Many things get better with age. Whiskey, wine, some cheeses, people. Even your go-to pair of jeans becomes a more perfect fit over time.
Another thing that can benefit from aging is cigars. A little patience, wisdom, care, and a flicker of luck go a long way to achieving the one-of-a-kind taste of a well-aged stick.
Aging your cigar collection isn’t an exact science and does have an element of trial and error. However, there are certain steps to take to give yourself a chance of achieving the best results.
Let’s explore the rich and complex flavors of an aged cigar and how this fascinating process can elevate your smoking experience to new heights.
What is Cigar Aging?
Cigar aging arguably begins as soon as the tobacco leaves are harvested, with many manufacturers further aging their cigars once they’re rolled. However, we’re interested in how you age cigars once you bring your treasures home.
Aging cigars at home involves storing them away for an extended period to help meld the flavors of the filler, binder, and wrapper leaves. The aging process will also limit imperfections and mellow the cigar’s tobacco, creating a more refined taste with new complexities.
While the amount of time you age your cigars is a matter of personal preference, storing them correctly is essential for a smoother and more satisfying smoking experience.
Do You Need to Age Cigars?
While you don’t need to age cigars at home, all cigars are technically aged before they even hit the shelves. Manufacturers preemptively age cigars during the fermentation phase and post-rolling. However, they are intended to be enjoyed as soon as they come off retailer shelves.
Aging your cigars at home brings with it a sense of anticipation and intrigue. Will the aromas and flavors evolve? Will it bring added depth to your experience? The act of experimenting can be just as fun as the time you come to smoke your stick.
One of the many wonderful things about cigars is that they are a natural product. They will inherently change over time and even improve if kept in the correct conditions. It can be useful to smoke a box of cigars over several months or years to see how they change and enjoy a new experience with the same sticks each time.
Aging your smokes is especially possible if you’ve amassed a large collection you can’t smoke fast enough. Depending on your smoking frequency, chances are it will take a long time to burn your way through your assemblage.
How to know if a cigar needs aging
Some cigars are naturally better for aging than others. Several factors to consider are the quality of the tobacco leaves and the size of the range gauge. For example, cigars with a high-quality tobacco blends and rolled into larger sticks age better than others.
Cigars with bigger ring gauges generally age much better than thinner ring gauge smokes due to having more tobacco. This makes them a standout candidate for long-term aging as they develop a more complex profile and provide a rich and rare experience from the first draw.
What happens to a cigar as it ages?
Cigars evolve in taste and aroma as they age. The process mellows harsh flavors, blends essential oils, and encourages a more consistent burn. As a cigar ages, it tends to soften in strength and flavor, making stronger cigars more refined and approachable.
How can you tell if a cigar is aged?
Knowing whether a cigar is aged only comes from becoming acquainted with aged cigars through regular smoking. In short, you’ll need to experiment with aging at home.
Purchase a box of cigars from a brand you love and smoke them periodically. You should detect noticeable taste transitions. For example, a stick you’ve lit right out of the box will taste completely different from one that’s rested in your humidor for a year or two. This is the only way to know if a particular cigar is aging well over a given length of time.
There are signs that a cigar has undergone proper aging. After being stored in the right conditions away from direct sunlight and extreme temperature changes, cigars should deliver an aromatic and pleasant tobacco smell. If aged well, the filler tobaccos will have a similar taste to the wrapper and binder and deliver a harmonious medley of flavor notes.
Tips for aging your cigars at home
Budding aficionados would do well to practice at-home aging to broaden their cigar-smoking experiences. However, you should take care to age your smokes the right way to avoid spoiling your collection.
Choose a quality humidor
A quality, reliable humidor with an excellent seal and high-quality humidifiers will keep cigars fresh. Your cigars are a prized investment, so you want to ensure they won’t turn bad when being stored for a prolonged period.
Many cigar smokers have separate humidors dedicated only to aging. We recommend a cedar-lined humidor to prevent mold from appearing over time.
Size is also an important factor. You ideally want 20% of space left in your humidor around your cigars to be left free, so the humidor you choose should be roughly twice the volume of the group of cigars you wish to age.
Maintain your humidor
Rotate your sticks occasionally to ensure even aging. This ensures the same cigars aren’t always the closest to the humidification source. However, avoid opening the humidor too often to prevent disrupting the humidity levels. We’d recommend a monthly routine to be safe.
Cleanliness will prevent mold developing on your cigars. Every three months, when rotating cigars, store them temporarily in vacuum-seal bags. Then, with a paper towel or clean cloth, wipe the humidor’s interior with a high-concentrate isopropyl alcohol solution. This will kill any hidden bacteria. Leave the humidor open to dry for at least one hour before re-seasoning it with distilled water and a clean sponge. You can place your cigars in their new positions after another hour or two of drying.
Age your cigars in their boxes
Keeping your cigars in their box helps keep the temperatures and humidity levels steady and preserve them from damage. This can enhance the flavor and smoking experience of the cigars. The cardboard material also helps to retain the cigars’ oils, which are necessary for effective aging.
If you bought individual cigars wrapped in cellophane or packed in sturdy tubos, leave them be. Cigars from different regions or sticks with contrasting flavor profiles need to be kept as separate as possible, or they’ll absorb each other’s flavors like sponges.
What is the best humidity for aging cigars?
Interior humidor conditions need to be as consistent as possible for cigar aging. Many aficionados like to dial the humidity and temperature down to ensure more continuation and less fluctuation. Around 63-65% Relative Humidity (RH) and 63-65 degrees Fahrenheit should see your smokes age gracefully.
How long should you age your cigar collection for?
Cigar aging is a waiting game and a test of even the most patient. Generally, most sticks will be ready for cutting, lighting, and smoking between one and three years of aging.
Many factors, like the cigar’s blend, the storage conditions, and your own personal preference affect the aging time. Some premium cigars can even be aged for decades.
However, be careful not to over-age your cigars. After a certain amount of time, the aging process can actually be detrimental to a cigar’s taste and texture.
Aging cigars is not a one-size-fits-all rule. Some won’t change much at all. Others may age beautifully. Nevertheless, we do know that a properly aged cigar can often result in a pleasurable smoke and develop your experience as a cigar enthusiast.
