"long" tern aging for my RYO's

[dondford]

For the past 20 years smoking store brought I started aging my cigars at less a year before I smoked them and really think it made a difference. Since I started rolling my own this past Dec I am now getting far enough ahead to start laying down my cigars for a year before I smoke them. A couple of months ago I started rolling my cigars in even numbers; I put half of them in my short term (2-4 months) cooler'dor, but put the other half in my long term cooler'dor for at least a year. I'm hoping it will make a difference; I have learned that, IMHO, at least 2-4 months really improves the smokeability and burn of my cigars (longer for my short filler "Sally" cigars) and think the extra time should really make a difference.

D

 

[waikikigun]

I believe the same thing and am trying to stockpile my home-rolled for the same purposes. It's challenging.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I have some cigars I rolled in 2008. I'll have to give one of them a try this 4th of July.

 

[Birage]

I rolled cigars in my early days and experimented with sprinkling some pipe tobacco into the filler when I rolled them. They were decent, but tad harsh. I gave a bunch to a friend who told me he kept them and smoked one every new year, and said they kept getting better every year. I was surprised that he did that, and even more surprised that the cigars just didn't go flat and turn out over-aged. That had to be at least 7 years ago. I think I am going to start making a long term section in my humidor, and put at least one of each kind that I roll just to see if they can actually get better with age.

 

[DIY Pete]

Warning sweeping generalizations are about to be made! Also some of the opinions expressed are not my person experiences but relayed to me by people whose opinion I value.

How well a cigar ages depends a lot on the tobacco used. Some Cigars smoke the best fairly fresh, Nicaraguan tobacco has this reputation.

Cuban tobacco used to need a fair bit of age (5 years) to really come into full form. Today it is much better right off the boat but it doesn't age as well.

Mild cigars can go flat much sooner with age than strong, spicy cigars. I have some Punch Churchill's from 1999 that are just amazing but I bet they will start to go flat in another couple of years so they are in the rotation.

I guess the moral of the story is to smoke 1 cigar every 6 months to one year out a batch you are aging and make sure you do keep them past their prime.

Pete

 

[deluxestogie]

My impression is that it's hard to predict what you end up with, following prolonged aging.

• Flor de A. Allones Especiales No. 5 made in 2002 are superb today. The same cigars made in 2012 are good, but not great.
• Henry Clay cigars made in 1987, and smoked in 2011 were pretty much as I remembered them tasting when new--full, somewhat harsh, same nicotine blast.
• Some ~15 year old Hoyo de Monterrey and El Rey del Mundo specialty cigars (Aristocrat, Estelo Aniversarios, etc.) are impressively mediocre.
• Hoyo and Punch Rothschilds always taste the same, regardless of age.
• A box of horrid La Herencia double coronas tasted much better after being ignored in the humidor for many years.

The only generalizations that I'll make about prolonged aging of cigars are these:

• nicotine diminishes little, if any
• machine-made cigars are often not aged very much, and will usually mellow with a year or two of aging
• some subtle aromas are lost with aging
• crummy cigars are usually still crummy after aging

Bob