PROPERLY AGING CIGARS
Aging cigars is a concept that can best be likened to wine. You will find that aging is often what makes a good cigar a great one. Much the same way that some wines are too tannic to drink when young.
The amount of time you age your cigars is a matter of personal preference. In general, age them at least six months for optimum effect. However, keep in mind that some cigars after aging will mature over a period of time, then cease to offer any added advantage with increased aging. In those cases, it's not as if the cigars stop aging, it's only that with certain cigars, no greater enhancement will be realized after a period of time. Yet other blends continually improve with greater and greater maturation.
But certain cigars are just naturally better suited for aging. An example is larger ring-gauge cigars. The thicker the cigar, the greater the variety of tobacco leaves and hence, the more complex the final flavor of the aged cigar will be. The insides of larger cigars tend to be somewhat shielded from the outside environment, less apt to be affected by fluctuations in humidity and temperature. This added stability that larger cigars provide is highly desirable for long-term aging.
On the other hand, since the wrapper provides the lion's share of a cigar's taste, aging may not significantly affect the taste of some Maduros. In particular, maduro-wrapped cigars which are artificially "cooked" or "cured" to achieve the dark coloration of the wrapper and the distinctively strong, sweet flavor are prone to this problem. Due to such curing, they have essentially been "fixed," and thus any further benefits of aging have been stunted.
Of course, the environment in which they are stored is crucial. Follow the usual 70-70 rule for temperature and humidity. Any more and your cigars will get moldy; any less and the aging process begins to be stunted. Maintaining a stable environment for your cigars is key, a constantly fluctuating environment can be disastrous. Swings in temperature and humidity cause cigars to expand and contract, cracking their wrappers and may disrupt the aging process.
Ideally, the space in the humidor should be about twice the volume of cigars. The lining should be cedar - cedar wood is a highly aromatic wood, full of its own oils. With the passage of time, the interaction of the tobacco oils amongst themselves and with the cedar oil of the wood leads to a mellowing and blending of flavors. This results in that subtle complexity you can only get from proper aging.
Aging cigars is a concept that can best be likened to wine. You will find that aging is often what makes a good cigar a great one. Much the same way that some wines are too tannic to drink when young.
The amount of time you age your cigars is a matter of personal preference. In general, age them at least six months for optimum effect. However, keep in mind that some cigars after aging will mature over a period of time, then cease to offer any added advantage with increased aging. In those cases, it's not as if the cigars stop aging, it's only that with certain cigars, no greater enhancement will be realized after a period of time. Yet other blends continually improve with greater and greater maturation.
But certain cigars are just naturally better suited for aging. An example is larger ring-gauge cigars. The thicker the cigar, the greater the variety of tobacco leaves and hence, the more complex the final flavor of the aged cigar will be. The insides of larger cigars tend to be somewhat shielded from the outside environment, less apt to be affected by fluctuations in humidity and temperature. This added stability that larger cigars provide is highly desirable for long-term aging.
On the other hand, since the wrapper provides the lion's share of a cigar's taste, aging may not significantly affect the taste of some Maduros. In particular, maduro-wrapped cigars which are artificially "cooked" or "cured" to achieve the dark coloration of the wrapper and the distinctively strong, sweet flavor are prone to this problem. Due to such curing, they have essentially been "fixed," and thus any further benefits of aging have been stunted.
Of course, the environment in which they are stored is crucial. Follow the usual 70-70 rule for temperature and humidity. Any more and your cigars will get moldy; any less and the aging process begins to be stunted. Maintaining a stable environment for your cigars is key, a constantly fluctuating environment can be disastrous. Swings in temperature and humidity cause cigars to expand and contract, cracking their wrappers and may disrupt the aging process.
Ideally, the space in the humidor should be about twice the volume of cigars. The lining should be cedar - cedar wood is a highly aromatic wood, full of its own oils. With the passage of time, the interaction of the tobacco oils amongst themselves and with the cedar oil of the wood leads to a mellowing and blending of flavors. This results in that subtle complexity you can only get from proper aging.
Key in this argument is the issue of 'proper' maintenance.
Even with cigars that are known to 'age well', with long term storage
(5, 10, 20 or more years), proper maintenance (humidity/temperature)
is extremely critical. It's one thing to practice haphazard storage with a
box of cigars that are to be consumed within a month or so after
purchase - it's an entirely different issue when one is considering the
storage of cigars for even six months -- let alone 6 years.
