Cigars that are "good to go" straight away

[WDave40]

After picking up a few sticks and getting my stash going, I've noticed quite a lot of advice on the forums suggesting leaving cigars for a few months (years ideally) to get some age on them before smoking.

With that in mind, do you guys have any recommendations of sticks that are a little better straight away? Ideally cheaper/shorter smokes as om looking to get a box of more day-to-day smokes soon

[nplymouth]

Quintero any things and partagas aristocrates are my buy box smoke box! Depending on where you source them from, you can probably get last years too quite easily! Passing through Amsterdam airport in 2015 I got the partagas I mentioned from 2013...


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[RDBM]

I have a box of D4 2015 that are smoking very well, RYJ Wide Churchills are also pretty good.

[Deano]

Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto, apart from one box recently, I've had a couple of dozen boxes which have all been good to go.

[SHAMZ84]

I would say the Party D5/D4 are great.....not had any of the aged ones but the 2015 ones I've smoked where great...really enjoyed them.

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[james.uk]

Just buy boxes with a few years on them. Plenty out there..rest a few weeks and enjoy.

[WDave40]

Just buy boxes with a few years on them. Plenty out there..rest a few weeks and enjoy.

That sounds like the best option - although cost is a factor, older boxes seem to command a higher price everywhere I've seen

[TJCoro]

So Much To Learn...

Great thread, WDave40!

As a newbie myself, I was lead to believe that the fresher the cigar the better. I've even read a few posts on the UKCF that tout the benefits of smoking a freshly rolled cigar. Can't get any fresher than that! Thus, I'd think it would be easy to find fresh, smokable cigars at the local shop.

However, based on this thread and others I've read, I'm starting to believe that there are benefits to smoking older, or aged, cigars, but I'm still unclear which is preferred. So, what's the skinny here? Fresh vs. older cigars - which do you guys prefer?.

Also, what's this thing called the "sick" period I've been hearing about? Apparently, there's a time in the cigar life-cycle when smoking a cigar will make you sick. What's that about?

Ricky Bobby

[RDBM]

The Sick Period is mostly within the first year, and it is said that cigars should not be consumed during the Sick Period. Tobacco leaves are moistened when being rolled into a cigar, which invites accelerated fermentation, which generates alot of Ammonia. The Ammonia taste and smell is very unpleasant, and overwhelms the taste of a newly manufactured cigar. Good Ventilation is key to getting rid of the Ammonia taste, and so Breathing Cigars helps them get to the smokable periods faster. Of course aging them sealed for years will yield a more perfectly aged Habano, however if you don’t want to wait for years before smoking your cigars, breathing them often is preferred.
Also important to note is that a newly manufactured cigar tastes extremely Bitter, due to the high concentration of Nicotine. As the years go by, the Nicotine levels drop, and so the bitterness dissapears along with it, leaving only the pleasent flavors of the cigar behind for you to enjoy. The cigar continues to generate pleasant flavors as time goes by, as flavors merge and change, and a soft finesse like quality appears in later years.

[TJCoro]

Over My Head!

The Sick Period is mostly within the first year, and it is said that cigars should not be consumed during the Sick Period. Tobacco leaves are moistened when being rolled into a cigar, which invites accelerated fermentation, which generates alot of Ammonia. The Ammonia taste and smell is very unpleasant, and overwhelms the taste of a newly manufactured cigar. Good Ventilation is key to getting rid of the Ammonia taste, and so Breathing Cigars helps them get to the smokable periods faster. Of course aging them sealed for years will yield a more perfectly aged Habano, however if you don?t want to wait for years before smoking your cigars, breathing them often is preferred.
Also important to note is that a newly manufactured cigar tastes extremely Bitter, due to the high concentration of Nicotine. As the years go by, the Nicotine levels drop, and so the bitterness dissapears along with it, leaving only the pleasent flavors of the cigar behind for you to enjoy. The cigar continues to generate pleasant flavors as time goes by, as flavors merge and change, and a soft finesse like quality appears in later years.

Wow! I had no idea there was SO MUCH to learn about cigars!

Thanks you so much RDBM for the detailed response.

I think I'm going to be sick!

Ricky Bobby

[WDave40]

The Sick Period is mostly within the first year, and it is said that cigars should not be consumed during the Sick Period. Tobacco leaves are moistened when being rolled into a cigar, which invites accelerated fermentation, which generates alot of Ammonia. The Ammonia taste and smell is very unpleasant, and overwhelms the taste of a newly manufactured cigar. Good Ventilation is key to getting rid of the Ammonia taste, and so Breathing Cigars helps them get to the smokable periods faster. Of course aging them sealed for years will yield a more perfectly aged Habano, however if you don’t want to wait for years before smoking your cigars, breathing them often is preferred.
Also important to note is that a newly manufactured cigar tastes extremely Bitter, due to the high concentration of Nicotine. As the years go by, the Nicotine levels drop, and so the bitterness dissapears along with it, leaving only the pleasent flavors of the cigar behind for you to enjoy. The cigar continues to generate pleasant flavors as time goes by, as flavors merge and change, and a soft finesse like quality appears in later years.

Wow - thanks for the detailed response!

How would I go about "breathing" a cigar? I'm assuming this would just involve letting the cigar sit in fresh air a couple of times a week or something?

[TJCoro]

Good Question!

How would I go about "breathing" a cigar? I'm assuming this would just involve letting the cigar sit in fresh air a couple of times a week or something?

Haha! I had the same thought, but felt too much like a newbie to ask.

Ricky Bobby

[WDave40]

Haha! I had the same thought, but felt too much like a newbie to ask.

Ricky Bobby

Haha - I have no issues with asking all the questions. Here to learn after all!

[TJCoro]

United We Stand!

Haha - I have no issues with asking all the questions. Here to learn after all!

Excellent! I stand with WDave40!

Ricky Bobby

[PeeJay]

Of course you all omitted to point out that NCs are matured properly before they're sold and are all good to go though that's not to say that they don't improve with age.