PSP/HQ smoked fresh?

[Isaac]

Are the psp/HQ stock meant to be smoked fresh?  Considering they have oily wrappers, I find that keeping the wrapper lit can sometimes be problematic. I have less issues with the lower graded Cigars. How long do the higher grades have to rest till they are relatively ready?  I do understand people buy PSP for aging stock, but I prefer the color over the lower grades and find it hard to wait. 

[BrightonCorgi]

Can smoke right away.  PSP/HQ are no different than any other cigar; just prettier to a degree.  I would wait a week or two after a delivery to let them acclimate to your environment.  Some cigars are hydroscopic when fresh and that sounds like what you may be experiencing?  The only solution for that is either dry boxing (which I would only do if you are desperate to try that box) or just wait it out.  Waiting it out has no specific time; could be months or longer. 

It’s fairly common for vendors to ship on the humid side.  I don't think his cigars are overly humid though FWIW

[PapaDisco]

I haven't found Rob's gradings to bear on near-term smoke-ability.  While I have a modest preference to lay down PSP for long term aging, it's not because they wouldn't be good now it's more because, if you're laying something down for 10 years, you might as well start with the highest grade stock.  Now, that said, I also have plenty of PE boxes from the International Store that are snoozing away too.

 

[El Presidente]

PSP are generally oilier which need a little more time down.

Not so important for lighter wrapper PSP. 

Keep in mind, it is just an internal grading process that assisted us to answer the question "whats good at the moment"

Day to day I smoke 95% PE and seconds with the exclusion of thick dark bark wrappers and claro brittle paperback rubbish. 

I age psp/HQ. PSP a little longer.

Just a personal preference

 

 

[dominattorney]

On 5/3/2018 at 2:55 PM, El Presidente said:

PSP are generally oilier which need a little more time down.

Not so important for lighter wrapper PSP. 

Keep in mind, it is just an internal grading process that assisted us to answer the question "whats good at the moment"

Day to day I smoke 95% PE and seconds with the exclusion of thick dark bark wrappers and claro brittle paperback rubbish. 

I age psp/HQ. PSP a little longer.

Just a personal preference

 

 

Yea, but what does he know?

[Danimalia]

Oilier wrappers also benefit from both longer acclimatization times and dry boxing in my experience as well. Just as an example I bought a box of Bolivar petit coronas a while back that would likely have been psp/hq here.  Dark, greasy wrappers. Even though they had tremendous flavor after a few weeks to acclimate (they arrived about a year old),  they really needed an extra 90 days of rest or so before they started to burn well. 

Maybe aging is more about blend, and acclimatization is more about wrappers? I don't know 

[Canoli]

90 days down after they arrive is a must for me. I experimented with 30 and 60 days as well but I have learned 90 is the minimum to get best flavor.  Wrote that they can taste flat. 

[Toast & Taste]

I just unwrapped a choice box of PardyMaduro #1's. Fresh off the plane. 

They were softer / wetter than I like, but the wrappers are straight from Heaven and the smell when I opened the box was incredible. My self control being what it is  (zero), I just fired one up.

Beautiful burn and tons of delicious smoke. No complaints, except that I didn't order 3 more boxes.

Aging should only make them even better. 

Big Al 

[Toast & Taste]

Annnnnnd I just ordered another box from the Tuesday 24 24

Deeeeeelicious 

Big Al 

[PapaDisco]

12 hours ago, crking3 said:

I’ve found that leaving them out, in say 55/70 for a few days, then transfer to fridge for 24 hours, then freezer for 24 hours, then fridge again for 24 hours....then 55/70ish for a few more days is amazing to be smoking sticks with in a week .........sort of like a forced acclimatization .....some ppl might think it’s crazy, but it really gets them smoking perfectly quick


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You're crazy!  

I let almost all my new arrivals, PSP/HQ/PE, sit in the humi for a month or two, and find no difference in smoke-a-bility after that; but mostly I buy the PSP for anything I want to lay down for the very long run.  You don't want to be disappointed in 10 years when you crack that box open, so best to start with something highly graded to stack things in your favor.

[99call]

On 03/05/2018 at 8:38 PM, Isaac said:

Are the psp/HQ stock meant to be smoked fresh?  Considering they have oily wrappers, I find that keeping the wrapper lit can sometimes be problematic. I have less issues with the lower graded Cigars. How long do the higher grades have to rest till they are relatively ready?  I do understand people buy PSP for aging stock, but I prefer the color over the lower grades and find it hard to wait. 

Love this question. 

Many will say PSP or high quality 'looking' cigars shouldn't be touched, and only brought out on a special occasion.   To my mind this is nonsense. Yes there is a consensus that cigars smoke better after a few years, but I have expensive nice looking cigars that are utter duds, and cheap ugly cigars that I know have brilliant ageing potential. 

All my ageing is done on merit of whats actually there in the cigar, when sampling a few ROTT.  For the sake of one or two cigars, isn't it more worthwhile to commit to ageing, with something you know to be good?  Take SLRDC's for instance, yes! many can be sublime, but i'd say a good 25% can be 2 hrs of utter boredom. 

I see it a bit like making a stew, or a distiller tasting young/raw spirit.  You can sense the body the power, you know what legs it has, and you make your judgements during the process. If you don't do this, your just judging a book by its cover.

No, I am not advocating burning through all your PSP sticks young.  Just saying, if you pull out your untouched  PSP cigars in 10yrs time, for a graduation, birth of a child etc, and they're duds..............well that was in fact utterly avoidable. Your special occasion cigars could of been an ugly looking box of something that turned out to be stellar, because they were always fabulous cigars.......and you knew it. 

[joeypots]

There are threads, one by Rob I think, about acclimatization. Smoke all the cigars you can until you know what you like no matter how the boxes appear.  Rest after travel in a consistent environment is pretty mandatory. I don't know how cigars get from Cuba to Australia, via hong Kong may be, but they may spend a long time traveling in the cargo hold of a jet. By the time I get the cigars how many hours have the cigars been in an awful environment of dramatically fluctuating heat, cold, and air pressure? That's why the cigars need a good rest after they get to your door. Smoke what you like when you want but I wasted too many cigars by smoking them right away after I got them.