Expert: James Yee - 12/6/2008

Question
QUESTION: James, couple of questions; A) why is it that cigars from Cuba are by far the cigar of choice to lay down and age?
Why not some from Nicaragua or Honduras?
B)I buy 10 (lets say cuban)cigars meant for aging. They sit in my large, quality desktop humidor for 2 years. Passive humidification system. My humidor swings with temperature (65 to 75 degrees) and humidity (65 to 74%)like all desktops, back and forth all this time...are these cigars really 'aging' or are they just getting old with time.
Thanks for your reply. tom

ANSWER: Hi Tom,

To answer your questions:

A/ Cuban cigars are more popular for aging because these cigars typically have more oily wrapper leaves, are more full-bodied than non-Cuban cigars and are more stronger in flavours.  As a result, an aged Cuban cigar develops a fuller coat of plume and becomes even more richer and defined in flavours the longer it is aged.  Also, Cuban tobacco have always reacted and aged nicely which is why collectors enjoy aging premium Cuban cigars.

It is possible to age non-Cuban cigars but it is important to remember that aged cigars eventually peaks in flavour and strength after a certain number of years (on average, 10 years) and then it becomes more mellow.  Aging a mild, non-Cuban cigar with a light claro wrapper is possible but eventually, the cigar will become extremely mellow and less desirable considering the cigar was mild to begin with.  Cigar collectors enjoy aging full-bodied, dark and oily cigars because these cigars have a better potential for extremely positive aging results.  Like Cuban cigars, the best non-Cuban cigars for aging are those with dark, consistently oily wrappers and full-bodied tobacco.

B/ Cigars getting "old with time" is the same as aging.  Basically when cigars sit in a humidor for a long period of time, the filler tobacco has time to thoroughly amalgamate and this is what produces a richer flavour (which is the goal of aging cigars.)  Also, as the cigar extrudes its natural oils and it crystallizes into plume, a more defined and eventually mellow flavour develops.  This is part of the cigar aging process.  Even though your desktop humidor is still more active with temperature and humidity fluctuations, your cigars still accomplish the goal of aging and producing plume.

Hopes this answers your questions.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the quick response again. Ok, so am I understanding this correctly...as long as the environment that these cigars are stored in, is 'stable, normal and regular', not overly big up and down swings, the tobacco in good oily cigars is going to amalgamate as a natural process anyway.
Please explain plume, you reference that numerous times.
Do you mean bloom?
None of my 2 year old Upmann LE 2005 have any bloom, none. Should they develop that?
Tom  

Answer
Hi Tom,

Yes, bloom is another name for plume.  How much plume/bloom a cigar develops depends on how oily the wrapper leaves on that cigar is.  Oily cigars that have a glistening sheen are best candidates for plume.  If your Upmanns are not developing plume right now, don't worry. This is not a mandatory or immediate reaction but it is a visual sign that the cigars have been aging for a significant period of time (which cigar collectors love to see).  I have some Montecristo #4 that have very little plume even after a few years of proper storage while another and much younger box of the same cigar - in the same humidor - is rapidly developing plume after only a year.

As long as your cigars are properly stored and maintained in a proper environment, your cigars will naturally age.  Like snowflakes however, all cigars are different.  Some may take longer to develop plume and some will age more nicely than others.

Regards,
James