Aging vs Resting

[Dlowil]

Apologies in advance if this has been tackled in another topic/thread.

Curious about experiences with resting vs aging regarding CC. I’ve heard conflicting opinions—some say 3–6 months rest does wonders post-shipping, while others swear certain cigars need 5–10 years to hit their stride. Would love to hear your takes, especially on which cigars are worth the long haul. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Lucas Buck]

I don’t care for fresh Havana cigars. Many do though. There is nothing in this world so satisfying as a well aged Havana. Even 3 years makes a difference for me but 10-20 years or more are my preference. As far as resting I’ve never seen much difference unless they are wet. I prefer smoking closer to 60 than 70rh. 

[yuppie]

I'm hearing more and more often that certain CCs are good enough young, like the Hoyo No.3's or the PLPCs. My strategy will be to smoke 1 from the box after about 30 days resting and from there revisit every 6 months to 1 year. I would consider "resting" as letting the cigars acclimate to your humidor or recover from shipping, anything from 1 week to 90 days. I'd consider "aging" as letting the cigar develop or settle into more balanced or more complex flavors, anything around 1 year or more.

Some madmen around here are smoking ROTT, literally, but I'm not sure if their sticks are traveling from Cuba to Miami or what!

[Dlowil]

I don’t care for fresh Havana cigars. Many do though. There is nothing in this world so satisfying as a well aged Havana. Even 3 years makes a difference for me but 10-20 years or more are my preference. As far as resting I’ve never seen much difference unless they are wet. I prefer smoking closer to 60 than 70rh. 

What exactly do you mean by “wet”? Also, what exactly do you prefer about the smoke when closer to 60rh?

[Montezüma]

There is personal enjoyment from an aged cigar and the same can be said about a fresh box. But none can be said about an unrested cigar, unacclimated and suffering from transit.

[RSG]

I age all my cigars. To me, aged cigars get smoother, more rounded over time. If I buy a new world cigar, I will let it acclimate (rest?) in the Humidor a while. If your lucky enough to experience that 20 year old smoothness...

[Ruggerpgh99]

I am still new to this game for sure. I have had a few CC that were clearly too young to enjoy when I received them, even with rest (Monte 5, JL1) and others that from some coaxing and other reviews were stellar young with potential to get better (PLPC, PLMC, HUHC). I have also enjoyed a few BR pickups with some age that were mind blowingly good (RASCC, Punch SDP). I have some cigars with '23 and '24 dates that I don't plan on touching for a while based on feedback from others (RASS, BCJ). 

Hopefully, I build up enough inventory to enjoy youngish, and then let them mellow and try over time to find their peak. I also have a lot of NW options to help me find the time to age my CC's so I think I could be set up for success. 

 

[Dlowil]

I am still new to this game for sure. I have had a few CC that were clearly too young to enjoy when I received them, even with rest (Monte 5, JL1) and others that from some coaxing and other reviews were stellar young with potential to get better (PLPC, PLMC, HUHC). I have also enjoyed a few BR pickups with some age that were mind blowingly good (RASCC, Punch SDP). I have some cigars with '23 and '24 dates that I don't plan on touching for a while based on feedback from others (RASS, BCJ). 
Hopefully, I build up enough inventory to enjoy youngish, and then let them mellow and try over time to find their peak. I also have a lot of NW options to help me find the time to age my CC's so I think I could be set up for success. 
 

Appreciate the response. What’s your gauge on them being “too young? What will your cadence/method be to test them to find the aged cigar peak?

[Ruggerpgh99]

There is a harshness to the flavor and smoke that really tells me they are too young. Some of the more experienced CC smokers can probably pinpoint that better than I can. My cadence will be having one from a box every 6 months or so, that will tell me they are hitting their stride. As my collection grows, I may be able to try them once a year to see how the flavor changes, and then more often once they have gotten to that point that they are great. I keep a spreadsheet to help with this as well, with dates and tasting notes, recommendations for aging or buying more, etc. I am still doing a lot of learning, and this site has been a godsend to get as much information as possible. Everyone has a different palate, so there isn't anything that I would say is a hard and fast rule either. When you enjoy it, that is when the cigar is at its best. 

[Lucas Buck]

16 hours ago, Dlowil said:

What exactly do you mean by “wet”? Also, what exactly do you prefer about the smoke when closer to 60rh?

Sometimes cigars arrive over-humidified at least for my tastes. If they are much above 65% I consider them too wet and they usually have muted flavors and burn issues along with tight draws at times. If this is the case I rest them in my 65% humidor for at least a month or so until they dry up a bit. If I’m particularly impatient I will put them in a dry box (unhumidified cigar box or desktop humidor typically) for a few days to a week or so until they are dry enough for my liking. When in that 60-65rh range I find better burn, flavor and draw. 

[Mike Mecklenburg]

Aging:  If you by a box you can test the cigar as time goes by (1 every year) to find out when it will be to your liking.  

Resting:  I am taking a chance that the flavors are not fully developed under 1-2 years. The first half may be ok but the second half may go to s**t, an expensive gamble.

Example:  La Gloria Cubana RE Spain, Serie D No.5 (Box Date: LAT March 2019) 

Smoked with 2 years of Age:  Spicy, Pepper, Wood, last third was harsh - strength med/full

Smoked with 4 years of Age:  Spicy, Pepper, Wood, Slight Sweetness, nothing harsh - strength med/full

Smoked with 6 years of Age:  No Spice, No Pepper, Creamy Sweet Earth, Wood and Nutty - strength medium 

(Now is the time to smoke for me)

[Dlowil]

45 minutes ago, Mike Mecklenburg said:

Aging:  If you by a box you can test the cigar as time goes by (1 every year) to find out when it will be to your liking.  
Resting:  I am taking a chance that the flavors are not fully developed under 1-2 years.  The first half may be ok but the second half may go to s**t, an expensive gamble.
Example:  La Gloria Cubana RE Spain, Serie D No.5 (Box Date: LAT March 2019) 
Smoked with 2 years of Age:  Spicy, Pepper, Wood, last third was harsh - strength med/full
Smoked with 4 years of Age:  Spicy, Pepper, Wood, Slight Sweetness, nothing harsh - strength med/full
Smoked with 6 years of Age:  No Spice, No Pepper, Creamy Sweet Earth, Wood and Nutty - strength medium 
(Now is the time to smoke for me)
 

Thanks Mike! While year 4 doesn’t sound awful, year 6 sounds delectable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BlueWS]

Dlowil, resting it all about how well the cigar burns. No one knows the exact conditions the cigar went through to get to your house and that's why the rule of thumb is to get it into a controlled environment and let it rest for 30 days. The cigar will change about 1% RH per week. It's a slow process. You want to do everything you can to make sure the conditions are ideal for having a good smoking experience (even burn, no tunneling, no canoeing, no relights if possible, etc). If it's too dry it'll have burn issues. If it's too "wet" it'll have burn issues. If it was rolled poorly, burn issues & draw issues. If you smoke a small ring gauge cigar outdoors and it's really windy... going good luck keeping that thing lit the entire time. So take it all with a grain of salt. We live in an imperfect world. When you pick up a cigar you can roll it gently in your fingers to test two things. Is it too hard with no give and feels like it's dry and will crack = put it back (not ready to smoke). Spongy, really soft = put it back. After you smoke through 2/3rds of a cigar and it's a little wet from your mouth and 30-45min of drawing on it, roll it in your fingers and feel how soft it's become. If it's like that out of the box = put it back. You're looking for something in between. Some people buy a little meter with two small prongs that will read the RH inside the cigar. There's even debate over using that as a guide. This hobby like any other has people who really get into it and nerd out over every variable. I enjoy cigars, but it's a hand made product. You can pull two cigars from the same box under the exact same conditions and one turns out to be a dud (draw issues, burn issues, lack of flavor). It's part of the game.

Don't forget that Relative Humidity is just that, relative to YOUR CLIMATE. You could have your stash in a 65f/65rh stable and controlled environment, but you live in Arizona and it's 115F outside. You take that cigar straight outdoors and hit it with a torch lighter and there's a high chance the wrapper will split. Then it won't burn evenly and it all starts to go down hill fast if it doesn't straight up unravel. Bye bye expensive cigar. 

Young cigars (6 months to 1 year) typically taste BLAND. 6 months later sometimes the magic happens and it's a new cigar. Sometimes that takes longer. It depends and it depends who you talk to as we have different opinions and experience. Some people haven't smoked very long and are blown away by a 6 month old Hoyo Epi #2 or a QdO 50. Anything mild and delicate is perfect for them. Some people have been smoking for 20,30,40 years and they need to be smacked in the face with flavor. That 6 month old Hoyo is going to be dog shit to them. You have to find out what you like. Not everything ages well. Sometimes 10 year old cigars are boring dusty sticks just like wine that went past its prime. It depends. THERE ARE A LOT OF VARIABLES. Once I know what I'm doing I believe in keeping it simple.

[Dlowil]

On 5/16/2025 at 3:46 AM, BlueWS said:

Dlowil, resting it all about how well the cigar burns. No one knows the exact conditions the cigar went through to get to your house and that's why the rule of thumb is to get it into a controlled environment and let it rest for 30 days. The cigar will change about 1% RH per week. It's a slow process. You want to do everything you can to make sure the conditions are ideal for having a good smoking experience (even burn, no tunneling, no canoeing, no relights if possible, etc). If it's too dry it'll have burn issues. If it's too "wet" it'll have burn issues. If it was rolled poorly, burn issues & draw issues. If you smoke a small ring gauge cigar outdoors and it's really windy... going good luck keeping that thing lit the entire time. So take it all with a grain of salt. We live in an imperfect world. When you pick up a cigar you can roll it gently in your fingers to test two things. Is it too hard with no give and feels like it's dry and will crack = put it back (not ready to smoke). Spongy, really soft = put it back. After you smoke through 2/3rds of a cigar and it's a little wet from your mouth and 30-45min of drawing on it, roll it in your fingers and feel how soft it's become. If it's like that out of the box = put it back. You're looking for something in between. Some people buy a little meter with two small prongs that will read the RH inside the cigar. There's even debate over using that as a guide. This hobby like any other has people who really get into it and nerd out over every variable. I enjoy cigars, but it's a hand made product. You can pull two cigars from the same box under the exact same conditions and one turns out to be a dud (draw issues, burn issues, lack of flavor). It's part of the game.
Don't forget that Relative Humidity is just that, relative to YOUR CLIMATE. You could have your stash in a 65f/65rh stable and controlled environment, but you live in Arizona and it's 115F outside. You take that cigar straight outdoors and hit it with a torch lighter and there's a high chance the wrapper will split. Then it won't burn evenly and it all starts to go down hill fast if it doesn't straight up unravel. Bye bye expensive cigar. 
Young cigars (6 months to 1 year) typically taste BLAND. 6 months later sometimes the magic happens and it's a new cigar. Sometimes that takes longer. It depends and it depends who you talk to as we have different opinions and experience. Some people haven't smoked very long and are blown away by a 6 month old Hoyo Epi #2 or a QdO 50. Anything mild and delicate is perfect for them. Some people have been smoking for 20,30,40 years and they need to be smacked in the face with flavor. That 6 month old Hoyo is going to be dog shit to them. You have to find out what you like. Not everything ages well. Sometimes 10 year old cigars are boring dusty sticks just like wine that went past its prime. It depends. THERE ARE A LOT OF VARIABLES. Once I know what I'm doing I believe in keeping it simple.

Thank you for the knowledge here. Insightful. I have a lot to learn!

[BossHogg]

To me it is not an exact science. There are too many variables involved. Others here have stated some great information and you can learn a lot from them. Just enjoy the journey as it goes. You will have some great smokes that will make you want to mimic whatever it was that made it that way, and you will also have some that are not so much 😉 

Before you know it, there will be so many cigars that by default you will be aging all of them regardless 👍 

[Dlowil]

To me it is not an exact science. There are too many variables involved. Others here have stated some great information and you can learn a lot from them. Just enjoy the journey as it goes. You will have some great smokes that will make you want to mimic whatever it was that made it that way, and you will also have some that are not so much  
Before you know it, there will be so many cigars that by default you will be aging all of them regardless  

My takeaways here are:
Experiment
Enjoy the process
Accumulate lots of cigars

Appreciate the reply!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cigarsmoker81]

I’ve been wanting a source for which marcas get better with age but with no luck. If someone has one please share it. 

I’ve been storing cigars for the last 6 years and my limited experience say the vast majority improve to the 5 year mark. Some came to life only post 3 years (H. Upmann Connie B and QdO 54) others were good day one and they’re excellent now (HdM Rio Seco and Partagas E2 come to mind). Smoked a my fair share of 10+years Cohibas and they were very good (with some exceptions).

As it’s been said, you only know once you go through the process.

[yuppie]

On 5/15/2025 at 10:46 AM, BlueWS said:

Don't forget that Relative Humidity is just that, relative to YOUR CLIMATE. You could have your stash in a 65f/65rh stable and controlled environment, but you live in Arizona and it's 115F outside. You take that cigar straight outdoors and hit it with a torch lighter and there's a high chance the wrapper will split. Then it won't burn evenly and it all starts to go down hill fast if it doesn't straight up unravel. Bye bye expensive cigar. 

Being an Arizona resident myself, where temps will soon be approaching 115ºF and humidity is typically around 15%-20%, what do you suggest I can do to ensure a better experience smoking outside? I've been planning on enjoying a smoke while I'm in the pool and I've also been wondering about putting a Rabbit Air in my office.

[Dlowil]

Being an Arizona resident myself, where temps will soon be approaching 115ºF and humidity is typically around 15%-20%, what do you suggest I can do to ensure a better experience smoking outside? I've been planning on enjoying a smoke while I'm in the pool and I've also been wondering about putting a Rabbit Air in my office.

115 sounds miserable!!! Godspeed to you my friend!

[BlueWS]

8 hours ago, yuppie said:

Being an Arizona resident myself, where temps will soon be approaching 115ºF and humidity is typically around 15%-20%, what do you suggest I can do to ensure a better experience smoking outside? I've been planning on enjoying a smoke while I'm in the pool and I've also been wondering about putting a Rabbit Air in my office.

It sound ridiculous, but I've read about guys wetting the wrapper on very old sticks right before they smoke it. Literally running the cigar under the faucet carefully. I've smoked outside above 100F once, but If you're having issues maybe try that on a cheap stick to see if it makes a difference? I'm not an expert.

[joeypots]

My guide goes something like this.

Fresh: Under a year of box age. My cigars are not ready to sample until one has acclimated to a RH of 62%. I find cigars that are too moist are bitter. It can take a box in a humidor a while to get acclimated.

Young: Up to 5 years. Young cigars are by no means bad and the character of the cigar changes a lot during this time. Three years may be perfect for you. Many people prefer fresh cigars and like their smokes punchy rather than smooth. Some cigars are better than others young. The PSD#4 has been good to me with minimal time down. I think Cohiba is wasted smoked young. New tobacco strains have made Cuban cigars approachable young compared with older varieties. 

Aged: 5 years to whenever. At the five year mark the cigars most likely have smoothed out to the point where they have lost the harshness that some dislike. Smooth flavorful smoke that can be easily retrohaled a hall mark of an aged cigar, imho, and after five years the character of the cigars will likely change slowly.  Aging cigars long term has to be done correctly, there are loads of opinions about technique, and poorly stored cigars can expire. Buying a box of old cigars is risky and expensive. Having a reliable vendor and provenance is mandatory.  

My .02$  None of this is written in stone and your experience may differ. 

[Dlowil]

8 hours ago, joeypots said:

 

My guide goes something like this.

Fresh: Under a year of box age. My cigars are not ready to sample until one has acclimated to a RH of 62%. I find cigars that are too moist are bitter. It can take a box in a humidor a while to get acclimated.

Young: Up to 5 years. Young cigars are by no means bad and the character of the cigar changes a lot during this time. Three years may be perfect for you. Many people prefer fresh cigars and like their smokes punchy rather than smooth. Some cigars are better than others young. The PSD#4 has been good to me with minimal time down. I think Cohiba is wasted smoked young. New tobacco strains have made Cuban cigars approachable young compared with older varieties.

Aged: 5 years to whenever. At the five year mark the cigars most likely have smoothed out to the point where they have lost the harshness that some dislike. Smooth flavorful smoke that can be easily retrohaled a hall mark of an aged cigar, imho, and after five years the character of the cigars will likely change slowly.  Aging cigars long term has to be done correctly, there are loads of opinions about technique, and poorly stored cigars can expire. Buying a box of old cigars is risky and expensive. Having a reliable vendor and provenance is mandatory.  

My .02$  None of this is written in stone and your experience may differ.

@joeypots thanks for the in depth response. What do you consider the correct way to age a cigar?

[joeypots]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092LVGNZ7?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_10&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FEZNXRI/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_plhdr=t&aaxitk=8c1a05602bbfe26e7ff7105825bfac29&hsa_cr_id=6061086190401&qid=1747664214&sr=1-2-9e67e56a-6f64-441f-a281-df67fc737124&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_1_img&pd_rd_w=ST5Jr&content-id=amzn1.sym.8591358d-1345-4efd-9d50-5bd4e69cd942%3Aamzn1.sym.8591358d-1345-4efd-9d50-5bd4e69cd942&pf_rd_p=8591358d-1345-4efd-9d50-5bd4e69cd942&pf_rd_r=VSHZFX3Y2ZV33SP9487F&pd_rd_wg=ccfaA&pd_rd_r=c0a21e68-ff57-4b9b-b32b-e29ea951cf24&th=1

https://www.cigaroasis.com/products/cigar-oasis-caliber-iv-slim-digital-hygrometer?variant=33915980841092&country=US&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=AfmBOoqQObHFqMk8MEC6YTULTKelU3PxzSHThVhRXEPdsCmaQ56m9P8IN00&gQT=1

 

Plastic storage tubs.

Boveda, the big packet. They run lower than the % number on the pack. Its humid where I live in Summer so the RH goes up and I use 58s if any. 65s in the cold drier winter..

Hygrometer to check once in a while.

Check the cigars for mold and wipe it off if found. Put your closed boxes in the tub with the Boveda and hygrometer. Make sure you keep the temp 70 or lower. Leave the cigar be. IOW, don’t dick around with them. The more cigars you have the easier it will be to rest and age them. 

Keep Cubans and NWs separate. 

[Wookie]

On 5/17/2025 at 9:31 AM, BossHogg said:

To me it is not an exact science. There are too many variables involved. Others here have stated some great information and you can learn a lot from them. Just enjoy the journey as it goes. You will have some great smokes that will make you want to mimic whatever it was that made it that way, and you will also have some that are not so much 😉 

Before you know it, there will be so many cigars that by default you will be aging all of them regardless 👍 

This has been my experience as well.

[BrightonCorgi]

16 hours ago, BlueWS said:

It sound ridiculous, but I've read about guys wetting the wrapper on very old sticks right before they smoke it. Literally running the cigar under the faucet carefully. I've smoked outside above 100F once, but If you're having issues maybe try that on a cheap stick to see if it makes a difference? I'm not an expert.

I wet cigars a lot before smoking. For sure the head of the cigar goes quick under the faucet before cutting. Let it sit a minute before cutting. Never worry about cracking the head. Other times I rinse the whole cigar before cutting. Helps with the combustion and can make it taste smoother.