Aging Cigars in a Humidor

By aging most cigars in a properly maintained humidor, the general rule is that the flavor of the cigars will continue to improve for up to ten years. After that amount of time, cigars will no longer show any significant amount of improvement, although they still require proper storage in a humidor to preserve their integrity. However, since most of us do not have the patience to wait ten years before lighting up our sticks, we conducted a series of cigar rating and aging experiments to find out how much time a particular bundle of cigars should be aged before the taste improved enough to make the effort worthwhile. Although every box or bundle of cigars ages differently, the results of this test were consistent with previous experiences with other brands.

Most cigar tobacco is cured, processed, fermented, aged, etc. for at least a couple of years after it is harvested, and before it is used to make cigars. After cigars are rolled, finished cigars are then aged for an additional amount of time. The amount of time varies, depending on the manufacturer and other factors affecting the marketing of the cigars. Some finished cigars may not be aged at all, or for too short a period of time, which does not allow the different tobacco leaves in the blend to marry, and for bitter elements in the tobacco to dissipate. This is especially true of lower priced bundled cigars, but it can also be the case with more expensive boxed cigars, including some popular national brands. In addition, after leaving the factory, cigars may be shipped and stored under different conditions, making it even harder to determine if they should be smoked before spending some time in your humidor. (When aging cigars in a humidor, remove any cellophane, tubes, packaging, etc.)

Therefore, we have reached the following conclusions relating to the importance of aging your cigars in a properly maintained humidor before smoking them:

• Aging most brands of cigars for at least two or three months prior to smoking will greatly improve the taste.



• Age your cigars for a year (or more) to obtain a significantly noticeable mellow flavor.



• A bad cigar, or a brand that you just do not like, will not transform into a good cigar by aging, even over a long period of time. However, a good cigar that initially tastes bad out of the box (or bundle) can improve dramatically after aging.



• Inexpensive bundled cigars may require more initial aging (after purchase) than premium boxed cigars.



• Fuller bodied cigars will continue to mellow and improve more with long term aging, compared to milder cigars.



• Cigars purchased from a local tobacconist's humidor are more likely to be ready to smoke immediately (or with less aging), as opposed to cigars purchased online or via mail order.



• Every cigar ages and tastes differently, even cigars in the same box or bundle.

There are some exceptions to these general conclusions. For example, it is possible that you may like a certain brand of cigars right out of the box, without any (additional) aging. This may be somewhat uncommon, but it is certainly possible. Also, artificially flavored cigars do not require aging, but they must still be stored under the proper conditions. Never mix flavored cigars with other cigars in the same humidor. If a flavored cigar comes in a sealed tube, leave it in the tube.

Continue to page two for links to the weekly/monthly results of our cigar aging taste tests.

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