Aging a Tubo

KCW · February 2010

I plan on getting a stick that requires aging. It comes Tubed. Does anyone have any recommendations about aging Tubed cigars?

letsgowithbob · February 2010

Is it a wood tube, a metal tube, or a glass tube?

j0z3r · February 2010

Keep the tube sealed and put in your humidor like any other cigar. A cigar in a tubo will age slower due to the restricted air flow, so if you're talking about really aging it, and not just a few months, then be prepared to let it sit for 2-3 years minimum.

KCW · February 2010

Metal Tubes and I planned on sitting one for 1 to 2 years (before the tube question popped into my head).

kuzi16 · February 2010

j0z3r:
Keep the tube sealed and put in your humidor like any other cigar. A cigar in a tubo will age slower due to the restricted air flow, so if you're talking about really aging it, and not just a few months, then be prepared to let it sit for 2-3 years minimum.

i was gunna say 5-10 years. i have a bolivar in a tube thats been aging since 06. im gunna smoke it in '16

j0z3r · February 2010

kuzi16:
j0z3r:
Keep the tube sealed and put in your humidor like any other cigar. A cigar in a tubo will age slower due to the restricted air flow, so if you're talking about really aging it, and not just a few months, then be prepared to let it sit for 2-3 years minimum.
i was gunna say 5-10 years. i have a bolivar in a tube thats been aging since 06. im gunna smoke it in '16

Well I figured 2-3 is a good starting point. It all depends on the cigar he's aging too, 5-10 years might be too much if the cigar isn't hearty enough to age gracefully.

What kind of cigar were you talking about KCW?

lilwing88 · February 2010

I hate to be a buzz kill, and maybe someone can correct me on this, but my local B&M owner, who's been in the biz for thirty plus years and has his own line of cigars, told me that there's no benefit to aging cigars. He told me that a cigar out of the box has already been aged to it's potential and that storing it for years will make no significant difference in taste or strength.

He might just be saying this so I keep buying and smoking rather than storing, but I trust his expertise. Anybody been told the same? Different?

sightunseen · February 2010

lilwing88:
I hate to be a buzz kill, and maybe someone can correct me on this, but my local B&M owner, who's been in the biz for thirty plus years and has his own line of cigars, told me that there's no benefit to aging cigars. He told me that a cigar out of the box has already been aged to it's potential and that storing it for years will make no significant difference in taste or strength.

He might just be saying this so I keep buying and smoking rather than storing, but I trust his expertise. Anybody been told the same? Different?

I'm going to have to be a bit skeptical about this. From what I understand, manfacturers typically age cigars for about 6 months before shipping, which seems to leave a lot of "aging potential," especially for the stronger smokes. Also there are numerous anecdotes about the effects of aging and I've personally noticed a difference in a Diesel I've smoked with just 2 months of rest.

Not saying your B&M owner is a bad guy, but since his livelihood depends on consistent and recurring sales, I'd say there is a conflict of interest in his opinion.

KCW · February 2010

j0z3r:
kuzi16:
j0z3r:
Keep the tube sealed and put in your humidor like any other cigar. A cigar in a tubo will age slower due to the restricted air flow, so if you're talking about really aging it, and not just a few months, then be prepared to let it sit for 2-3 years minimum.
i was gunna say 5-10 years. i have a bolivar in a tube thats been aging since 06. im gunna smoke it in '16
Well I figured 2-3 is a good starting point. It all depends on the cigar he's aging too, 5-10 years might be too much if the cigar isn't hearty enough to age gracefully.

What kind of cigar were you talking about KCW?

Davidoff Millenium

KCW · February 2010

lilwing88:
I hate to be a buzz kill, and maybe someone can correct me on this, but my local B&M owner, who's been in the biz for thirty plus years and has his own line of cigars, told me that there's no benefit to aging cigars. He told me that a cigar out of the box has already been aged to it's potential and that storing it for years will make no significant difference in taste or strength.

He might just be saying this so I keep buying and smoking rather than storing, but I trust his expertise. Anybody been told the same? Different?

Actually Alex Svenson recommended aging this one. Also, I think someone on this board is actually doing an aging experiment. That may shed some light on this (some day). I have heard (from various people) that ISOM's benefit greatly from aging. I figure Alex knows a lot more than I (just as the owner of your B&M).

lilwing88 · February 2010

sightunseen:
lilwing88:
I hate to be a buzz kill, and maybe someone can correct me on this, but my local B&M owner, who's been in the biz for thirty plus years and has his own line of cigars, told me that there's no benefit to aging cigars. He told me that a cigar out of the box has already been aged to it's potential and that storing it for years will make no significant difference in taste or strength.

He might just be saying this so I keep buying and smoking rather than storing, but I trust his expertise. Anybody been told the same? Different?
I'm going to have to be a bit skeptical about this. From what I understand, manfacturers typically age cigars for about 6 months before shipping, which seems to leave a lot of "aging potential," especially for the stronger smokes. Also there are numerous anecdotes about the effects of aging and I've personally noticed a difference in a Diesel I've smoked with just 2 months of rest.

Not saying your B&M owner is a bad guy, but since his livelihood depends on consistent and recurring sales, I'd say there is a conflict of interest in his opinion.

I thought the same thing about how manufacturers age their cigars 6 months before shipping...... He told me there's a difference between aging and resting. Manufacturers do this to make sure the cigars are at the optimal temp and humidity for quality issues. The tobacco used to make the cigar is aged in certain conditions to the makers specification before it's even constructed. So further aging shouldn't have an effect on the tobacco.

To prove his point, my guy at the B&M rolled three cigars right there for me. He had me smoke one right away. He had me smoke the 2nd the next day after sitting in my travel herfidor. Then he had me rest the 3rd in my humi for 2 weeks.

The 1st stick was awesome. One of the best cigars I've ever had. The 2nd stick tasted funny. It was bitter and sour. It left a horrible taste in my mouth for the next day or two. The 3rd stick that rested for a couple weeks was just as good as the 1st.

I saw a video of tour of a RP factory in Honduras that demonstrated the same thing. I think that resting a cigar is always a good thing. I'd say two weeks is a good minimum, but I don't think there is any maximum resting time.

xmacro · February 2010

Read the thread called "Double Happiness - does it work?" - Alex posted some GREAT info in there. But anyway, there's a difference between resting tobacco, and aging it - tobacco is rested once it's picked for years, but after it's rolled, it needs additional years so the oils can marry properly.

But yes, there is a maximum aging time - read around the net and you'll find that after a time, cigars reach a peak and then begin to decline; others more knowledgeable than me can go into the specifics of agin and how it affects a cigar

ScottU · February 2010

I've had my davidoff millenium tubo agining for almost a year (3/5/09) I'm thinking about smoking it soon but I might hold out for a little longer after reading this thread.

kuzi16 · February 2010

j0z3r:
kuzi16:
j0z3r:
Keep the tube sealed and put in your humidor like any other cigar. A cigar in a tubo will age slower due to the restricted air flow, so if you're talking about really aging it, and not just a few months, then be prepared to let it sit for 2-3 years minimum.
i was gunna say 5-10 years. i have a bolivar in a tube thats been aging since 06. im gunna smoke it in '16
Well I figured 2-3 is a good starting point. It all depends on the cigar he's aging too, 5-10 years might be too much if the cigar isn't hearty enough to age gracefully.

What kind of cigar were you talking about KCW?

great point

kuzi16 · February 2010

lilwing88:
I hate to be a buzz kill, and maybe someone can correct me on this, but my local B&M owner, who's been in the biz for thirty plus years and has his own line of cigars, told me that there's no benefit to aging cigars. He told me that a cigar out of the box has already been aged to it's potential and that storing it for years will make no significant difference in taste or strength.

He might just be saying this so I keep buying and smoking rather than storing, but I trust his expertise. Anybody been told the same? Different?

i havent been told different, but i have smoked cigars that have had some age on them that tasted different that the cigar fresh. age does, in fact, change a cigar. it mellows the cigar, it tones down spice and harshness. i bought a humidor specifically to test this. now i use that humidor as an aging humidor exclusively.

the most notable cigar that i can think of that does better after a year or so is OpusX. I actually dont like OpusX fresh (and by fresh i mean within a year of being released) I like OpusX starting at 12 months and really turning on at 18 months. If you have an opus with a year plus on it, smoke it the day after you smoke one without any age to it. you WILL see a difference.

SaVas · February 2010

Any tubos I get gifted to me or I buy that come in a metal tube, I either smoke when I get it, or I open the tube and inspect the cigar. Quite a few times I've opened a metal tubo to find the cigar within having grown a bit of a beard of fuzz. Glass ones, I leave as they are until I'm ready to smoke them, but the metal....I am getting a cigar sight unseen and I prefer to see my cigars!

phobicsquirrel · February 2010

kuzi16:
j0z3r:
Keep the tube sealed and put in your humidor like any other cigar. A cigar in a tubo will age slower due to the restricted air flow, so if you're talking about really aging it, and not just a few months, then be prepared to let it sit for 2-3 years minimum.
i was gunna say 5-10 years. i have a bolivar in a tube thats been aging since 06. im gunna smoke it in '16

Haven't you heard the world is ending in 2012? Might want to smoke it soon....

phobicsquirrel · February 2010

SaVas:
Any tubos I get gifted to me or I buy that come in a metal tube, I either smoke when I get it, or I open the tube and inspect the cigar. Quite a few times I've opened a metal tubo to find the cigar within having grown a bit of a beard of fuzz. Glass ones, I leave as they are until I'm ready to smoke them, but the metal....I am getting a cigar sight unseen and I prefer to see my cigars!

I do the same thing. After getting tat black and red tubes I opened all of them to make sure they weren't damage as a lot of people have mentioned damage inside the tubes.

kuzi16 · February 2010

phobicsquirrel:
kuzi16:
j0z3r:
Keep the tube sealed and put in your humidor like any other cigar. A cigar in a tubo will age slower due to the restricted air flow, so if you're talking about really aging it, and not just a few months, then be prepared to let it sit for 2-3 years minimum.
i was gunna say 5-10 years. i have a bolivar in a tube thats been aging since 06. im gunna smoke it in '16
Haven't you heard the world is ending in 2012? Might want to smoke it soon....

oh crap

Aging a Tubo

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