Your "Aging System"

[Hurltim]

I always wondered how bordeaux collectors knew what and how much to buy of any given vintage to have enough to drink for a few years while their bottles age a bit. 

   I would like to build a nice collection of CC's to age but I would also like to smoke them too. 

If you find a cigar you really like, do buy aged boxes to smoke now or do you buy a bunch of boxes now and let them age? I understand each year is a bit unique but I'm wondering wha ya'alls system is?

[HarveyBoulevard]

You will likely get a zillion different answers on this one but I will give you an example of what I did when I started.

1 - I first tried a bit of everything to decide what I like.

2 - Then I bought some recent stock and aged stock to smoke over the next few years.

3 - Lastly I bought a bunch of recent stock for aging.

Now when I buy a box of something I want, I usually buy 2.  I smoke one over time and put one away for aging.  Now you just have to wait on 1000 other opinions and options

[gweilgi]

Buying aged boxes is the easy solution.  It saves on storage space, and when you buy from a reputable merchant you can be reasonably sure they have been stored properly in a professionally set up humidor room.

It also saves stress and strain on the wallet, because the alternative would be to buy multiple boxes of each: at least one to tide you over until the second (and third) has aged properly.

Above all, I'd get feedback and suggestions before pulling the trigger if you are planning to age them yourself.  Not all cigars age that well, and it wold be a shame to spend money on stuff that won't deliver the improvement you are looking for.  

[fabes]

56 minutes ago, HarveyBoulevard said:

You will likely get a zillion different answers on this one but I will give you an example of what I did when I started.

1 - I first tried a bit of everything to decide what I like.

2 - Then I bought some recent stock and aged stock to smoke over the next few years.

3 - Lastly I bought a bunch of recent stock for aging.

Now when I buy a box of something I want, I usually buy 2.  I smoke one over time and put one away for aging.  Now you just have to wait on 1000 other opinions and options

This for sure. 

 

Plus, determine if you enjoy aged cigars. Some people prefer fresh over aged. Nobody can decide that for you but yourself. So I would add that before you hoard up, see if that's the strategy for you. 

[subport]

I am not a huge fan of vintage (10+yrs) cigars. Over the years I realised I prefer cigars in the 1 to 5 years range mostly. I do not buy cigars to age. I buy boxes, multiple boxes and thats it. Yes, I do buy more than I smoke. Sometimes a lot more. So ageing is just happening because of the habit of buying.

[ultramag]

I haven't really specifically bought cigars to age yet for the most part. I hope to change this, but most my aged stock comes buying more than I need or smoking something else. Here recently I hadn't been smoking as much so after having more free time again to enjoy more cigars I have quite a few with some decent age. Most of the really old stuff I've had was gifted at herfs, bought aged, or something along those lines. 

[Eric E]

I buy more than I smoke. Took years, but I now have aged stock. 

[stogieluver]

10 minutes ago, Eric E said:

I buy more than I smoke. Took years, but I now have aged stock. 

Like Eric, I buy more than I smoke.  Gets deep in the pocket when you smoke 10-15 cigars a week, but over the last four years I have a collection of nicer, better cigars I am aging.  I now buy a few of those boxes I want to age as they come up on 24/24 at good prices, but most of my purchases are boxes of my daily smokes.  I save my aging stock for special occasions, meaning I may smoke 4-5 of those per month. 

[LLC]

After a number of years of enjoying cigars and getting the chance to try some aged cigars I decided to start aging some myself. I'd have a good variety of boxes and if I found one that was really good and had potential to age well I'd put it aside when I got down to 8-10 cigars in the box. Did that quite a bit and still have some of them from when I started doing that ten years ago. Now I'll just buy a bunch of boxes if I've tried a cigar that I want to age. This way I can still enjoy some now while I have other full boxes put away for sometime later.

[ch0c0b0]

I smoke faster than I can buy/collect. I need to change that.


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[Philc2001]

I don't think there is any right or wrong way to build a collection for aging, only preferences. Really it just comes down to budgeting, space management, and taking proper care of your collection. Early on I would buy fivers or trade to get some sticks to try. Once I developed my taste buds then it was a matter of stocking up. When I found a specific cigar I liked, I noted the box code, year and month of production and I ordered a box or two or three. The 50 count cabs are great for aging, but there are not many cabs in current production. I think the most important detail is how you store your cigars. I prefer to keep my cigars in solid, bare, cedar boxes, closed. I don't much like the paper or varnished boxes, I like to believe the bare wooden boxes enhance the flavor over time, and I believe they also help stabilize the RH. But that is my personal preference, not based on anything scientific.  I guess the best advice I can give is don't overthink it, just enjoy the journey, and when you find a cigar that is smoking well.... smoke the heck out of them. 

[Hurltim]

Holy crap!! Awesome responses and super helpful! Great pointers! I like this place

I think I'm on a good path so far. I ordered a bunch of singles to try (14 or so) and a box of Monte #2's now that I have a safe place to put them. I have had plenty of #2's and had a box of Sig III's that I loved back in the day. I tried to stick with the classics: CoRo, Espy, RASS and a healthy selection of Partagas. 

   So how do you folks handle sticks like CoRo's and Espys that seem to need more aging? I think space, money and will power will limit me to 1-5 years tops. 

Life has taken a drastic turn for the better over the last two years. Doubled my pay, lost 70lbs, going to marry my love of 16 years on the 27th of this month so it's time to get back to enjoying the truly finer things in life.

[demer]

For me it has always just come down to buy more than I can smoke. I only smoke maybe once or twice a week but up until recently I was buying 3-4boxes a month for a few years. 

[maxcjs0101]

2 hours ago, subport said:

I am not a huge fan of vintage (10+yrs) cigars. Over the years I realised I prefer cigars in the 1 to 5 years range mostly. I do not buy cigars to age. I buy boxes, multiple boxes and thats it. Yes, I do buy more than I smoke. Sometimes a lot more. So ageing is just happening because of the habit of buying.

A one word summary : Hoarder

[subport]

6 hours ago, maxcjs0101 said:

A one word summary : Hoarder

[Fugu]

9 hours ago, Hurltim said:

Life has taken a drastic turn for the better over the last two years. Doubled my pay, lost 70lbs, going to marry my love of 16 years on the 27th of this month so it's time to get back to enjoying the truly finer things in life.

You get to hear such all too seldom. Congrats and enjoy your life mate! (and your aging ...   )

[Lant63]

Holy crap!! Awesome responses and super helpful! Great pointers! I like this place

I think I'm on a good path so far. I ordered a bunch of singles to try (14 or so) and a box of Monte #2's now that I have a safe place to put them. I have had plenty of #2's and had a box of Sig III's that I loved back in the day. I tried to stick with the classics: CoRo, Espy, RASS and a healthy selection of Partagas. 

   So how do you folks handle sticks like CoRo's and Espys that seem to need more aging? I think space, money and will power will limit me to 1-5 years tops. 

Life has taken a drastic turn for the better over the last two years. Doubled my pay, lost 70lbs, going to marry my love of 16 years on the 27th of this month so it's time to get back to enjoying the truly finer things in life.

For me, I treat my regionals, esplendido and sir Winston the same way. I try to get 2 boxes so that I can smoke one every 3-4 months and see how they are developing knowing I have peace of mind with another box hidden away.

When it comes to cohiba lanceros I try to buy one box a year and I smoke one whenever I want because I like them so much. But even then it's not a daily, more like a once a month treat. At that pace in building a nice stock of them.

Once I graduate and have more fun money I'm sure I'll switch to the practice of buying 2+ boxes of everything I purchase for about 5 years to build a solid aging buffer.


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[Hurltim]

2 hours ago, Fugu said:

You get to hear such all too seldom. Congrats and enjoy your life mate! (and your aging ...   )

Thank you sir! I hope I didn't come across as bragging. We've had a rough go of it building our careers. Now...not so much. I'm super thankful for that. 

   I haven't been here very long but do aged cigars come up on the 24:24, 72:72 sales here or do I need to outsource? I was like "woo hoo...crap." when I found FOH because I found a purveyor who also has a forum (that screams good customer service) but "crap" because I had already ordered sticks elsewhere. 

I can already tell I will spend the bulk of my cigar money here. Price is one thing but peace of mind takes precedence to me.

[Fugu]

8 minutes ago, Hurltim said:

Thank you sir! I hope I didn't come across as bragging.

not at all !

8 minutes ago, Hurltim said:

   I haven't been here very long but do aged cigars come up on the 24:24, 72:72 sales here or do I need to outsource?

Aged stock is coming up once in a while. I'd say get in touch with El Prez directly if you are looking for something in particular. Apart from that, a lot of good advices being given here.

[SloppyJ]

I'm in your same situation. I'm just starting out. What I did was found a buddy who wanted to try a bunch of CCs too. We went in on about 8 different boxes and split them. I don't smoke too often so I've been working through those this past year. I'm now to the point where I have a decent idea of what I like so I am going and buying full boxes just for myself. I started out buying boxes and sizes that I knew I liked. Now I'm branching out to different brands again but buying full boxes. Once I narrow it down even further, I will buy two boxes at a time. One for smoking and one for longer aging. This seems to be working for me now but like I said, I don't smoke that often so it's not too pricey. 

 

My buddy happens to have different tastes than I do. He prefers more mild sticks while I like full flavored. So if I get a box that I don't like, I'll just trade him. That also helps a bit. 

[Hurltim]

2 hours ago, Fugu said:

not at all !

Aged stock is coming up once in a while. I'd say get in touch with El Prez directly if you are looking for something in particular. Apart from that, a lot of good advices being given here.

Will do sir! It's good to know I can ask the bossman about aged cigars. Once I smoke up the singles I will have a better idea of where I'm headed. The cheap Irishman in me hopes desparately I won't like the Cohibas but I still remember the flavor of those Sig III's from almost 17 years ago. Oh well. Ill add another expensive hobby to the list: Fishing, woodworking, cigars...

Awesome advice coming in! I love the varied approaches to aging. I totally get the "I just keep buying more than I smoke" deal. When I saw how the 24:24, 72:72 dealio worked I said to myself, "I'm screwed." Hahaha.

Talk about urgency..

must...remain...calm...

[Philc2001]

From my experience, aging is not really a science but more a matter of individual taste and preference. Not every cigar ages well. And, I wouldn't underestimate the flavor characteristics of young or fresh cigars, you may find that some cigars taste better fresh. I don't know how others do it, but I can't really tell when a certain cigar or certain box will reach its prime. I had some cigars go past their prime and start to lose flavor.  I've also spent a small fortune over the years on aged stock, which I found repulsive. But quite frankly, It's also not always clear to me when I get a poor tasting cigar whether it's because of my taste preferences, what I ate/drank, or because the cigar needs more aging. In some cases it's obvious from the bitter taste and ammonia, but other times it's not so obvious.  

Usually when I smoke a cigar and it doesn't liven my taste buds I leave that box alone for a while and try again at some later point. But when I find one that really lights me up I go back to them and smoke em until I either tire of them or run out of cigars. 

This is what was in the back of my mind when I said in my earlier post: when you find a cigar that is smoking well, then smoke the heck out of them.  Seize the moment! 

[tengel78]

Good info here. I'm also just started with th CC's and have been thinking how I would like to age my boxes.