How Should I Age The Cigars I Just Purchased?

Just like many fine wines can improve with the proper aging process, so too can high-quality cigars. This is not to say that all cigars will reveal an enhanced taste or flavor after a year inside a humidor, but there are many fine cigars that will mellow beautifully when put in the proper environment. This environment is known as the humidor, and is one of the most important cigar accessories available.

While many enthusiasts pay strict attention to identifying the best cigars on the market and building up a collection of their own special favorites, they should also be considering the use of a few humidors to create a collection of vintage cigars too. This means that they will have to wait at least a year or more to sample the results of their efforts, but if it is done properly, they can convert what was an overpowering aroma or taste into a subtle and far more enjoyable one.

What levels should be maintained for the best end results? Most experts recommend that the cigar owner sample a few from any given box before setting them up for long-term storage. This is to determine if the flavors actually require a bit of mellowing. It is important to remember that if the flavors are truly dissatisfying when a cigar is fresh, it is unlikely that the overall flavor can benefit from the process.

What are these conditions? Well, most experts state that aging is a bit tricky and will advise anyone attempting the process to aim at the seventy-seventy status. This is a humidity level of seventy percent within the humidor, and an ambient temperature of seventy degrees Fahrenheit outside of it too. Should the humidity sink too far beneath this figure the wrapper may dry out and crumble during smoking, but too far above it and mold or mildew can develop. Wildly fluctuating conditions are the death knell to fresh and aging cigars, and the humidor is often the only way to create the most stable environment.

Are there any varieties that should not be aged? Any cigar that has an overwhelming aroma might greatly benefit from an aging and mellowing process, but the Maduros types with their cured wrappers tend to be impervious to all efforts at aging and mellowing. It is always advisable to sample one or two fresh cigars from any box to determine whether an aging process might be of some benefit.