I'm am going to be setting up a tupperdor. Because I am just starting to explore premium cigars and develop my palate and learn my preferences for what I like my plan is to purchase some singles of different types getting maybe 2 of each one, one that I would smoke soon after purchasing and one that I would allow to rest/age. My question is does this seem lie a good strategy? Also is there a big difference between resting and aging and what is a good time frame for them? What is the best type of cigar to age? Sorry for the length of this guys. Thanks.

First off - all cigars benefit from acclimating to your preferred smoking conditions.  You will likely notice an improvement.  This is the REST period....anywhere from 30 days to 6 months. Beyond that it gets a little murky, you'll get people that say "aging is 5 years or longer, anything less is resting." I don't know how people come up with that claim to draw the line in the sand or if it's true or not. For me, I consider anything over a year to be aging - don't ask me how I came up with that claim LOL

Typically, stronger/fuller bodied cigars benefit from aging. But then again, the thing you like about a cigar now may be it's full bodied nature....if you age it 3 years and it loses that power, you may no longer enjoy that cigar anymore.

I have a tupperdor set up just for this aging experiment, coming up on 10 months now and I smoke every few months and take notes.  For this reason I'd recommend at least 3 cigars of each type, preferably 5 of each cigar.....this way you can smoke 1 now, then 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year and see the difference.

So far, beyond the 3 month mark, the only real change I've noticed have been with the My Father Flor de las Antillas (at 10 months it's lost most of the pepper and is a chocolate bomb), the My Father Le Bijou (at 10 months the pepper has backed off a little bit to allow the other flavors to come through), and the Padron 2000 Maduro (at 10 months it's just a smoother smoke)

QuoteSilverstix - 7/6/2018  1:02 PM

First off - all cigars benefit from acclimating to your preferred smoking conditions.  You will likely notice an improvement.  This is the REST period....anywhere from 30 days to 6 months. Beyond that it gets a little murky, you'll get people that say "aging is 5 years or longer, anything less is resting." I don't know how people come up with that claim to draw the line in the sand or if it's true or not. For me, I consider anything over a year to be aging - don't ask me how I came up with that claim LOL

Typically, stronger/fuller bodied cigars benefit from aging. But then again, the thing you like about a cigar now may be it's full bodied nature....if you age it 3 years and it loses that power, you may no longer enjoy that cigar anymore.

I have a tupperdor set up just for this aging experiment, coming up on 10 months now and I smoke every few months and take notes.  For this reason I'd recommend at least 3 cigars of each type, preferably 5 of each cigar.....this way you can smoke 1 now, then 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year and see the difference.

I was hoping to get your thoughts. I know you mention a lot about resting your sticks. Getting 5 of each does sound like a good strategy. Do you typically age/rest more mild or medium bodied sticks?

Great idea to buy in pairs, John.  That's how I started off back in the early 90's when we didn't have the internet yet and there were only a couple of big cigar shops putting out catalogs. I used to buy from Mikes Cigars because all of his samplers included 2 of each cigar.  Its a great way to get a baseline idea on whether or not you like the cigar, and then try it again in 6-12 months to see if its any better.  

As to your question on resting vs. aging:  Resting is when you let your cigars stabilize and acclimate in your humidor to your preferred humidity. IMHO you should rest ALL cigars for at least a couple of weeks before smoking them.  Aging refers to keeping cigars for a longer period of time which is subjective by user, and could be 6 months to 20+ years. Many cigars get better as they age as they lose some of the young ammonia characteristics and even develop new flavors as the essential oils continue to do their magic.  Some just keep getting better as they age, and some peak (after which they lose flavor and are not as good as they once were).

Thanks Bruce. You guys and this site rock.

QuoteChefjohn - 7/6/2018  1:11 PM  

QuoteSilverstix - 7/6/2018  1:02 PM  First off - all cigars benefit from acclimating to your preferred smoking conditions.  You will likely notice an improvement.  This is the REST period....anywhere from 30 days to 6 months. Beyond that it gets a little murky, you'll get people that say "aging is 5 years or longer, anything less is resting." I don't know how people come up with that claim to draw the line in the sand or if it's true or not. For me, I consider anything over a year to be aging - don't ask me how I came up with that claim LOL  Typically, stronger/fuller bodied cigars benefit from aging. But then again, the thing you like about a cigar now may be it's full bodied nature....if you age it 3 years and it loses that power, you may no longer enjoy that cigar anymore.   I have a tupperdor set up just for this aging experiment, coming up on 10 months now and I smoke every few months and take notes.  For this reason I'd recommend at least 3 cigars of each type, preferably 5 of each cigar.....this way you can smoke 1 now, then 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year and see the difference.

I was hoping to get your thoughts. I know you mention a lot about resting your sticks. Getting 5 of each does sound like a good strategy. Do you typically age/rest more mild or medium bodied sticks?

Try to remember, age & rest are 2 different things:

Rest = acclimate to my preferences

Age = what Bruce said so eloquently

I try to rest (acclimate to my preferences) all sticks a minimum 30 days before smoking, regardless of mild/medium/full.  As far as aging mild/medium body cigars, the only real way to know is to experiment and see what you like. As a rule of thumb, mild/medium body cigars don't get better with prolonged age, after a few years they lose what makes them good.  But what one person considers better may not be what you consider better and visa versa.  I have not been smoking cigars for 20 years like some of the others so I don't have the life experiences of aging cigars, but part of the fun is experimenting and seeing what kind of results you get 

I try to put in my reviews how long the cigar has been resting so that it gives readers and point of reference.  Temps are in the 80's/90's, if I smoke a cigar right off the truck after traveling across the country for 3 or 4 days and it tastes like crap, it could be because it didn't acclimate. If I smoke the same cigar 90 days later and it still tastes like crap, then I just bought myself some crappy cigars! lol

Sounds like great advice guys. I do so appreciate you and your input.