Resting question.

[AshMe Nothing]

I’m sure this has been asked and answered somewhere, but I didn’t dig far enough into the forum to find it.

When resting Cuban cigars do you gauge the time down based on the date on the box, the date it goes in your humidor, or simply by sampling on occasion? I think I know what most answers will be, but humor me if you don’t mind.

 

[ha_banos]

Ok. I'll bite. I track based on box date. But over the years I've got quite the backlog...

[Habanoschris]

I base on box date overall, but I do factor in other things like when a certain box has made it to my humidor and how a certain cigar might taste initially upon first acquiring it etc.  

[Allroz]

I am the same, I base on box date. I try to sample at the year mark unless I am stocked on the same cigars. If not I’ll typically sample every 6-9 months unless I go on a bender.

[zacca]

For resting, I go by the condition of the sticks when they go in the humidor. Do they feel somewhat normal? Ideally I like to give 60 days minimum. Are they too wet or dry when they go in? I measure moisture content and aim to have them resting at least 4 months, and along the way I’ll examine them to see how they’re doing.

Now if it’s aging and not resting, yeah this is a combination of what stick specifically and the box date. A Siglo V/VI or Lusi from 2024? Putting them away for a few years still (though I may be tempted to sample one along the way). Party Shorts from 2025? As long as they feel normal, they’re just getting the resting protocol and I’ll dip into them after 30-60 days. 

[Çnote]

Minimum one year rest to stabilize humidity for CC. Why rush?

[Lucas Buck]

A bit of both. I like to note the date received along with the box date. 

[joeypots]

If you are dying to smoke some of your new cigars try not to smoke them all too quickly. Time will change them probably for the better and it's nice to experience that change and finally "get it". 

[Mike Mecklenburg]

I will wait 1-3 years from the box date before trying. For purchasing singles, anything goes.

[Malt]

Being impatient, that 1 year thing is painful! It’s like watching babies crying and not being able to feed them!

[WestCoastSmokin]

If you’re gonna rest a cigar, 30-90 days should be fine, and for that I go by the date I put them in my humidor. If you’re gonna age a box I go off the date of the box. Early on I didn’t have the same stock that I’m starting to gain now. So I would open a box after a few months, around 6. Now I’m starting to be able to let a young box rest for a year (at least) before I open 'em and try 'em and then I aim to age 'em 3 years and up depending on the cigar. Any singles I have, I kinda follow that 30-90 day rule, then start to smoke them. I just don’t see the point in aging singles intentionally when you can’t really go on that full journey of a full box and gauge the changes from the beginning.

Maybe that’s more info than what your question is asking for but hope it helps. 

[Çnote]

3 hours ago, Malt said:

Being impatient, that 1 year thing is painful! It’s like watching babies crying and not being able to feed them!

Once you have a critical mass of cigars it's easier to wait. Every 'cigar problem' is fixed by buying more.

[Malt]

12 hours ago, Çnote said:

Once you have a critical mass of cigars it's easier to wait. Every 'cigar problem' is fixed by buying more.

I’m working on it, bought a couple packages on 24:24, got a bundle of Canonazos all recently, so it’s good. It’s still wintery here so I’m limited smoking out in the cold but in another 30 days it’s warm and I’ll start poking into the fab 5 stuff. 

[ha_banos]

12 hours ago, WestCoastSmokin said:

... I just don’t see the point in aging singles intentionally when you can’t really go on that full journey of a full box and gauge the changes from the beginning.

I went through a big phase of buying singles through to fivers. Ended up with two 12L tupperdores full of em. All sorts of things. Took years to get through them. Still have some. Must have been 400+ cigars in there. Was a great journey of discovery. But no box or vitola evolution for me. That journey sort of starts now. And I don't have many boxes of any one vitola. Most boxes are unique. There are a few ways to play this game over time. I sure didn't plan it. Very enjoyable anyway I will say.

[WestCoastSmokin]

11 hours ago, ha_banos said:

I went through a big phase of buying singles through to fivers. Ended up with two 12L tupperdores full of em. All sorts of things. Took years to get through them. Still have some. Must have been 400+ cigars in there. Was a great journey of discovery. But no box or vitola evolution for me. That journey sort of starts now. And I don't have many boxes of any one vitola. Most boxes are unique. There are a few ways to play this game over time. I sure didn't plan it. Very enjoyable anyway I will say.

Definitely many ways to play this game and certainly it’s up to each individual person to do what they like best. Singles are great to taste and see what you enjoy. 

[El Presidente]

10 hours ago, WestCoastSmokin said:

Definitely many ways to play this game and certainly it’s up to each individual person to do what they like best. Singles are great to taste and see what you enjoy. 

Personally (talking boxes)

New cigar, 30 days down, I generally want to establish a base line. 

90 days down, second cigar from that box. From there I make a decision. If they are smoking the house down 93/94 points...I will continue to smoke through them until I hit a cigar that underwhelms. Another 6 months to12 months away for the rest of the box. I generally repeat the process then. I have boxes now that are 6-10 years working through this process. Other boxes were smoked within 6 months (D4 was the latest). 

Flip side, If after 90 days I get a decent experience 87-91 from the first cigar...away for 12 months and try again. Repeat. 

[Malt]

Sigh😞 I’m going to need a bigger humidor! 

[AshMe Nothing]

Lots of great responses here. For me singles get 90 days down. Then I decide if I want a box or not based on opportunity/price/value. Boxes I will pull one and rest the box minus the cellophane (that’s a whole different thread/poll). That single also rests 2-3 months before I give it a try. Then pull one every 3-6 months to find the sweet spot if it has one.

I’ve only been building my collection since roughly June of last year. Got back into it “obsessively” according to my better half. Roughly 1000 sticks in I think I’m at a slowing down point, lol. Selectively. Mind you it’s 95% NC, but about 30% Fabrica5. I’ve slowly worked my way through many singles, and recently the Fabrica5 sampler I bought back in September. Yeah I’ve got ~300 regrettable stick purchases. Another ~200 value sticks in a long term aging experiment in hopes to replicate an accidental aging. I find myself reaching for the F5 sticks more and more.

It’s more about the journey than the destination.

[gormag38]

Like others have mentioned on here; the more cigars you have the less of an issue this 'problem' becomes. My rule of thumb has always been to give any singles at least 2 weeks or so before trying. However, with that being said, they almost always end up sitting longer than that for me (especially recently with a long cold winter in Michigan). For boxes, I always wait a minimum of 30 days. I got a BBF cab most recently in late summer with a fairly new box date, OCT 24. I'll likely let this sit until the two year mark before sampling, even though they smell and look amazing. Why until the two year mark may you ask? Because I have so much other stuff to get to first! Thus, more cigars is your answer. 🙃

[mikec]

There's no such thing as buying too many boxes of Habanos, within your budget of course. Chances are sooner but usually later they will come around to be very smokeable. That is unless you end up with a box of tent pegs, which doesn't really happen that often. The last time Habanos where consistently bad construction was 1999-2001 and many of those boxes are still doing the circuit.

[WestCoastSmokin]

21 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Personally (talking boxes)

New cigar, 30 days down, I generally want to establish a base line. 

90 days down, second cigar from that box. From there I make a decision. If they are smoking the house down 93/94 points...I will continue to smoke through them until I hit a cigar that underwhelms. Another 6 months to12 months away for the rest of the box. I generally repeat the process then. I have boxes now that are 6-10 years working through this process. Other boxes were smoked within 6 months (D4 was the latest). 

Flip side, If after 90 days I get a decent experience 87-91 from the first cigar...away for 12 months and try again. Repeat. 

I love it, but my brain has a hard time allowing myself to dip into new boxes now, with prices and limited availability. 

[griller]

7 hours ago, gormag38 said:

Like others have mentioned on here; the more cigars you have the less of an issue this 'problem' becomes. My rule of thumb has always been to give any singles at least 2 weeks or so before trying. However, with that being said, they almost always end up sitting longer than that for me (especially recently with a long cold winter in Michigan). For boxes, I always wait a minimum of 30 days. I got a BBF cab most recently in late summer with a fairly new box date, OCT 24. I'll likely let this sit until the two year mark before sampling, even though they smell and look amazing. Why until the two year mark may you ask? Because I have so much other stuff to get to first! Thus, more cigars is your answer. 🙃

This is pretty much me as well. I also mirror some of what El Prez is doing, too. 

For singles bought from a B&M, I'll sit on them for a couple of weeks before lighting up. Seems like overhumidification can be an issue at some stores locally so I'll just throw them into a dry box. Not really buying boxes of NCs right now except for BR/Nudies so each single is smoked on it's merits & I'll go back and buy a few more if worthy. If no longer in stock no biggie.

For BR/Nudies, rest 30+ days before sampling. That's the baseline smoke. From there I'll leave them along until they hit 90 days unless they're exceptional. 

I go off box date with Habanos. Smoke one after a month for baseline, then follow El Prez plan...