Aging Myths or Truths

[SteveGriff]

Hi all,

A thought passed me through today regarding aging - one of the importance

I've listed below some of the elements we expect of a Cigar to improve with age. Do any of these ring true for aging, or are they a myth? For example, the easiest discussion point, the development of flavour is usually accepted as something that improves with age (unless the Cigar has a defect in anyway)

Here's the list:

1. Taste - development of flavours.
2. The body of the Cigar getting lighter. (from full bodied to medium for example)
3. Burn
4. Draw
5. The appearance of Bloom
6. Price
7. Whiter Ash

Are any of the items in the list above you feel a myth? Sometime that has been accepted as true but shouldn't have been accepted at all?

Would be interesting to have some comments on this

Steve

[larrysputnik]

I believe wholeheartedly that the burn of a cigar improves with age. As a rolled cigar rests, the filler, binder, and wrapper reportedly* begin to blend together through the passage of the oils in the leaves creating a consistency throughout the variety of leaves that make up the cigar. When all of the tobacco layers in the cigar have blended with one another long enough the burn becomes more consistent. I notice this with cigars that I smoke from the start of a box that is not aged for very long to the cigars at the end of the box after a longer amount of time to rest

*I read about this in an article written by the aficionados at cigar.com a few years ago. I don't quite remember all of the details but the gist of the article is here!

[seanbeer]

i have to agree with that, from my experience, aged cigars always burn through better. they seems to smoke some what cooler to me too.

[cbob]

I'm tempted to weigh in on this but realize that there will probably be as many opinions as members here and I don't know who would be speaking from experience or who might be repeating "myths" as "facts".

I've only been ageing cigars (and taking lots of notes) since 1997 so my experience is limited.

One thing that surprised me was that wrappers really do get darker with increased humidor time. I once argued the opposite view with an obviously more observant friend but I'm seeing that most (not 100%) of my older cigars have wrappers at least a shade darker than that noted when purchased.

My notes do not indicate that the ash colour changes markedly, although I do see that amoung several samples of the same vitola, there is often a range of "normal" colour and density.

Bloom, of course, has really nothing to do with age but is dependent on storage conditions. Naturally, if the conditions are right for bloom, the longer the storage, the more bloom you get. Check your smokes at least every year.

I like the idea that PRICE improves with age!
But the fact that my cigars cost more to replace now that when I bought them really does not affect how they taste.

If I could afford to buy as many great cigars as Min Ron Nee, I'd probably follow the ageing advice as described in his book.

[celsis]

I DO think that older cigars taste better but there is one proviso. If you have a crap stick, aging it just means that you have an old crap stick.

Having said that, I have had a few cigars that, when I smoked them young, I thought were awful and not worth the space in the humi. I did put them in however and after a couple of years, they were delicious! I'm thinking specifically of Hoyo du Roi and most of the LGC range.

[daverave999]

Great question!

I'm tempted to weigh in on this but realize that there will probably be as many opinions as members here and I don't know who would be speaking from experience or who might be repeating "myths" as "facts".

I'll make my comments from my experience. I'm not sure storage for a couple of years (at most) counts as 'aging' but I'll share my observations.

Taste - development of flavours.

1. The body of the Cigar getting lighter. (from full bodied to medium for example)
2. Burn
3. Draw
4. The appearance of Bloom
5. Price
6. Whiter Ash

1. I'm not sure about this. What do you understand body to mean? Fullness of smoke? Nicotine strength? Mouthfeel?
2. Has definitely improved in pretty much any cigars I've stored myself. Whether that is down to my storage conditions being more stable than where I've bought them from or the increased age I don't know. They just burn more consistently after I've had them.The longer the better.
3. Draw also seems to improve. My preferred humidity level keeps the cigar soft, and after a while a hard cigar seems to soften up and become more leathery in consistency. This is usually accompanied by improvement in draw and I believe the two are connected.
4. I'm not sure about this either. I could only trot out 'received wisdom'.
5. Scarcity increases perceived value.
6. I'm not particularly bothered by having white ash. I'm under the impression this is something put about by NC manufacturers as propaganda against Cuban cigars. I have read that ash colour is caused by mineral content in the tobacco (which makes perfect sense), and if Cuban soil is different to NC soil then it will of course give different coloured ash.

One thing that surprised me was that wrappers really do get darker with increased humidor time. I once argued the opposite view with an obviously more observant friend but I'm seeing that most (not 100%) of my older cigars have wrappers at least a shade darker than that noted when purchased.

I have experienced this. It was particularly noticeable in a box of P2s which went from light tan to chocolate brown. I have also seen it happen in a short time period (3 months?) and I would speculate that it is a combination of increased moisture content and oil migration to the wrapper.

[Puff Scotty]

Nice one Steve,
the thread could run for years!
IMO unless you as an individual know something as a fact don't discount anything to do with cigars & ageing, it's results are probably more varied or open to personal taste than anything else made including wines & whiskies (how do YOU spell whiskeys?) so:
Yes to all of the above &
No to all of the above...

[daverave999]

Damn. I see the numbering cocked up.
I've not smoked anything older than 2001 yet and cigars from that period are rumoured to have been substandard sometimes. In my relatively short-term experience, young cigars taste harsh and this hides the desired flavours. When that harshness disappears these flavours are more noticeable. I am under the impression (from experience) that these flavours get stronger, richer and more complex with time. I do not have the experience to say whether it also decreases past a certain point too.
I recall a poll on here (possibly started by monkey66?) where the consensus view was that we preferred cigars around five years old? Too young and they were too harsh and any older and they seemed to lose something?

[seanbeer]

Do you call this whiter ash?

definately whiter then any young RyJ no.2 i smoked. Is it due to aging? I hope so..