A Guide to Cigars and their optimal age

[HumidorJuan]

Hey FOHmily,

  I see a lot of cigar aging suggestions on here (eg. X needs years to develop, enjoy Y young, etc.) is there a handy chart or some type of resource that has Vitolas described with their optimum (or suggested) aging? if not, maybe we can start the list in this thread??

thanks!

[OldEasy]

I seem to recall seeing a thread were people gave general recommendations of age by Marca but not by specific cigar. Was pulling up way too many hits in the search feature to find it though, so maybe someone else can direct you. I think ultimately recommendations cigar by cigar is an interesting and admirable but quite ambitious idea particularly given how much individual taste impacts the decision. I definitely share the desire for such a resource but the advice I seem to hear is that buying a box and smoking it slowly to decide for yourself is really the only meaningful way to arrive at a number, so I’m trying to do that by holding on to the ends of boxes I like and smoking them over time even as I try new cigars. I seem to recall even by Marca opinions varied pretty widely. As far as vitola (if you mean general vitolas) I find that larger cigars tend to need a longer rest period, but I’m not sure if that holds as true when it comes to ageing, I think that has more to do with blend.

[nKostyan]

Cigar sommelier - aficionado, earn it. You want them out of a job? ?

[TTP21]

A good portion of the 24:24 descriptions seem to be replicated in the store and Rob is usually pretty detailed on how long it needs aging if it indeed does.  I use it as my reference point along with the daily smoke notes here as people generally add box codes with some brief comments.  As alluded to above, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and each box of cigars, even within the same vitola, is different.

I believe there is an older string somewhere with aging guidelines per marca, but would assume Rob's notes to be more representative of current production.

Best of luck!

[TTP21]

Found what I referred to above from 2005....

 

[Brian24]

I’m no expert and maintain 8-10 boxes in a Coolidor. So no long long term aging at this point.

Others have described wonderful Right Off the Truck experiences, mine have been mediocre at best and unsmokable at worst. I have found that 90 days in a stable environment is an accurate representation of the cigar at its present age. Even ROTT unsmokable have really sang at this point. My palate is not refined enough to get much benefit from testing in monthly increments, so I will usually test one every quarter thereafter. When they are “on”, sometimes a year/sometimes 2/sometimes 180 days I usually can’t help but smoke through them pretty quickly. I also have a tendency to give away cigars that are “on” to try and let others have a great experience that may be new to the hobby.

I typically try to keep 5-6 smokes from an “on” box to put them away for several years. I’ve only done this with 5 boxes and due to being newish, haven’t hit the 5-10 year age. Due to space I also consolidate many different types of cigars into a single box. This may be bad, but I’m up against space constraints.

Generally speaking, one a quarter, when they are firing I’ll smoke the box down to 5/6 cigars and hold.

I’ve seen photos of some members’ setups, hundreds of boxes. They’d be better able to talk about whether it is possible to overage and whether after a cigar is smoking well, whether additional age is worth it.

From what I understand, if properly maintained, pretty rough to lose whatever your approach.

[Brian24]

One more note, I’ve also found I like cigars that are not necessarily in the top 5 hit parade, so I can find boxes that are 18-24 months old on receipt. Ie I prefer coronas, petit coronas, and minutos to a certain extent.

Lots of members seem to love these as well, but the general population seems to prefer larger formats.

This may have impacted my statement that I’ve had some beautiful experiences at 90 days.

[BrightonCorgi]

There is no definitive guide.  It's about how you like them.  Cigars generally go through a sick phase, but either side of that is all up to how you like them.

[RijkdeGooier]

3 hours ago, nKostyan said:

Cigar sommelier - aficionado, earn it. You want them out of a job? ?

To the point. 

Just try a few of your favorites at various ages. Anything up to 4 years should be available somewhere. 

[nKostyan]

To the point. 
Just try a few of your favorites at various ages. Anything up to 4 years should be available somewhere. 

In fact, there are some specific cigars that have an approximate duration of disappearance of ammonia and tannins. Usually about 3 years is enough. There are exceptions when 1 year is enough, it depends on the crop and the batch of tobacco

[RijkdeGooier]

5 minutes ago, nKostyan said:

In fact, there are some specific cigars that have an approximate duration of disappearance of ammonia and tannins. Usually about 3 years is enough. There are exceptions when 1 year is enough, it depends on the crop and the batch of tobacco

De gustibus et coloribus non disputandem est. 

As old as Rome (or maybe older)

[HumidorJuan]

3 hours ago, TTP21 said:

Found what I referred to above from 2005....

 

That’s exactly the thing I was looking for.  Thanks!

[Piligrim]

On 5/15/2019 at 4:00 PM, OldEasy said:

I seem to recall seeing a thread were people gave general recommendations of age by Marca but not by specific cigar. Was pulling up way too many hits in the search feature to find it though, so maybe someone else can direct you. I think ultimately recommendations cigar by cigar is an interesting and admirable but quite ambitious idea particularly given how much individual taste impacts the decision. I definitely share the desire for such a resource but the advice I seem to hear is that buying a box and smoking it slowly to decide for yourself is really the only meaningful way to arrive at a number, so I’m trying to do that by holding on to the ends of boxes I like and smoking them over time even as I try new cigars. I seem to recall even by Marca opinions varied pretty widely. As far as vitola (if you mean general vitolas) I find that larger cigars tend to need a longer rest period, but I’m not sure if that holds as true when it comes to ageing, I think that has more to do with blend.

I would agree with that