After Buying a Cigar, How Long Should I Keep It?

16th. September, 2020

Experienced cigar lovers will check the box date on the bottom of the humidor when buying Cuban cigars to judge the "age" of the cigar. Mr. Fuente of Fuente, an American cigar brand, said: “Amelioration can make the cigar smoother and have a richer taste. This is the taste that the cigar just brought from the cigarette maker's table does not have!”

For Cuban cigars, aging can make it more rounded, with a more balanced taste and aroma. A constant temperature and humidity storage environment can prevent the cigar from drying out and the loss of aroma and other substances.

In the UK, cigar retailers will age the cigar for 2 years before selling it.

In China, some more experienced cigar enthusiasts will store and maintain the cigar for a period of time after purchasing the cigar before enjoying the deliciousness of the cigar.

So how to aging after buying a cigar? How long should a cigar age?

01/2 stages of cigar aging

The aging of cigars is divided into two stages:

The first stage: the aging of cigar tobacco leaves

This is the step done before the cigar is made. The aging of tobacco leaves must be at least 2 years. The shorter the aging time of tobacco leaves, the lighter the cigar taste. For good cigars, tobacco leaves with a longer aging time are generally used.

The second stage: the aging of the cigar

This is an important step after the cigar is made. This step can be carried out separately by the cigar manufacturer, retailer, and consumer.

02 / The aging of cigars

A very important aspect of cigar aging is the storage environment.

Standard cigar storage environment:

Temperature: 16℃-18℃, humidity: 65%-70%.

Of course, the carrier of the storage environment is also conditional, that is, special moisturizing equipment for cigars, such as cigar room, cigar cabinet, or humidor. Pay attention to it and you will find that these moisturizing devices are made of wood, and most of them are made of cedarwood.

In such a special environment, the taste and aroma of cigars will gradually be balanced. Then, cigars need your "care". It is also very important to check the storage status of the cigar regularly, flipping, and adjusting the position.

Another important aspect of cigar aging is time.

 Cigar Humidors

Cigar Humidors

03 / Cigar aging time

Some people think that the ideal aging time should be more than 5 years, while some people think it is 10 years. As we mentioned earlier, the traditional habit of British cigar retailers is to age cigars for 2 years before selling them.

However, Habanos S.A. said that the aging time varies from person to person. After all, the taste of cigars is always up to the smoker. The time we mentioned above is just a reference for most people's experience.

If you have to give some suggestions, we might as well take a look at the packing date on the bottom of the cigar box:

Note that it is the boxing date, not the production date. The boxing date is only year and month, no specific date. Thousands and hundreds of digits are omitted for the year, and only the tens and one's digits are used. The month is represented by the Spanish month abbreviation.

For example, in the box of cigars in the picture above, "16" means 2016, and "FEB" means February, so its boxing date is February 2016. If stored and maintained in the correct way, it will be aging for 2 years and 9 months.

For such a box of cigars, you can take out one to enjoy at any time. Of course, if your requirements are relatively high, you can continue to alcoholize it. If, when you get this box of cigars, the condition of the cigars is not particularly good, it is recommended to raise them for a period of time before smoking. The time you can refer to are: 1 month, 3 months, half a year, one year, two years, or even longer time.

Another example is this box of cigars. Its box date is January 2018. This shows that it is a relatively young box of cigars. If stored according to the standard method, its aging time is 10 months.

Suppose you buy such a box of cigars, you can consider keeping it for a period of time before enjoying it. Of course, if you can't wait that long, you can enjoy it immediately.

04 / Things to pay attention to when cigar aging

Of course, cigar aging is not so simple, after all, cigars are alive. To make the cigar "glossy" and full of aroma, you have to pay attention to the following points:

Matters needing attention in cigar aging:

Choose cedar wood moisturizing equipment;

Pay attention to observe and adjust changes in temperature and humidity;

Pay attention to observe and adjust the storage status of cigars;

When checking cigars, do not spray perfume or any objects with a peculiar smell, because these smells are easily absorbed by the cigar, which will affect the taste of the cigar.

We are watch winder suppliers. Our company provides cigar humidors. If you are interested in our products, please feel free to contact us.


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