Expert: James Yee - 3/4/2008

Question
Hello James,

It's been a while since my last question but I was wondering how I can tell if my cigars are aging well without smoking them? I know that plume is a natural occurrence and I have seen some (not much) depending on the brands in my humidors. I have been aging the cigars for just over a year now and I am wondering if there is anything I can do to check if they are in ideal conditions. Currently (thanks to you) my humidor has been sitting at 70/70 for the past 11 months or so and the cigars seem to be getting a very pleasant smell to them.

Also, I was wondering if you know when your book will be available yet? I'm still very interested in purchasing a copy when it comes out.

Thanks again,
Rich

Answer
Hi Rich,

The amount of plume that develops depends entirely on the tobacco used in the cigar.  A dark, oily cigar for example, is more likely to develop plume because there is more natural oils on the surface of a maduro wrapper as opposed to a lighter shade wrapper such as a claro cigar.

Even though some of your cigars may not have a thick coating of plume after a year, don't worry.  If you keep your humidor well maintained at 70/70, then your cigars will be aging quite nicely.  Even though there is a lack of plume visible, you can be certain that your cigars will be richer in flavour because the different types of tobacco used in the filler, binder and wrapper will blend and marry with each other the longer the cigars are aged.

Plume is indeed a natural occurence for aged cigars but if there is only a little bit of plume on your cigars after a year, it doesn't necessarily mean that your cigars aren't aging well.  Aside from plume and smoking the cigars, another good method of determining if your cigars are aging well is by aroma and if your humidor and your aged cigars give off a pleasant, rich, full-bodied (ie: heavy bouquet) cigar scent, you will know that your cigars are aging properly.  If your cigars smell light and the aroma is almost hard to detect, then your cigars will need more aging time.

I hope this answers your question. As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I'll be happy to help.

Warm regards,
James

P.S. - I'm still busy working away on my book and if all goes well, it will be out later this year.  When it's ready, I'll make an announcement on my profile page here on allexperts.com.  Thanks for your support!