Optimum best guess age for Cuban Cigars

[ACMCC]

interesting stuff, only one person thinks more that 10 years is a good think on average (of course there are always some exceptions).

so can we conclude that most 'vintage' cigars currently sold by the various vendors en-masse may not be anything more that a crap shoot?

It really depends on Brand/Vitola... you could more or less equally space all Cuban's available between 3-40ish years take Boli's for instance Gold medals are far superior with upwards of 10 years (all boli's are! imo) this is a common concensus, a copy of MRN's book is a must for guidance on ageing, also the longer they are kept, or the older they are brought, the more chance there is for it to be stored in less than optimal conditions..... yes, could be a crap shoot, a little like vintage wine.

If you don't have a copy of MRN's book Monkey, It needs to go on your birthday/xmas list!

[Vision]

3-5 years is considered a good starting point.

[Lascaux]

Give me the choice of smoking any cuban cigar with 10+ years age on it or a current production and I would always go for the 10+, I just haven't had the chance to smoke a wide variety of aged smokes.

i'd make a guess that if they were more readily available, more people here would be voting for age 10+ cigars, there is something so special about a cigar with age on. id like to make it habbit to buy double of anything I want and keep the extra to stash away for a decade.

also whilst i'm not happy to buy current production cigars at UK prices, I'll happily pay for aged boxes. that's the joy of UK stores, every once in a while some great aged cigars surface, often for not much more than regular price and they're worth every penny.

[Kdot]

guess it depends on the brand. i love 5-10 yr old hoyos, cohibas, bolis and upmann over the same stick current sticks, however I prefer my partys and JLs with only a couple of years on em.

[voltion]

It all comes down to the original flavour of cigar and size format. I'd say that assuming they are stored correctly for aging, 65% humidity in a cab of 50 then you're nearly always going to benefit from 4 years of aging regardless of the cigar.

Some cigars will keep getting better after the 10 year mark even, Monte's tend to take age well, especially No2's. However cigars with quite a mellow flavour such as Trinidads can often lose their taste.

[Lascaux]

and then on top of that its whether you actually appreciate that milding/loss of taste.

ive been smoking my way through some very old trinidad fundadores and they are incredible smokes.

[68TriShield]

I'm guessing that if there is an average then it is a variable dependent on the tobacco type and vitola.

Something which interested me earlier this year, and which I think was a Monkey66 'heads-up', was to see a retailer selling off aged cubans as SALE items. It made me think WHY?.

If this was a Swiss vendor,a whole warehouse of 1999 to 2001 cigars were bought at pennies on the dollar.Between the dodgy years and sheer volume is why they were sale cigars.There were a few gems amongst them but most have been average at best.

interesting stuff, only one person thinks more that 10 years is a good think on average (of course there are always some exceptions).

so can we conclude that most 'vintage' cigars currently sold by the various vendors en-masse may not be anything more that a crap shoot?

It is a crap shoot if you aren't sure of the provenance of the cigars you are buying imo.

[tippexx]

It is a crap shoot if you aren't sure of the provenance of the cigars you are buying imo.[/QUOTE]

Yes I think that is true. Some year's crop will be better than others.
But, cigars, ie rolled-dried tobacco leaves, are if looked after correctly almost immortal.

There is a theory that the ageing process creates 'best' taste peaks .... and that these occur then disappear only to re-occur again a few years later. But I guess we need someone from H&F to explain how long this can go on for.

[El Greco]

IMHO cigars may not age for ever.

Depending on tobacco, production, vitola, fermentation, harvest and many other things, they will age+change until they will change no more. From that point on, ageing is simply maintaining them in "smokable" conditions.

I had some late 80's smokes that were as incredible as those of late 90's.

One of the things that I have noticed is that cigars to be aged, are better off with lower than usual humidity maintained. I can't really remember but I was reading somewhere that H&F reduces the humidity by 1% for every 3-5 years in aged cubans. Not sure if memory serves me well with the humidity over years ratio.

[Robert747]

There are certainly no exact rules about storing cigars for a prolonged period (one to fifty years!) - it depends on so many factors, but I completely agree that aged cigars do not require the same level of humidity as we are generally used to. Essentially enough to stop them becoming really dry but not enough to take the aroma of a musty cellar!

[seanbeer]

i like aged stuff, 10+ for me everytime if I have to choose.

[Puff Scotty]

IMHO, just to many variables to consider and of course peoples own tastes, if your into ageing make sure you have deep pockets as nothing can be relied on.
Personal case in point.
Box Trini Fundi's 2001. I put down the whole 24 & smoked my way through a sister box which were fabulous. The 2001 I put down (have now tried 4) are almost impossible to draw on as they are so solid, nothing I can do about it.
Box of Monty Platinum Havana 1999 opened last year, nothing left to write home about, can only hope more ageing will help!
The list goes on.
My recommendation is to try a stick on purchase & make up your mind then wether to age or not. There's nothing to stop you trying a stick from a laid down cab every year & when they 'hit' your taste, smoke 'em! Don't do as I did in the 2 examples & trust that 2 boxes from the same batch/ supplier/ year etc. will be the same!
Sorry rambling now! Could go on forever -so much stock- so little time.....

[cesara valverde]

Really depends on your tastes and the cigar involved.

But for me- Don't smoke before 2 years. Ideally between 4-10. Beyond that they kind of need to have been stored absolutely perfectly.

[monkey66]

Beyond that they kind of need to have been stored absolutely perfectly.

This is key to older sticks, not just their age but how they were stored. I am getting less and less likely to buy an old box unless I am really confident in their storage history.

Talk to me in another 20 years and I should have some really nice smokes

[JimJamYaHa]

Bringing this one back to life if I may given there's been a few new additions on the market also just wondering what the recent find at sautters with the 100+ years smoke will fair looking at the pics they look yummy but just have an awful feeling they'll disintegrate once lit