Cigar aging question

[yourchoice]

Originally Posted by bobarian

There are no defined rules, only some anecdotal speculation. In general, most Non-Cuban cigars are aged or rolled with aged tobacco before they leave the factory or manufacturers warehouses. Until recently it is thought that most Cuban cigars were rolled with much fresher tobacco. There is some speculation that recently Cuba started using 2-3 year old tobacco for production. This could be the reason that 08-10 boxes seem to smoke better fresh than 04-07's.

As for intentional aging of NC's, there is no evidence that protracted aging(over 10 yrs) is of any benefit. As cellophane is a porous material, it neither hinders or accelerates the aging process. Several domestic retailers are currently selling "Vintage" stock from the 90's. I have not read of a single instance where these cigars have proven to be significantly better than their more recent counterparts.

Cello on or off is purely a personal preference. Most keep their cigars as they were packaged, but by taking the cello off you are not endangering your smokes in any way. The important thing is that you like the way they are smoking.

Bob summed it up pretty succinctly.

My only comment is most of my NC stock is loose (either stored as singles, or stored in boxes the cigars did not come in). I find that keeping the cello on protects the cigars from getting dinged up when moving them around. My singles are stored in a sliding drawer, and when opening, the sticks may move a little and the feet on cello-ed sticks seem to hold up better. That and when I'm digging through my singles when I'm looking for something to fire up.