Good smokes for ageing?

[Toxophilite]

My 'everyday smokes' humidors are full to bursting, and I am now increasingly turning my attention to buying boxes to age (and simply because I want them, let's not kid ourselves).

Anybody have any recommendations for smokes which age particularly well? I'm open-minded.


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[gojira]

That's a tough question to answer. I would say just go for a few boxes of your favorite sticks but try to diversify. But it is easy to get carried away and one can end up with 1k plus sticks in no time and still hunger for more. I also would not concentrate on just one marca though, it's a mistake I made in the beginning.

It's also good to have a few boxes of cigars that smoke well young on hand to let the others sleep a little otherwise you'll end up smoking more and more of the sticks you wanted to let age.

Another problem is where to start. What kind of vitolas do you favor? Petit Coronas? Go for a cab of PLPC, they are cheap and reliable but need a few years on them. The best thing would be to purchase a cab that already has some age on it. If you like Robustos go for some RASS, they are not to expensive as well and smoke very good with some age on them.

But there is so much out there that it's hard to get a good picture of what one likes. In my case there are many marcas I haven't smoked through yet and some vitolas that I have barely touched (like the double corona for example).

[Simon Bolivar]

1st question is how long do you expect to age them? 3-5yrs is normal, 5-10yrs most lines are at their best; for 10yrs+ I'd go: Boli's, RA's, Party's, ERDM, LGC & Cohiba's. If you're not so patient/haven't got so much room, buy as aged as you can afford & keep them a little longer

[PeeJay]

I have a box of Juan Lopez #2 tucked away at the box of the wineador because I like them with a few years on. They'll be there until at least 2020
oldie.jpeg

[Budgie Smuggler]

Juan Lopez as John said, Fonseca Delicias.

[smokey joe]

Good smokes for ageing?

There were some 10 year old bolivar tubos about recently that were superb. I've had some aged stuff was well past it's prime though. If you get a cabinet or two you can try 1 occasionally as the rest age.

I'd be gutted if I set aside a box untouched for years to discover they were rubbish or past best!

[Toxophilite]

Many thanks for the interesting responses chaps! Lots of food for thought.

Would you tend to argue (with plenty of exceptions I'm sure) that it is the stronger/fuller flavoured cigars that age best?
[MENTION=13450212]gojira[/MENTION]
You've mentioned two of my favourite smokes there with the PLPC and RASS, they're high on my list. Realistically I rarely have the opportunity to smoke large cigars (and when I do it's normally in a tobacconist), so PCs/Robustos/Coronas gordas are the order of the day for me.
[MENTION=13371498]Simon[/MENTION]Bolivar
I'm thinking fairly long term here (5yrs+). I only smoke a couple of sticks a week, so undoubtedly my collection will grow at a rate faster than my smoking. I've heard ERDM Demi tasse age very well so planning on forgetting about a box or two of those for a decade or more!
[MENTION=13408081]smokey joe[/MENTION]
That's precisely my concern, and why I'm doubtful over just buying my favourite sticks and presuming they'll be great with 10 years on them, much better to smoke them younger and at their best!


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[Budgie Smuggler]

Por Larranaga age well and they're quite light/medium in flavour.

[Simon Bolivar]

So you have a big advantage smoking low volumes & buying more than you smoke. It's the only real way of building a decent collection. Just take care not to end up buying far more than you're ever likely to smoke (I mean who'd let themselves get that carried away?)
PLPC's are great with 5-10yrs, try & pick up a couple of cabs before they disappear. Start one & by the time you finish that the other will be just getting into it's stride. ERDM up to 20yrs - really! RASS are pretty good at 3-5 & I wouldn't age them more i.e. I'd be smoking them at 3-5yrs but would probably still be trying to finish a cab in a further 5yrs & they'll still be fine.
I don't think good quality Havana's 'go off' or really 'past their best' under 20yrs+, unless you really like them strong & punchy or green tasting. Not like wine when there's a more obvious decline in flavour & quality but taste is subjective & we all look for something different in our fav cigars.

[Toxophilite]

So you have a big advantage smoking low volumes & buying more than you smoke. It's the only real way of building a decent collection. Just take care not to end up buying far more than you're ever likely to smoke (I mean who'd let themselves get that carried away?)
PLPC's are great with 5-10yrs, try & pick up a couple of cabs before they disappear. Start one & by the time you finish that the other will be just getting into it's stride. ERDM up to 20yrs - really! RASS are pretty good at 3-5 & I wouldn't age them more i.e. I'd be smoking them at 3-5yrs but would probably still be trying to finish a cab in a further 5yrs & they'll still be fine.
I don't think good quality Havana's 'go off' or really 'past their best' under 20yrs+, unless you really like them strong & punchy or green tasting. Not like wine when there's a more obvious decline in flavour & quality but taste is subjective & we all look for something different in our fav cigars.

Aha yes indeed I shall have to try and stop the cigar acquisition disorder short of that... I'm not sure I'll be successful! I think I shall look to get a cab of PLs soon. They've always been a reliable smoke for me. Of course LEs and REs are a whole other ball game I guess...


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[Simon Bolivar]

Aha yes indeed I shall have to try and stop the cigar acquisition disorder short of that... I'm not sure I'll be successful! I think I shall look to get a cab of PLs soon. They've always been a reliable smoke for me. Of course LEs and REs are a whole other ball game I guess...
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Seriously, if you're not planning 50 boxes + I wouldn't bother buying EL & RE by the box. For aging buy standard production that you know will age well & keep them at the optimum conditions. These will reward you far more & for a lot less. I can count the boxes of RE/LE's I have bought on one hand.. well two at the most. Keep watching out on my Gems of the Boli' cave thread & I will reveal some in due course

[dvickery]

Remember this ... aging changes a cigar and if you like the changes then go for it ... some people don't like the changes tho.

Past their prime ??? I regularly open boxes of 20 or 25 year old cigars ... have yet to find a (stored by me) box of smokes that have "expired".

choose the sizes and brands you like ( instead of what others like ) .

for me ... what is smoking best right now ( no further aging required ) are the (about) '89 to '93 years ... many but not all of the '94 to '98 cigars have gone to the next level now .

finally ... one cigar that for me goes to that next level sooner than the rest ... bolivar coronas juniors ... 2003 juniors are already at the "next" level and reasonably inexpensive to start your long term aging experiment with .

hope this helped
derrek

[Simon Bolivar]

Remember this ... aging changes a cigar and if you like the changes then go for it ... some people don't like the changes tho.

Past their prime ??? I regularly open boxes of 20 or 25 year old cigars ... have yet to find a (stored by me) box of smokes that have "expired".

choose the sizes and brands you like ( instead of what others like ) .

for me ... what is smoking best right now ( no further aging required ) are the (about) '89 to '93 years ... many but not all of the '94 to '98 cigars have gone to the next level now .

finally ... one cigar that for me goes to that next level sooner than the rest ... bolivar coronas juniors ... 2003 juniors are already at the "next" level and reasonably inexpensive to start your long term aging experiment with .

hope this helped
derrek

Good post Derrek Have you laid down a cab of 50 Boili PC's? It's the one Boli I can't really get on with but if you lov'em, I am sure they would be rewarding too.

[Toxophilite]

Seriously, if you're not planning 50 boxes + I wouldn't bother buying EL & RE by the box. For aging buy standard production that you know will age well & keep them at the optimum conditions. These will reward you far more & for a lot less. I can count the boxes of RE/LE's I have bought on one hand.. well two at the most. Keep watching out on my Gems of the Boli' cave thread & I will reveal some in due course

Fair point - I need to try and nip my magpieish tendencies in the bud and remember I'm not actually loaded! A few singles on the LE front ought to suffice. Looking forward to seeing more of your collection!


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[Toxophilite]

Remember this ... aging changes a cigar and if you like the changes then go for it ... some people don't like the changes tho.

Past their prime ??? I regularly open boxes of 20 or 25 year old cigars ... have yet to find a (stored by me) box of smokes that have "expired".

choose the sizes and brands you like ( instead of what others like ) .

for me ... what is smoking best right now ( no further aging required ) are the (about) '89 to '93 years ... many but not all of the '94 to '98 cigars have gone to the next level now .

finally ... one cigar that for me goes to that next level sooner than the rest ... bolivar coronas juniors ... 2003 juniors are already at the "next" level and reasonably inexpensive to start your long term aging experiment with .

hope this helped
derrek

Cheers Derrek - The aged cigar I've had thus far have chiefly been partagas and boli, and I've found the slightly mellowing of strength pleasant. May add Boli coronas juniors to my list...


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