Aging advice

[TJCoro]

The Average Bloke

Example: Buy box of APR 2014 RyJ PC. Put away till 2017, smoke 'at prime' between 2017 and 2021. And for continuance remember to buy another box in 2018.

I like the way you think, muchacho.

Most of us will probably view this as good news. I mean, how many of us blokes actually have the funds (or patience) to buy and store boxes of fine puros for 5-20 years anyway.....well, except maybe don TJ and senor stevietheboy.


Perro, el Perro

haha! It's just a theory, dowg face....so keep yer panties dry!

[tippexx]

I mean, how many of us blokes actually have the funds (or patience) to buy and store boxes of fine puros for 5-20 years anyway.....

Or the years TJ .... 20 would take me to 85, could be a bit of a waste.

[Moon Dancer]

When tobacco arrives at a sorting house from a farm it is all mixed together, so when it reaches the factory, there is no traceabilty which farm or barn it came from, only which sorting house. No one in the factory knows which tobacco has been cured completely naturally or with artificial help.

Commercial pressures on growers for more tobacco per hectare, introduction of newer seed types and soil suplements, quicker drying methods, notwithstanding the rush to get rolling, asap, has imho, taken it's toll on the natural time honoured methods which produced such wonderful cigars

Cuba needs to develope more land for additional production if that is really what is needed, rather than intensive growing methods. Moreover allowing leaves longer storage / maturing time as they previously did. I get rather suspecious when I read a new LE or something, has got a 3 year old wrapper. I just wonder how old the wrappers are around the run of the mill stuff. Not very old, me thinks In my younger days I can never recall opening a box that had any ammonia smell, it was always a rich mature tobacco smell. A box of Bolivar was once described to me as ? A Symphony of Golden Tobacco Smells? The only stress was wondering how many sticks would be tight or plugged (thankfully now thats in the past ) Waste not want not, my father sometimes broke the offending stick up and rubbed it into his Walnut Plug pipe tobacco. Merchants did not released boxes before readinness, confidently knowing the leaf had been properly marured.

Something tell's me that if Cuba is not careful the commercial men of the kick and rush method for at least standard cigars will gradully manifest into a NC signature, albiet with a Cuban label. Perhaps with North Amercia in mind

From Ryans factory observations as above, and past and present box code experiences, etc, a much higher degree of clarity and transparency should be mandatory- Perhaps a warning notice alongside to the health warning- The contents of this box may not be as labeled

[tippexx]

When tobacco arrives at a sorting house from a farm it is all mixed together, so when it reaches the factory, there is no traceabilty which farm or barn it came from, only which sorting house. No one in the factory knows which tobacco has been cured completely naturally or with artificial help.

There's probably a very obvious answer for the next question.

So, how do they know what it is other than tobacco, by that I mean destined for which blends for which cigars. If Cuban cigars are made from just random tobacco, where does the specific brand differentiation come from?

[Ryan]

There's probably a very obvious answer for the next question.


So, how do they know what it is other than tobacco, by that I mean destined for which blends for which cigars. If Cuban cigars are made from just random tobacco, where does the specific brand differentiation come from?

It's a good question and the answer isn't obvious at all.
Tobacco is differentiated by sorting house. I've been told there are 22 in San Juan y Martinez for example. I've only seen one of them.
So that's where traceability starts.
When the bales arrive at the factory they have been marked with codes showing the sorting house, year and other information about the tobacco. The blender makes the blends from there.

[ValeTudoGuy]

Some great knowledge coming out in this thread! It seems like every product is losing real "quality" hand over fist in this modern world.