Cigars Fading?
 

Just smoked around a 9 year old Padron 46 years. It was bland and flavorless. I guess it faded because it had been sitting too long. Does this sound like something that any of you have experienced? Kind of discouraging as I am in the process of stocking my humidor and want my cigars to last years and years into the future. Suggestions or comments?

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

Was it sitting in a drawer or on a desk, I kid (I hope it wasn't) are your cigars in a humidor, is it humidified properly?

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

It was in a desktop humidor for about 5 years that was constantly at 70% humidity which maybe could have been too high. For the last 4 years it’s been in a MXt Aristocrat humidor that Bob Staebell has set at 65%.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

Depends on the cigar, I have some almost 10yo Cain F's that will still knock me on my A$$ the profile has changed but as far as "fading" no way still a solid smoke.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

Jon, was it natural or maduro? You must be loving the LSU game.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

It was a Maduro Jeff. I’m very much enjoying watching LSU and Burrow put on a clinic!

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

I've had some cigars become mediocre after years of storage. I've also had some cigars become stellar. I've had some that don't seem to change. I've found there is no set time frame, sometimes it happens quick, sometimes not.

One thing about Padron anniversary cigars to keep in mind is that depending on which one it is, they can have some rather old tobacco in there right from the bench.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

I’m with T.G. There’s no real predicting.

In general, cigars lose their sharper edges over time. So, if you like really smooth tasting cigars, long aging might make you happy. On the other hand, if you like lots of spice and pepper, long aging is basically letting your investment waft away.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

I had a Montecriston '05 EL the other night that had become faded or at least it tasted that way to me at that time. Not all cigars benefit from extended aging. Need to stay on top of their evolution and fit that box into where it makes sense to smoke.

A lot of NC's start off with older tobacco, so they can get to like "smoking rice paper" if you age them too long. Pure white ash and nothing else.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

If we are talking NCs it is a strange phenomenon and really does not make much sense as tobacco should be tabbaco. But I have found that NCs just don't age well, I have tried lots of different brands with 10 + years on them . I did find it strange that I aged some Padron 3000's 5+ years and it tasted very similar to a anniversary. Even when we are talking Cuban cigars most guys that don't smoke a lot of them are used to and expect fresh, strong in you face flavor. I have given one of there guys a 15+ year old cuban and he actually thought it was fake:r I have talked to guys that thought a vintage cigar should taste moldy because that was his limited experience. It really is about storage and good tobacco to start with. Most guys do agree that you need a strong blend to stand up to long aging like Bolivar, Partagas and Ramon Allonnes to name a few. But that not entirely true, take cohiba for instance when young you get a taste of fresh grass. At the 10 to 15 year mark you get vanilla and rich cream. Age and good storage can be a great thing but a lot of the time its a acquired taste. I and sure the first time you tried wine you didn't think much of it.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

I have also had this experience with Padron Anniversary cigars.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

I had a Cohiba Robusto around '05 the other night that I found was kind of faded too. Impeccable storage from new. Didn't wow me as much as I was hoping and I remember having a cigar from the same box about a decade ago that I was like "wow" on. Could've been the night itself...

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

See if Klugz wants to get in on this discussion. At Shack this year he did a pass-around with the same brand and vitola of a particular cigar (I don't remember what it was), made from like the mid 1990s to 2018.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

Well, that may not be a fair comp as most blends changed around 2003 with new filler strains and curing techniques.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

Okay this is a very interesting discussion....

Considering most seem to agree NCs don't age as well, my first question is - What is the window you prefer to smoke your NCs in? Or rather, up to what time do you reach a point of diminished returns from your NCs?

And second, I wanted to state that it has been my experience that *some* NCs seem to ship a little young as well. Take for example, some DPG Blue Invictos I purchased about a year ago. After 2 months of rest, they didnt not seem at all ready to smoke. Still not seeming 100% ready yet, the last one I smoked a week or so ago was without a doubt considerably improved. So would you still consider a brand like DPG unable to stand up to long term aging as well?

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

I have some old NCs (ten years plus) that are smoking great. These include El Rico Habanos (still strong), all the Room 101s, anything Pepin, Fuente Anejos and Oliva Vs.

Folks here had warned about holding on to high end Padrons, so I don't keep them around that long.

I do have some old 000 series Padrons that have mellowed and are decent morning smokes at this point.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

In my experience, the two factors that best predict if an NC will age are initial strength and quality of tobacco. There was an old saying that crap + age = old crap, you can't start with something mediocre and expect age to turn it into something stellar. As far as strength, I've found that it takes pretty strong tobacco to hold up to the aging process.

I have a whole bunch of stuff that has been sleeping for a while due to my general lack of time to smoke, but maybe if I get a warm day soon I'll break out some old Padron anni's and see how they are coming along, I assumed they would be good for a while since age has always been a part of their business model (as said above, Padron always said their expensive stuff was the same tobacco as their more affordable stuff just different age) but I wouldn't be surprised to find they have started to decline

For what it's worth, I've found flavors in really old Opus X that I've never found in anything else before, I like to keep those around because they are incredibly unique, at least in the few samples I've had the pleasure of acquiring

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

Not strange at all, I know a number of people who have made that same comparison and when I was at the Padron factory in Esteli, Jeorge said in so many words that they are very similar blends and the main difference is that the anniversary blends use much older tobacco.

Funny you make the Cuban cigar comments, not that I have a lot of true vintage stuff, but I've seen that too even with 10 year old cigars. Although I'm an odd one - I like some blends fresh, others not, an old RASS is wonderful and I'll burn my fingers on it, but I like RASCC fresh. I know, I'm weird.

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

Did I mention that those cigars Dave passed around were from the ISOM? Figured that was a given considering where we were and who was behind the experiment..

Re: Cigars Fading?
 

What is ISOM?