they smoked young in those days.

[hellorockview12]

Awesome topic. I've only been in the hobby for just over a year so I have nothing to add but I will be following this closely as it has great implications as to what a guy should do with his new boxes! Thanks pres!

[joeypots]

OK, I'll bite. I'm not knowledgeable enough to comment about blend changes but I did notice some cigars becoming more approachable in their youth. I do think regular production got good with less age after '06.

Some specific examples:

BCG cab POS NOV/06, These took a while to come around. At 5 years they got that leather and earth power. I'd say this was consistant with earlier examples.

Monte #2, '06. These came around something wonderful at about 3 years. I'd say that was fast compared to earlier boxes I had. Maybe not the power of pre '06 but pretty damn good. This was a good example of a box of cigars that began to expire much quicker than the older ones.

Mag 46 USE 7/08. I'd say the post '06 Mag 46 are a different animal from the pre boom ones. Not that they are bad, but they are not the cigars I remember from my first cabs. Smooth, creamy straight forward tobacco at 4 years. Not a lot of complexity but pretty good anyway.

CORO EUP 5/08, These are still developing But after a five year nap they are outrageous.. I think they have the legs to go for quite a while.

Siglo IV MEL DIC/07, These needed a good five years to come around. Like the COROS, a great box.

​RASS, "06. Truly a great cab. They too a while to get smokeable but took off quickly. I nurtured this cab. However good young, at 6 years they were so good that I wondered why I was sharing a few with friends. That was a cab!

One note. I know that Cuban Cigars need to rest after delivery. Sometimes they are so moist that they need a long nap to dry out so the bitterness and construction issues dissipate.

[El Presidente]

​RASS, "06. Truly a great cab. They too a while to get smokeable but took off quickly. I nurtured this cab. However good young, at 6 years they were so good that I wondered why I was sharing a few with friends. That was a cab!

I remember those RASS cabs fondly

[joeypots]

I remember those RASS cabs fondly

Any thing recent come close, Rob?