Resting period/aging for NC's

[SmokyFontaine]

For me Nicaraguan, Cuban, and Dominican are my favorite smokes, in that order. Ironically I'm not a huge fan a white pepper which can be prominent in younger Nics. Now of course many sit for months/years before shipping out, but with a bit of age the white pepper goes to nutmeg, and the black pepper and leather go to chocolaty. I loooove that combo. I have been getting it at about 4yrs in my possession. 

[Sir Diggamus]

I love when opinions seem to be here and there. Personally I try to rest everything I get for at least two weeks before I dig in. As stated in previous post, so many places over humidify cigars so while you may not have to worry about them being dry, equalizing NCs to your preferred RH will help with the smoking experience.

One thing I like about resting NCs longer is that cigars that are pepper bombs initially tend to mellow a bit with a few years of age. This helps with some cigars more than others.


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[Fox Sterlingworth]

If you’re getting them through the post, I’d definitely recommend a couple weeks rest.

 

As far as aging goes, most are not going to benefit and if anything will lose something as a result.  One of my favorite exceptions to the rule is the brown label Padron stuff (think 5000 robusto).  I’ve found with around 4 years of age they will smoke damn near on par with 1964 line stuff.

[Cairo]

3 hours ago, Fox Sterlingworth said:

brown label Padron stuff (think 5000 robusto).  I’ve found with around 4 years of age they will smoke damn near on par with 1964 line stuff.

Good advice--but don't forget about them and keep any around after fifteen years (like I did).   They "lose it" at that point.

NCs that are solid at year ten to fifteen are Illusiones, El Rico Habano and 601 Greens.

[Fox Sterlingworth]

6 minutes ago, Cairo said:

Good advice--but don't forget about them and keep any around after fifteen years (like I did).   They "lose it" at that point.

NCs that are solid at year ten to fifteen are Illusiones, El Rico Habano and 601 Greens.

Spot on.  I do regret not holding onto some early NC LGCs to see what they would do with time.  
 

Oldest NCs in my humidor are probably around 10 years and Feunte products.  Most have disappointed with that much age.  Something around 1 in 10 will wow me though.

[El Presidente]

Anyone who doesn't believe in certain CC's aging should experience a PLPC cab 1 year and 7 years.  massive flavour/personality change. Game over. 

SLRDC was even more dramatic.  

You don't have to spend a lot of coin. Por Larranga Montecarlo 1 year and 5years. 

You can spend a lot of coin! Cohiba Lancero 1 year and 8 years.

In terms of NC's (my limited experience). They improve remarlably up to 3 years but that is largely a result of the resting process. 

 

[Bijan]

30 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

Anyone who doesn't believe in certain CC's aging should experience a PLPC cab 1 year and 7 years.  massive flavour/personality change. Game over. 

I will concede certain cigars (PLPC, PLMC, maybe Cohibas) evolve/develop 0-5 or 0-7 years (I find it takes some time for sweet flavours to peak in some cigars, I also remember you saying in a YouTube video review of a BFF I think that after many years sweet flavours can go away and they generally never return). I don't see much difference 5-15 years. And I think there's a bigger difference due to blend changes over that time period than due to aging. Early 2000s Rafael Gonzalez is/was floral (lavender) and nutty. Current Rafael Gonzalez is honey swetness and earthy.

@NSXCIGAR describes 90s and earlier R&J ex 4 as tropical fruit and magical. I don't think any amount of aging is going to make ex 4 from this century taste like tropical fruit.

I sort of hazily remember @JohnS having a magical series of 2003 des dieux, and assuming des dieux + age = cream bomb, when later he thought it might just be some particular magic of that 2003 batch, that he could never recapture with other vintages.

[El Presidente]

35 minutes ago, Bijan said:

I will concede certain cigars (PLPC, PLMC, maybe Cohibas) evolve/develop 0-5 or 0-7 years (I find it takes some time for sweet flavours to peak in some cigars, I also remember you saying in a YouTube video review of a BFF I think that after many years sweet flavours can go away and they generally never return). I don't see much difference 5-15 years. And I think there's a bigger difference due to blend changes over that time period than due to aging. Early 2000s Rafael Gonzalez is/was floral (lavender) and nutty. Current Rafael Gonzalez is honey swetness and earthy.

@NSXCIGAR describes 90s and earlier R&J ex 4 as tropical fruit and magical. I don't think any amount of aging is going to make ex 4 from this century taste like tropical fruit.

I sort of hazily remember @JohnS having a magical series of 2003 des dieux, and assuming des dieux + age = cream bomb, when later he thought it might just be some particular magic of that 2003 batch, that he could never recapture with other vintages.

You run into some serious issues transplanting others "tastings" into semi gospel. 

"tropical fruit" to one man may be "charred cherry" to another. I have never had a "tropical Fruit" E4 and I have been smoking them since the early 90's. Does that take away from NSX's experience? absolutely not.  His taste experiences are as valid as mine. 

I and many others here have experience vanilla cream dieux bombs from many a vintage. They just require age. Albeit the 06's never quite reached that level for me....but that may just have been me. 

That last point is relevent as well. 

Your palate is not the same as the one you had as a young Bijan 20 years ago.  You certainly taste less  as you get older and some say that your taste alters. 

Connecting the dots is fun but in the end it is all supposition plastering over a deep crevasse. 

[BoliDan]

Generally a couple weeks to adapt to your ideal humidor setting. Aging NCs can impart a bit of complexity to an otherwise linear cigar. I don't really notice much change. I like my PLPC, CoRo and RyJ Churchill's with some miles on them. It is significant in my opinion. It's all an experiment of personal choice in the end.

[Bijan]

9 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Your palate is not the same as the one you had as a young Bijan 20 years ago.  You certainly taste less  as you get older and some say that your taste alters. 

I always wondered about this one with regards to cigars. Definitely the same thing seems to hold for food.

Edit:

9 hours ago, El Presidente said:

"tropical fruit" to one man may be "charred cherry" to another. I have never had a "tropical Fruit" E4 and I have been smoking them since the early 90's. Does that take away from NSX's experience? absolutely not.  His taste experiences are as valid as mine. 

Also @NSXCIGAR maintained he got that flavour then and faint Cherry or Turkish delight now. Again maybe his palate changed or maybe something else. But he is right about R&J falling pretty low from pretty lofty heights with the passage of time since.

[dobbs]

i have boxes of nc's that i've "aged" only because i've got enough cigars and wandering attention. the blanket statement that nc's don't change over time has not been true in my case. i have some 2014 tatuaje black label corona gordas that are still smoking fantastic.

i like to let any cigar rest for 3 months before starting in, regardless of country of origin.

buy cigars, smoke the ones you like when you want to smoke them. it really is that simple.

-dobbs

[El Presidente]

8 hours ago, Bijan said:

. But he is right about R&J falling pretty low from pretty lofty heights with the passage of time since.

They have reached few heights since 1996. It seems like yesterday but we are talking over a quarter of a century ago. 

They were doing it rough  into the early 2000's and then the factory was shut down and used only as a rolling school until 2010/11 when Upmann moved in temporarilly. That initial shut down was the killer blow as the remaining keepers of the R&J  flame were distributed wide and far or simply let go. 

R&J E4  in spurts. there have been some superb runs. 

R&J Short Churchill in smaller spurts. 

R&J Churchill over the past few years (as per the Deep Dive poll) have been excellent. 

R&J Cazadores has been consistent. 

R&J Wide Churchill in short bursts.

R&J Petit Churchill can been good. Just a size that I and many others don't gravitate towards. 

[KCCubano]

Either my palate for Romeo has changed or Romeo has changed. The Cazedore seem very lite to me. The Churchills seem bland compared to 10-15 yrs ago. Only really get that Romeo Cherry flavors from aged Mille Fleur or Royales

[alkiviadis]

I bought some Davidoff Grand Cru No. 3s in late 2020. When I smoked the first one in spring 2021, it tasted like a light cigarette to me - almost no flavor . After resting for another year I found that it had developed a nice profile. 

More recently I purchased a Davidoff 2022 LE. Had a lot more body than the first Grand Cru I smoked, but same sort of thing where it didn't really have much of a profile. I would hope, especially given the $34 price, that they would improve over time.