Throwing a vintage smoke from a legacy cigar brand into a properly calibrated humidor for a few months while you formulate your smoking schedule is one thing. Aging a blend for years or even decades is a completely different form of preservation entirely, and requires a certain level of knowledge, care, and preparation.
You can’t just toss a cigar into a humidor, age the damn thing for a decade or so, and expect it to provide a sublime smoking experience. Aging conditions, humidity levels, and fellow cigar companions all affect how a cigar smells, tastes, and combusts. And that’s just a few considerations to keep in mind. The longer you expose your cigars to these sorts of scenarios, the more profound the result.
Here’s why you may, or may not, want to age your cigars for prolonged periods, and what you need to know before you start packing that brand-new Klaro humidor of a time capsule to the gills with primo long-filler tobacco.
How the Hands of Time Shape a Cigar
To keep those legacy tobacco brand options or boutique cigar selections in outstanding shape for the duration of the long haul, some form of inspection and aftercare regiment must be implemented. So here are a few considerations to keep in mind when your cigar embarks upon its final evolution.
Like a balanced blend of Scotch whiskies, a premium cigar blend is intended to evolve as it ages, with post-production maturation times determining much of a cigar’s release date. As all of those sugars, oils, resins, and fermented bacterial byproducts get busy with one another beneath that blanket of a premium cigar wrapper, something magical happens. Subtle premium cigar blend nuances are born. The longer you allow those microbial beasties to bump uglies, the better your chances that the offspring will be a complex character.
However, like your uncle’s beer gut sitting poolside, premium long-filler cigar flavor profiles tend to become softer and rounder as they age post-production. Given too much room to grow, things can get a bit flabby, or bland. Ergo, extreme amounts of age don't always dictate a delicious smoking session, just one that is potentially milder, smoother, and/or more balanced.
“No one comes home with a big block of Irish cheddar and throws it in the fridge for an additional few years of aging. It comes to you at its peak ripeness and is ready for consumption straight out of the package. The same can be said for most cigars.”
Tobacco Nerd Note: If you enjoy buying medium-strength cigars in 5-pack form, try setting one or two aside for smoking a year or so from now, and set a reminder in your calendar. Then, go buy the same stogie and smoke it fresh out of the cellophane. A day or two later, torch the aged cigar, give it a puff, and compare tasting notes. You may be shocked by how different a cigar flavor profile can be after a little bit of downtime in a properly sealed humidor box.
Cigars Age at Every Stage
As we have discussed in previous Klaro Cigar journal entries, premium long-filler cigar types are both fermented and aged. Months, years, even decades, the aging and maturation of various cigar types and blends is determined by the tobacco leaves being utilized, and the knowledge base of the master blender.
Stored and routinely inspected by the world’s greatest tobacco specialists, premium cigar tobacco is aged both before, during, and after rolling. From start to finish, the product is formulated and then released for sale at carefully calculated points within the cigar’s lifespan. Moments when the master blender(s) feel that the premium cigar blend in question is in peak form.
That said, this doesn’t mean that the selection of stogies down at the local walk-in humidor is going to be at their very "freshest" when you snag a stick or two. A slow seller or an accidental additional order can cause a cigar box to languish on the shelf for months or even years before it is finally emptied. Fortunately, most businesses are pretty strict about maintaining a routine walk-in cigar humidor cleaning and inspection regiment, which in most situations is plenty sufficient for keeping most stogies in pristine form for the duration of their stay.
However, opting for a premium cigar membership club subscription oftentimes guarantees fresher cigars, as the smokes are distributed directly to the consumer via postal delivery and rotate in and out more frequently.
Tobacco Nerd Note: Looking to get your hands on some vintage cigars? Familiarize yourself with the dates and stamps on cigar boxes to determine whether or not you have an aged product on your hands. Older packaging and cigar bands are also a dead giveaway, as are limited-release and seasonal cigar types. Yellowing cigar cellophane is also a dead giveaway that you have an older smoke on hand.
The Potential Pitfalls of Additional Cigar Aging
Like fine port wine, Scotch whiskies, imperial stouts, Japanese miso, sharp cheeses, and many other forms of flavor-rich, heavily aged consumable products, there is a certain level of risk and reward associated with setting tobacco aside in a controlled environment for a lengthy period of time.
A lot can happen within the span of a few years. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity, physical impact, and inventory mismanagement can all occur. Taut binders and super snug cigar wrappers are also a concern, as a plugged cigar is frustrating, to say the least.
But perhaps the biggest hurdle is coming to grips with the reality that the average premium cigar blend can become rather boring if it is allowed to age for entirely too long. As a previously fermented product, the flavors and aromatics within a premium cigar blend often continue to meld and mellow as they come into contact with one another under age. So having the intuition to know when to torch that aged tobacco is vital.
And then there is the risk of off-flavors, which in certain circumstances can occur. Being that this is fermented organic matter, you bet your ass there’s still a certain amount of living bacteria within each cigar. While wild fermentation post-production is rare, it isn't unheard of, just like the random bottle of craft beer that explodes or that cider that tastes a bit off compared to the rest of the sixer.
Aging Cigars the Right Way
Select the Appropriate Stogie
When it comes to additional aging post-purchase, cigars are very much like craft beer. Therefore, picking the appropriate premium cigar blend for prolonged aging is the first consideration that must be weighed.
Lighter, milder cigars are like lagers and IPAs and are best consumed as quickly as possible. Medium-bodied, more robust premium cigar blends are like amber ales, dry stouts, and browns. You can throw a little bit of storage time their way but don’t expect prolonged periods of maturation to make them taste any better than when they are fresh.
Then there are full-flavored, heavier cigars, which are the ones you will need to seek out if you wish to age a particular premium cigar blend for a lengthy period of time. These are the Belgian Grand Cru, Russian Imperial Stout, Barleywine, and Fruit Lambic of the cigar world. Cigars that when stored properly and put to the palate at the opportune time, have the ability to truly hit all the right receptors at once.
Choose Your Time Capsule
Another important aspect of long-term cigar maturation and aging is providing your cigars with an ideal atmosphere. Selecting a high-quality humidor box that has all of the trappings that a premium cigar blend appreciates is vital.
So even if you are forced to rely upon an old cigar box, make sure that it comes constructed from solid Spanish cedar internals at the very least and has a damn good humidor seal. Also, be sure that your hygrometer has been calibrated properly, and that an adequate cigar humidification routine is put into play.
Overload at Your Own Risk!
Stuffing entirely too many cigars into your humidor is only going to make a mess.
The effectiveness of something like humidor packs, refillable humidor humidifiers, or any number of other humidification devices is put under enormous strain in these sorts of situations. This is why it is so important to know when it is time to upgrade to a larger humidor of some form.
Yes, Humidity Still Matters
On the upside, if you toss just the right amount of humidor "roommates" in with one another for a "mature individuals party," you run the chance of lowering the humidity to precisely the perfect point.
This is that 50–60% humidity sweet spot where the tobacco leaf’s final transformation can occur at a leisurely rate, with very few fluctuations in temperature and humidity along the way, of course.
You don’t want to run too dry either though, or you might run the risk of a plugged pull, a cracked cigar wrapper, or flavors of sawdust and remorse. Entirely too much moisture and heat on the other hand can result in removing mold from your humidor box.
With adequate humidity and temperature levels, and very little fluctuation within both, years of premium cigar blend aging is indeed achievable. Here, a slightly drier 50–60% humidity level and temperatures between 60–68°F (15–20°C) are ideal. So slow your roll and dial things back a bit if you can, because those stogies aren't going anywhere anytime soon.
Keep That Cell Block on Lock
You, the cigar smoker, are the ever-watchful humidor warden. Considering that you have a properly seasoned humidor and that it has been adjusted for optimum aging conditions.
So… now what? Just sit back with a brewskie and wait?
Sure. But keep a close eye on that Klaro Valet app that is synced to your Smart Hygrometer because it will tell you everything you need to know about what's going on inside of that stogie storage case.
Obtaining accurate readings at a glance can spell the difference between a well-aged oscuro and a mushy maduro. So set those routine smartphone reminders, notify your A.I. overlords, jot it all down on your fridge calendar, and keep an eye on those hygrometer read-outs.
Select Your Cigar Roommates Wisely
Here at Klaro Cigars, we believe that stogie love is a beautiful thing, no matter what the intensity, flavor, color, or ethnic background of the filler, binder, or wrapper may be.
However, stuffing a kaleidoscope of premium tobacco blends into a closed-loop environment is only going to cause serious headaches over time. Tobacco is the master of absorbing and retaining flavors, so try to keep similar premium cigar blends together when aging long term.
Yes, you can utilize a travel humidor as a substitute and keep some of those stogies separated from one another. Hell, if you’re desperate you can use plastic baggies, glass canning jars, or any number of other forms of makeshift cigar humidor to conduct your little experiment. Just please choose your cigar aging companions carefully, and never throw flavored, sweetened, infused, or barrel-aged stogies into your long-term aging program.
Parting Puffs
But perhaps the most commonly overlooked consideration that must be factored into the long-term cigar aging saga, is how much space you have inside that humidor box of yours.
If size constraints are an issue, then it might be time to upgrade to a larger humidor, or perhaps purchase a separate small humidor just for aging cigars.
All that being said, the act of intentionally aging a premium cigar blend tends to result in more successes than failures the majority of the time. Sure, we’ve regrettably screwed up a few sticks by allowing them to languish in the bottom of the humidor for entirely too long, but that's the risk you run.
So study up, give it a shot, and don’t hesitate to contact us if you need advice or some stogie storage suggestions. We’re all in the same cigar boat, so we might as well be rowing together in the right direction.