How long to age Monte 2's?

[Capt. Brett]

4 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I know someone off loading 10 count boxes of Monte 2's (not me) from like 2005 or maybe older if you are in the US...  Would be good way to see how they smoke aged. Granted I have read the blend has changed since then?

Would be interested in what the price is. PM me if preferred.

[BrightonCorgi]

1 hour ago, Capt. Brett said:

Would be interested in what the price is. PM me if preferred.

check your inbox

[shortsqueeze]

Yes. Good quality Montecristo No. 2s are really something starting at 10 years. They used to be sledge hammers when young, but I think they can be highly approachable nowadays. 

To anyone with the inclination to do so, buy two boxes at the same time. One to smoke through periodically and one to lay down for a decade. Over time, you'll find that you build an arc of experience where you can not only tell at what point through the aging cycle you prefer your cigars, but also common denominators that will give you cues as to how certain cigars will turn out in the longer run. 

Of course, it's not an exact science. Some years ago I bought a beautiful cabinet of Punch Punch from Rob, let them chill for a little while and then smoked one. Absolutely dead on arrival. Like smoking rolled newspaper. No flavor whatsoever. Zip, zero, zilch. Then I smoked another one a year or so later, ditto. I would have bet my last dollar these cigars would NEVER improve. Besides cursing Rob on occasion every few years I happen to come across that cabinet, I ignored them. I wouldn't even give them away. But they were pretty, so I kept them as opposed to tossing them in the rubbish. Well, about a year ago enough time had passed where I decided to give them another whirl. I'll be damned, was this cigar insanely good! Strong, rich, with the classic Punch woodiness that you'll get in a superb example. So good, I pulled two out next time and shared with a good friend. Carbon copy experience.

So you never know, but it works more than it doesn't. And remember, the casinos all over the world have made billions of dollars on the backs of punters like me based on that simple precept of being more right than wrong.

[cybermadhatter]

If you like them smoke them.  If they have legs, then buy another box.  For me, Monte 2 in the past 10 years are hit or miss.  The miss still being pretty good. The ones I tried from 1980 were stellar, but the tobacco from then is different than the '15 models.  I smoked all my '13's b/c they were good.  

I liked 95% of cigars from 2013.  

No idea what 3 more years would bring, but as stated above, sample them to get a sense of evolution. 

Best,

Steven

 

 

planetbetter

 

 

 

[Mattb82]

The consistency of this Marca is so wide ranging your going to get so many responses across the board. Just comes down to what you are looking for 

[AndrewNR]

Monte 2's are one of those Cigars that seem to enjoy playing cruel jokes on me.

I Purchased a box of 25 some time ago, Aged them a few years and just couldn't enjoy them. Started giving them away for birthdays etc, Then eventully I tried another. Shock terror and horror it was good! So I had another, No good. Back to Birthdays.. Tried another, Good again! So now I just smoke one when I'm feeling adventurous.. Box is probably something like 7 or more years old now

[Mattygukas]

I have had a few that seem to be best around three years for my tastes. It also could be the year, crop, factory, etc. I had one recently from early 15 which was great. I had one a month ago from 13 and it was meh...nothing to write home about.

Always test your boxes because Cuba is getting better at making cigars that smoke great young. It all depends on the crop, year, etc.

One cigar I have noticed has to sit for ever though is the P2...they always seem to need 5 years. (After trying them every 6-12 months)


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[stunod]

Here's the thing . Of corse it would be great to age your monte 2's for 5 years, but only if you have enough smoking stock for now. I like to put my monte's down for 2 years then try one. If it smokes good I'll mark the box as "smokers" . As your collection gets bigger you have the option of aging longer .

 

 

[RijkdeGooier]

https://instagram.com/p/BOxqPL-Agb8/

here's a link to the side-by-side on two Monte 2 one from 1998 and one from 2008, so 19 and 9 years old. 

I do prefer them a little bit aged

[Jfeath74]

This thread inspired me to pull out one of my ABR 15 Monte 2's, it smoked great throughout!