Q. I understand that cigars should not be aged more than 5 years. Therefore, I have been inclined to smoke my cigars within a three year period and replace them every three years with newer boxes. Any input on this?
A. As far as aging goes, cigars can be aged almost indefinitely; I’ve never read anything about a time limit. Moreover, I once read an article about smoking cigars that had been aged for 20 years and even as long as 50 years. On the other hand, I’ve also read that, like aging wine, cigars can eventually reach a point where they lose their bouquet.
I have cigars at home that have been aging longer than 5 years, and they’re mighty fine. That said, I prefer to smoke cigars within a more reasonable time period. In today’s crazy world, you never know when you’re time is up, so enjoy them while you can. Other than that, I would agree that three years is a realistic time frame for home-aging cigars.
Executive Editor
Gary Korb has been writing and editing content for CigarAdvisor.com since its debut in 2008. An avid cigar smoker for over 30 years, he has worked on the marketing side of the premium cigar business as a Sr. Copywriter, blogger, and Executive Editor of Cigar Advisor. A graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, prior to his career in the cigar business, Gary worked in the music and video industry as a marketer and a publicist.
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Hi, Great question! How is it those old guys (the editor and his right hand man) are showing so much love in their tastings of the 20+ year old cigars on the back page of CA while the advertising from yesteryear when per capita consumption of cigars was much higher often used signs proclaiming “Fresh Cigars”? Is it possible that some tobacco just gets better and better over the longhaul while most of the rest starts going downhill after three to five years? Seems someone who has worked in a cigar store for 30 years may know the answer. IMO the aging thing is truely an example of “smoke and mirrors”
Apologies, by CA I am referring to Cigar Aficiando..