Cigar aging question

Years ago when I first got into cigars and bought my first humidor, the gentlemen who sold it to me gave me some advice about aging. He said that if you take all the cigars out of the cellophane and then put them in your humidor that they will age better.

I was curious what tips everyone uses for storing and aging their cigars.

[Chingas]

Mike, have you tried searching the forum yet? There are many many threads on this topic with loads and loads of great information.

Check it out, you'll get all your answers there.



And thanks for your Service!

[icehog3]

It makes no difference. Thank you for your service.

[T.G]

There's no conclusive evidence to support that they age faster with the cello removed, all that can be proven is that they do is acclimate to a given RH faster.

Best way to age cigars: continually buy 3-4 times more cigars than you can/do smoke, that'll get you a boatload of aged cigars in a few years.

[LostAbbott]

definitely appreciate your service dude. I hate to thread jack but is there a good rule of thumb for ageing? Mostely asking about NC's.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

definitely appreciate your service dude. I hate to thread jack but is there a good rule of thumb for ageing? Mostely asking about NC's.

The Rule of 3's?

[T.G]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

I hate to thread jack but is there a good rule of thumb for ageing? Mostely asking about NC's.

I read somewhere that all cigars are fully aged at the 3 year mark...





Ok, seriously...

Buy more than you can smoke.

NC/CC whatever - it doesn't make much difference - they all change over time. Some for the better, some for the worse. Some cigars, both NC and CC are great fresh, others, not so much, while some are vice-versa. It's all personal preference.

[bvilchez]

There you guys go being Nickersons again

[bobarian]

There are no defined rules, only some anecdotal speculation. In general, most Non-Cuban cigars are aged or rolled with aged tobacco before they leave the factory or manufacturers warehouses. Until recently it is thought that most Cuban cigars were rolled with much fresher tobacco. There is some speculation that recently Cuba started using 2-3 year old tobacco for production. This could be the reason that 08-10 boxes seem to smoke better fresh than 04-07's.

As for intentional aging of NC's, there is no evidence that protracted aging(over 10 yrs) is of any benefit. As cellophane is a porous material, it neither hinders or accelerates the aging process. Several domestic retailers are currently selling "Vintage" stock from the 90's. I have not read of a single instance where these cigars have proven to be significantly better than their more recent counterparts.

Cello on or off is purely a personal preference. Most keep their cigars as they were packaged, but by taking the cello off you are not endangering your smokes in any way. The important thing is that you like the way they are smoking.

[Bill86]

Originally Posted by icehog3

The Rule of 3's?

[LostAbbott]

bob that is really handy info. i had only heard about the cubans rolling with "green' leaves.

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by LostAbbott

bob that is really handy info. i had only heard about the cubans rolling with "green' leaves.

Nothing is for sure when it comes to Cuban cigars, but this is my conclusion after reading many different accounts of current production.

[yourchoice]

Originally Posted by bobarian

There are no defined rules, only some anecdotal speculation. In general, most Non-Cuban cigars are aged or rolled with aged tobacco before they leave the factory or manufacturers warehouses. Until recently it is thought that most Cuban cigars were rolled with much fresher tobacco. There is some speculation that recently Cuba started using 2-3 year old tobacco for production. This could be the reason that 08-10 boxes seem to smoke better fresh than 04-07's.

As for intentional aging of NC's, there is no evidence that protracted aging(over 10 yrs) is of any benefit. As cellophane is a porous material, it neither hinders or accelerates the aging process. Several domestic retailers are currently selling "Vintage" stock from the 90's. I have not read of a single instance where these cigars have proven to be significantly better than their more recent counterparts.

Cello on or off is purely a personal preference. Most keep their cigars as they were packaged, but by taking the cello off you are not endangering your smokes in any way. The important thing is that you like the way they are smoking.

Bob summed it up pretty succinctly.

My only comment is most of my NC stock is loose (either stored as singles, or stored in boxes the cigars did not come in). I find that keeping the cello on protects the cigars from getting dinged up when moving them around. My singles are stored in a sliding drawer, and when opening, the sticks may move a little and the feet on cello-ed sticks seem to hold up better. That and when I'm digging through my singles when I'm looking for something to fire up.

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by yourchoice

Bob summed it up pretty succinctly.

My only comment is most of my NC stock is loose (either stored as singles, or stored in boxes the cigars did not come in). I find that keeping the cello on protects the cigars from getting dinged up when moving them around. My singles are stored in a sliding drawer, and when opening, the sticks may move a little and the feet on cello-ed sticks seem to hold up better. That and when I'm digging through my singles when I'm looking for something to fire up.

This...

The cellophane is only there to protect the cigar from wrapper damage. It does a pretty good job at it too.

Thanks for the insight everybody, it's much appreciated