Question about aging

[TJarv]

I was gifted an Ashton VSG Eclipse today and wanted to save it for a special occasion.

My question is will it get better or worse with lets say 2-3 years on it?

[maninblack]

Some cigars lose their spice and their flavor. Not all of it but enough to make you disappointed. I have a hard time aging smokes so good luck. I just wanna smoke em as fast as I can get them.

If you like your cigars fresh and strong with some bite, then they will get worse. If you want them to smooth out, loose some bite, and have some flavors rounded out, then they will get better. This is about as general of a response as you will get.

[Drez]

Originally Posted by ChicagoWhiteSox

If you like your cigars fresh and strong with some bite, then they will get worse. If you want them to smooth out, loose some bite, and have some flavors rounded out, then they will get better. This is about as general of a response as you will get.

this pretty much sums it up.

its really a gamble depending how long you put a smoke down if its gonna mellow out too much. this normally happens to NC due to the fact that most are already aged prior to making it to your humi.

CC's tend to age better but like all cigars after a certain point (maybe a few years or 10 years) they can begin to mellow out to much and lose some of its distinct flavors and kick.

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by Drez

CC's tend to age better but like all cigars after a certain point (maybe a few years or 10 years) they can begin to mellow out to much and lose some of its distinct flavors and kick.

I believe you will find that many will disagree with you on this point.

[DaBear]

From my experiences with VSGs and aging, they do lose some kick and spice, but turn into a nice well rounded earthy smoke with a year or two, but they do hit a sick period in there so just some fair warning.

[Drez]

Originally Posted by bobarian

I believe you will find that many will disagree with you on this point.

i think "lose" was a bad word. i would say more the flavors will change to a certain extent. from what ive noticed NC tend to mellow while CC might change, if that makes any sense.

thanks for pointing that out bob

[kuzi16]

i found that the VSG is good with 2-3 years on it but when it gets to the 8 year mark it looses what makes it good.

[mosesbotbol]

I am not an advocate of NC long term cigar aging. The tobacco used in premium NC's tends to be aged longer than Habanos and extended box aging usually makes for papery cigars more often than not.

Save it for a special occasion, but not for 5+ years...

[NCRadioMan]

I've got some 6 year old VSG's and they are brilliant and getting better by the year. No worries, imo.

[TJarv]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

I've got some 6 year old VSG's and they are brilliant and getting better by the year. No worries, imo.

Do they still have any strength left

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by TJarv

Do they still have any strength left

I never thought they had that much to begin with.

[TJarv]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

I never thought they had that much to begin with.

Oh ok, never had one before

[ironchefscott]

Originally Posted by TJarv

Oh ok, never had one before

he was joking ....they have some strength to them......a fair amount even

[TJtorpedo]

I've never aged VSGs, but I've heard many a brother say that they love 'em with at least a few years. If you have the means, pick a couple more up and experiment a little with spacing them out over the course of time and take notes while you're smoking them to see how they've changed.

[Brooks W]

Originally Posted by kuzi16

i found that the VSG is good with 2-3 years on it but when it gets to the 8 year mark it looses what makes it good.

I disagree....I have some ORs (from 1999) that are some of the best cigars I have had...No strength at all, but the flavors and complexity are amazing...

Having said that, I don't think there are many NCs that will stand the test of 10+ years...

[kuzi16]

Originally Posted by Brooks W

I disagree....I have some ORs (from 1999) that are some of the best cigars I have had...No strength at all, but the flavors and complexity are amazing...

Having said that, I don't think there are many NCs that will stand the test of 10+ years...

i had a few VSG rounds from 99 that had little to no flavor left. maybe there are other factors going on here. i mean, i started smoking cigars in 2005 and got the VSG rounds in 2006. who knows what happened in between. i just found it flat and flavorless compared to one with less time on it.

I smoked a VSG with 7 years on with coffee Father's Day morning, amazing balance and smoothness. One of the only NC's I have with a fair amount of age.

[Jbailey]

When did they stop printing cabinet on the VSG band?

[lenguamor]

Aging NCs is not unheard of; lots of us do it, and with results that vary from good to great. It just seems to be an unknown quantity among most of us.

What you have to know is that no amount of aging will make a bad cigar better. An aged dog rocket will just be a dog rocket that did time.

However, aging a great NC—like the Ashton VSG that you propose—almost always will result in a smoother cigar in which the blend has had time to coalesce to a point that most haven't experienced.

Ask any manufacturer with a "treasure room" how aging impacts their best cigars from years ago, and none will say that it's a negative.

I have Opus from around 2001-2002 or so; those babies are an entirely different animal than a fresh one; in the best possible way. I have some Henry Clays from 2004; Mirabelles, LF-HM Habano 2000 wrapper; nothing fancy, just that I bought a lot and had a couple boxes left over. They went from good to amazing in that time.

Ernesto Padilla's original release Obsidians? You should taste them now.

I could go on, but the point is: try it. You'll like it.

Note: aging requires patience, and nothing helps patience along more than a sufficient quantity to be able to "sample" along the way. One cigar is not gonna do it.