I picked up a few 5-ers to try different brands. New to Cigars and dont have a "go to" yet or even really know what I prefer
as far as Wrapper, Filler, Binder, Body. Only thing I am certain of is shape: Robusto.

Ramon Bueso-Genesis the Project.
5 Vegas - Gold
RP - Catch 22
Diesel - Unholy Cocktail
Foundry- Chillin Moose
Ave Maria - Argentum
MUWAT - Baitfish

Reading the Forum I know the AJ's need to be put aside and forgotten for a while...

Any advice on the others?

Thanks.

IMNSHO, nothing on that list will benefit from aging...

But that's just me...

I would say Diesel is a brand that strikes me as one to put aside for awhile, but then again I am not sure if AJ is still the producer of that label. The rest I wouldn't know much about. There is a thread that got topped recently on the Genesis the Project and the quality of them going south.

The Argentum sounds like a candidate to age but that is because when I see broadleaf maduro I instantly think of Tat Reservas and they age well.

Best way to go about it is to try one rott and then every few months honestly to tell what will happen.

I agree with salmon. They might get a little better but would take years.

However, the Baitfish are my favorite short smoke. They wouldn’t make it long in my humidor anyways. They are usually good straight out of the store, if they were humidified correctly. If not, give them a couple weeks in your humidor and then smoke those babies up.

David

x2

I miss the days of sub $2 BaitFish.

Aside from the Unholy Cocktail and the Muwats the rest of your stash are yar gars- smoke them whenever you like. It is a good idea to let any cigar rest in a humidor for at least a week.

If you like Robustos, try Toros too. My pal jokingly calls the Toro the "Robusto Extra". It's basically a Robusto with 1 extra inch of length added. As he rightfully points out, regardless of cigar length, you lose about 1 inch at the head because you have to hold the cigar, and even if you use a clip or nail, the last inch is often too hot and bitter anyway. Therefore, the shorter the cigar, the biggest a loss that last inch is, percentage-wise:

Robusto: that unsmokeable inch is a 20% loss.
Toro: that unsmokeable inch is a 16.7% loss.
Churchill: that unsmokeable inch is a 14.3% loss.
8-inch vitolas: that unsmokeable inch is a 12.5% loss.

You lose less of the overall length of the cigar with a Toro than with a Robusto.

As for your mentioned cigars:

Ramon Bueso-Genesis the Project - These improve with a few years, but not as much as other stuff such as AJ's cigars.

5 Vegas - Gold - No apparent improvements regardless of aging time. Remember, mild cigars typically don't age well, and don't improve.

Diesel - Unholy Cocktail - These are by AJ and get much better with age, losing all bitterness and a little strength but gaining much complexity. Note, I got all mine years ago, AJ may not make them anymore, this is unclear.

Ave Maria - Argentum - These are also supposedly by AJ, or at least were when I got mine (who knows today though?). I got a batch of them in 2016 (Morningstar vitola) and at the time they were frankly rather crappy, but instead of returning them, I knew to sit on them instead. Thankfully they are JUST NOW starting to taste halfway-decent, in early 2019. Maybe by 2021 they'll be really good, so I'm sitting on the rest for a few more years. Age the hell out of them, I'd say! Or, don't bother and get something that doesn't need so damned much age to get good.

MUWAT Baitfish - I have a lot of this vitola's brother, the Nightcrawler, from back when "the mothership" had a BOGO-plus-Bucks-card deal that made each brown paper 10-pack net out to about $12 each (I know, right? I ordered a large quantity!). If I remember right though, that was early or mid-2018, less than a year ago, so I have no real data on significant aging. Try the Nightcrawler vitola though, same blend as Baitfish but a bit larger (4.5x50 Rothschild size) and longer-lasting, created when people kept pestering Drew for a "bigger baitfish, please!" because while delicious, they didn't last long enough. They're considered by many including myself to the best MUWAT vitola of the entire line.


Heavy in the affirmative!
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But should you age cellos on or off???

🐴

Thanks for all the good info. I may get this figured out eventually.

You actually covered that in my n00b intro post..

You recommended off for aging and on for smoking.....

[sarcasm]

I've had them roasted and pan-fried, but I never tried to smoke one...:-k

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Oh, I forgot to mention: although I don't have much personal experience aging MUWATs yet, I've heard people use the nickname "MU-WAIT" for them, because supposedly you have to age them a pretty good amount of time to maximize their flavor potential.

I can tell you that the 9-10 months of age on my Nightcrawlers have indeed helped them noticeably, but I suspect more age will help even more.

Hope that helps!
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So guys,

What is yall's go to, everyday, no special occasion stick?

Start throwing suggestions out.

I would like to hear the ones yall are smokin.

Just smoke what you got. Then smoke some more. I wouldn't worry about aging cigars at the moment. Figure out what you like and don't like.

I was at a cigar event once and Hamlet Paredes (of Rocky Patel) was Rollin fresh cigars and some one asked him a question about aging specific cigars. He said if you age a chit cigar it's still going to be a chit cigar.
Now what is chit to some one might be great to another but it's something to keep in mind.

Also if your looking for suggestions, try La Aurora.
They can be found here as well as other places for a good price.
They make cheaper cigars as well as more expensive cigars but every one I've had from them has been worth it.
They've also been around for 100 something years so they know what they're doing.

My favorite/go to brand is La Flor Dominicana
They're more mid range and up for pricing.
Also a majority of their smokes are stronger and full bodied but are very, very consistent and equally as good.
I've rarely been let down by them.

Heh heh.....smoking a 5 year old Air Bender Matatan while I’m typing this........very good.
I was lucky to get the box, given the fact that Whistle was buying literally every LFD for sale back then...
[ram27bat]

Gregticklememore I would suggest for fresh cigars try an Opus X #4 and an LFD Chisilitto maduro as great fresh cigars for the morning.

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Greggilmore99, you say you're new to cigars, so you may not have experienced this yet, but don't be surprised if you do: Some cigar guys get absolutely nothing out of highly-respected brands that many other cigar guys love and gush about.

For instance, I find Fuentes and Ashtons (which are made by Fuente, if I remember right) to be pretty bland and flavorless, ditto almost all Davidoffs (except stuff like their Nicaraguan lines). Several of my cigar buddies agree that they taste like hot air, and little else.

Many other cigar guys love these brands and consider them full of flavor and excellent.

Palates vary wildly, and there is no right or wrong, just apparently a lot of anatomical differences between people. If you dislike a cigar lots of other people fervently love, it doesn't mean you're weird or wrong. Keep that in mind.
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Thanks,

All helpful advice.