How Long Should I Age My Cigars?

The benefits of aging cigars will vary from cigar to cigar. With that in mind, we can begin to consider whether our cigars are worth additional aging at your cigar merchant or in your own humidor… Some cigar experts agree that as little as one month will improve a cigar’s flavour. However, you can continue to improve your Havana cigars year in and year out and sometimes almost indefinitely though certain brands and vitolas will age better than others. In general terms stronger cigars with darker wrappers will lend themselves to longer aging than lighter strength cigars. Brands such as Partagas, Punch Ramon Allones, Cohiba and Sancho Panza are considered fuller strength cigars ideal for laying down and improvement in the long term. These brands will continuously mature and develop, losing some of the strength over time but retaining the flavours which will mellow to some extent with time. Lighter brands such as El Rey del Mundo, Por Larranaga, Romeo y Julieta (again in general terms will age well for the first 10 years but will then tend to flat line and not improve further) it’s not an exact science with Cuban cigars , it’s all a case of trial and error!

It’s all about the storage, what temperature and what relative humidity are you maturing your cigars at? Colder and lower humidity slows the maturation process, and prolongs the potential life cycle of the cigar.

It is hard to predict how a cigar will age, and after maturing it for numerous months, you may not even like it. The cigar will be smoother and perhaps more complex, but you may not like the new profile of your once favourite cigar, aged. That’s because there is no established length of time that ensures your cigars will taste better. Only you, the smoker, can really know how much additional time your cigars require, and that can only be achieved by certain means; that is, by smoking the cigars at various intervals as they age.

Here are a few tips/facts in regard to aging cigars:

– A reasonable time frame for improving the taste of most premium handmade cigars is at least two to three months.

– Full-bodied cigars that are blended with more ligero leaf tend to improve more significantly in terms of their complexity and balance over longer time periods, milder cigars rarely do.

– Lower humidity levels within the range of 63% to 65% RH will improve a cigars flavours and aromas over time.

– A “bad” tasting cigar perhaps from a not so good vintage will not improve no matter how long you age it. This is usually due to poor fermentation, and once the cigar is rolled, it’s pretty much set. However, a cigar that may be a bit bitter or grassy in taste out of the box can do a 180 turnaround with some prudent aging time

– Cigars made with tobaccos that already have many years of aging on them will not improve much more with additional aging at home. Cigars that are released with 5 to 10 or even more years of aging are, by design, made to be smoked right out of the box.

Remember to be patient when you age cigars. If you have the means, double your box order so you can smoke one as soon as you receive one. This means you can store the other box and let it age slowly. Taking the time to try an aged cigar as the months go on, until you are happy with the final result.

See our Aged and Vintage cigars here