How old is too old

[darkleeroy]

Originally Posted by JJG

I don't see any reason why Cubans would get better with age and NCs wouldn't. however, lets keep in mind that age cannot make a diamond out of a turd.

NC leaf has the privilege of being able to age all of it's leaf years before it hits the wrapping table. Mainly for the fact that NC primary market consists of only one country. Therefore, when we buy a premium NC cigar, the probability is high that the cigar is already at least 3 years old.

On the other hand, with the exception of the United States, B&M's in other counties base most of their cigar sales on Cuban brands. As a result, the overall demand for Cuban cigars is ridiculously high. Because of the high demand, Cuban factories would not be able to meet the demand if they aged their leaf as much as NC factories do. And since 90% of Cuba's total export relies on tobacco, they simply won't. Likewise, the culture surrounding Cuban's and their cigars is that they like fresher leaf. So a consumer buying a Cuban cigar will probably receive a cigar that's six months old, if not younger.

TL;DR When you buy a NC, it's been aged years before you even caught sight of it. When you buy a Cuban, the leaf was probably harvested mere months ago.

And yes, a cremosa that's been aged 10 years is still a cremosa, with dust on it.