Resting

[CentralTimeSmoke]

" Smoke what you like and store them so that they smoke good for you."
Clear & Concise.
Perfect.

I like that, too!

Lots of great answers here. Of course, it all comes down to personal preference. Some guys prefer cigars right off the B&M shelves. I’ll never understand it, as I personally see the patrons opening and closing that damn door 20 times an hour and I know there’s no telling what RH they’re at. 60 in the winter? 80 in the summer? But I truly don’t judge. It’s silly to tell someone who’s clearly enjoying a cigar, “excuse me, you could ACTUALLY be enjoying that cigar a lot more with 3 months rest.” To them, it’s perfect. So whatever floats your boat.

I’m also fully onboard with the fact that there’s such thing as too much rest, and every cigar is different. If I buy a box of something, I smoke them in intervals and hit it pretty hard when I they start to come out of their shell. That could be six months or two years. I bought some Espinosa Habanos off a FB marketplace with four years rest and they tasted like stale popcorn.

Thanks for entertaining me, bums!

[jhedrick83]

Everyone rests for me. I typically won't touch anything that hasn't chilled in my humidor for about 3 months. Some of that is to help it acclimate some of that is personal preference. I get to enjoy a cigar so infrequently, I don't want to light one up only to find it harsh or a wonky burner. I will say that some of the resting can be manufacturer dependent. For example, I'm sure Mr. Saka, Fuente, etc. use well aged leaf for their blends. Not everyone does that. At least from my experience buying fresh rolled cigars from small shops with a roller, there's a post roll sick period that comes up not too long after rolling. I'm sure there are a lot of manufacturers that don't re-rest post roll to ensure that they ship a product that has past this stage. Holding inventory is a costly proposition.

As Tony said, do whatever the hell you enjoy! The only wrong way to smoke a cigar is to not smoke it!

[CentralTimeSmoke]

I will say that some of the resting can be manufacturer dependent. For example, I'm sure Mr. Saka, Fuente, etc. use well aged leaf for their blends.

Totally agree, and I think it's important to note that Saka was speaking only of his brand when he responded to that person. And to his credit, I've had several of Saka's cigars off the shelf at B&Ms and they've always been great.

[TheMurph]

When I started I didn’t know any better to let them rest. 99% of what I had was from online. ROTT was basically all I did and really didn’t get the whole cigar thing as far as the enjoyment and relaxation because I was fighting flavor and burn issues. After actually reading forums and asking questions I have since educated myself to have a stash of cigars that smoke to my liking. I know a lot of people who smoke ROTT quite frequently and enjoy them, for me not so much. I have over the years been able to have enough cigars that I smoke them with about 6 months minimum rest and acclimated to my preferences. The longest I will keep them is about 3 years as that is the sweet spot for me on most of them. Of course there are always exceptions as cigars are finicky things....

[CentralTimeSmoke]

I have over the years been able to have enough cigars that I smoke them with about 6 months minimum rest and acclimated to my preferences. The longest I will keep them is about 3 years as that is the sweet spot for me on most of them

Yup. This is pretty close to my philosophy.

[Bruck]

I'm kind of impatient - I like to light the first one off of the exhaust manifold of the truck that delivered it

But to get the most out of my average cigarbid cheapies, I've found that 3 to 6 months of convalescence is best. I used to keep detailed records but gave that up - now I just toss them in the humi and smoke them whenever. I do still keep detailed pedigrees for my Brohibas.

[Old Smokey]

I don't smoke frequently, so most of mine have had plenty of time to fully acclimate in my wineador. I do usually notice they smoke and taste better when given a rest period. But the last cigar I smoked had only been sitting for about a week and it was very good. That tells me they should be even better when I get around to smoking another one.
As far as Saka goes, he makes money when people readily buy and smoke his cigars. So his response seems like a logical response to advance his agenda.

[SoCal gunner]

All good answers in here.

I think part of it depends on the manufacturer and the source as well. I'm more comfortable smoking something like an EZ release with just a short acclimation period than I am from one of the major bulk suppliers that store and ship very wet.

[Scott W.]

All good answers in here.

I think part of it depends on the manufacturer and the source as well. I'm more comfortable smoking something like an EZ release with just a short acclimation period than I am from one of the major bulk suppliers that store and ship very wet.

Here’s a review of it when I smoked it in 2011:


OK, so my 35th birthday was on Friday (5/27) and I had been gifted an El Producto cigar from 1926 by a friend (Thanks Nate!). Anyhow, I was going to save it for my 50th birthday but when Harold Camping assured us that the new end of the world would be October 21st 2011, I figured I'd smoke it on my 35th b-day and the cigar would be 85 at that point.

First, this is a machine rolled cigar and probably manufactured in Fl. The stick tastes like marvelous old cban tobacco (lots of upfront twang but a short finish). Not sure if the tobacco came from Cuba and it was made in the US but it was cello'ed which makes me believe this was not made in Cuba, I only know of a few that were cello'ed although I believe the tobacco to be Cuban.

The cello is almost brown on this thing and as I peel it back, the guys at the cigar shop are staring at me like I have a ***k growing out of my forehead. One that was done, I gave her a small clip and toasted up the end.




The smoke was light bodied but full volume. Lots of smoke and a hay/musty flavor mixed with a twanginess that made me believe I was smoking the leaf of Havana (I have nothing to compare it to, it just was). The burn was great and the smoke was so mellow, I could retrohale an entire drag with no effect whatsoever and almost wondering if I took in any smoke at all.


All in all, the flavors intesified a little bit but in the end, this was a mild mellow smoke and it should have been for it's age. I am glad to have had this experience and to share it with you. Yes I nubbed the thing the burn,flavor and experience was all very gratifying.

[SoCal gunner]

Here’s a review of it when I smoked it in 2011:


OK, so my 35th birthday was on Friday (5/27) and I had been gifted an El Producto cigar from 1926 by a friend (Thanks Nate!). Anyhow, I was going to save it for my 50th birthday but when Harold Camping assured us that the new end of the world would be October 21st 2011, I figured I'd smoke it on my 35th b-day and the cigar would be 85 at that point.

First, this is a machine rolled cigar and probably manufactured in Fl. The stick tastes like marvelous old cban tobacco (lots of upfront twang but a short finish). Not sure if the tobacco came from Cuba and it was made in the US but it was cello'ed which makes me believe this was not made in Cuba, I only know of a few that were cello'ed although I believe the tobacco to be Cuban.

The cello is almost brown on this thing and as I peel it back, the guys at the cigar shop are staring at me like I have a ***k growing out of my forehead. One that was done, I gave her a small clip and toasted up the end.




The smoke was light bodied but full volume. Lots of smoke and a hay/musty flavor mixed with a twanginess that made me believe I was smoking the leaf of Havana (I have nothing to compare it to, it just was). The burn was great and the smoke was so mellow, I could retrohale an entire drag with no effect whatsoever and almost wondering if I took in any smoke at all.


All in all, the flavors intesified a little bit but in the end, this was a mild mellow smoke and it should have been for it's age. I am glad to have had this experience and to share it with you. Yes I nubbed the thing the burn,flavor and experience was all very gratifying.

No way! Mine is "Only" 22 years old. I keep holding on to it waiting for the right time to smoke it. I wont be around long enough for it to hit 85yrs!