How Long Should You Age Your Cigars?

Depending on your cigar, the benefit of aging may range from negligible and considerable. When you are investing in a box of prized premium cigars, you do want to know if you should consider additional aging at home or not. Experts and experienced smokers recommend aging for as little as one month to improve a cigar’s flavor. Still, when you are buying any cigar, say Alec Bradley Cigars, let the cigar store representative help you. Now, coming to the question, how long one should age his cigars, there is a general rule.

You can age your cigars for up to 10 years. Beyond this span of time, cigars will show no significant improvement in the flavor.

However, no smoker waits for a decade. It is not easy to predict how cigars will age. Depending on how long you are going to age them, you may not even like the flavor at that point. You might find your cigars to be more complex and smoother. No length of time has been established to make sure that your smoke will taste better.

A smoker should know it better how much additional aging is required. There are certain means that can help in determining the aging requirements. If you are managing a collection of Alec Bradley Cigars or any other cigars, you can smoke one at different intervals as they age.

You will find the following information helpful if you are aging your cigars in a humidor.

• Aging for at least two to three months is enough to improve the taste of a premium handmade cigar. 
• A full-bodied cigar with ligero or other high-priming tobaccos shows significant improvement in terms of balance and complexity over long periods of time. However, a milder cigar does not show such improvements. 
• Relative humidity ranging from 63% to 68% improves flavors and aromas of cigars over time. As the moisture evaporates, essential oils concentrate. Lower levels of humidity also reduce the development of mold. Experienced smokers maintain an average RH of 68%. This not only saves a cigar from drying out but also leads to better aging. 
• If a cigar tastes bad, there is no benefit of aging it. This happens due to poor fermentation. However, if your cigar tastes a bit grassy or bitter, give it a 180 turnaround with aging. The bitterness goes away if you are storing them under the right conditions. 
• If a cigar is made with tobacco that has been aged for many years, don't expect any improvement with additional aging. You can smoke it right out of the box if you are buying a cigar that has been aged for 5 to 10 years. 

Many smokers, especially beginners, want to know whether they should age their cigars at home or not. If they should, for how long?

There is only one way to know if your collection is aging well or not. Smoke your cigars periodically.
We’ve got some simple guidelines for you.

Buy a box of premium cigars and smoke one within 24 hours. Write about the smoking experience and the flavors of the cigar. You can smoke two to learn more about the experience and flavor. Wait for at least 6 weeks and smoke one or two cigars. Once again, take notes and compare experience and flavor. You will notice some improvements.

Repeat the same every 6 weeks and compare the taste and experience. Your box of 20 cigars will be empty after 2 years. The last will be aged for two years.

If you follow these guidelines, you get ample time to see if any significant improvements have been made in the flavor profile of your cigars.
You can also use a mix of shorter or longer periods instead of fixed 6 weeks between smoking cigars. It’s an experiment. It is all on you how long you want it to run.   

Some important things you have to keep in mind.

• There is no need to age infused premiums or flavored cigars. You just need to maintain proper humidity levels. 
• The effect of aging on the flavor profile depends on the shape and size. 
• If a cigar of a particular brand tastes great, there is no need to go for additional aging.   

It is good to buy two boxes at the same time. Smoke one to delight your heart and let the second age slowly.