What changes do you look for as a cigar ages?

lots of holes and mold!! If they have either you're doing something right...

but seriously... some will acquire bloom on the wrapper, it will appear as a white powder that dusts the outside of the cigar. The best way to tell if it's aged enough is to smoke it...

In the little experience I have had, mostly by accident (since I used to smoke boxes/bundles up quickly), is that some cigars improve dramatically with age. I had a couple of inexpensive bundles which, were almost unsmokable when I first got them, and then developed into some of the most flavorful cigars I have smoked after about 1 year of aging.

I would like to throw another cigar aging question out. Do you take the cigars out of the cellophane wrappers when they rest in the Humidor?

While you're waiting from someone to field your last pitch, check the "on deck" circle (i.e., the message area "SEARCH" finction) for your subject. You'll find it's be covered before.

so many times....

i'll bet meanie can answer the cello question...

moreno everything I have read about the cello thing boils down to entirely the choice of the smoker. Altho, when you store different cigars that in the same humidor then the cello will slow the marrying of different cigars. Dont mind the others they forgot that they didnt know the answer at one time or maybe it is just to hide the fact they still dont know the answer. LOL Anyways I have taken dumps smarter than some of these guys(gals).

Thems some pretty smart poops.

i once asked a "dump" the cello question and it didn't answer back, so i guess it was a dumb sh*t...

The original question pertaining to aging of cigars is a pertinent question, which has been answered. Oils in the tobacco are released, which will show on the wrapper and eventually "bloom" will be created, which is the crystalization of these oils. And in many cases, not all, tobacco taste improves with age.

Now on to cello. If you were to ingest the cellos, your **** would come in a nice little package.

I am back from taking the advice of mhollow, and searched the cello question.

I almost didn't come back, afraid of the answers I would find.

Thanks for your patience cigarsmoke

Although I usually can't wait for a certain cigar to age, I try to get at least several months on any cigar I want to smoke as aging dramatically increases the taste even for the higher priced premiums (which are good right out of the box). I can attest to the "bloom" or "ploom" (I've seen both but not sure which is correct) on many cigars and recently received a nice Felipe Gregorio from Mean that was literally covered in the crystallized oils that migrated through to the wrapper. I took some pics of it and will be uploading soon to the pic post. The pic will not do the cigar justice but that little gem appeared as if sugar was poured all over it. Nice smoke Mean; thanks again.

Ummm. Can you send that one back?

.... and all this time I've been wiping that sh*t off of my cigars .... who knew ....

Sometimes you will get some cigars that are too "young" in that they have not had enough aging time. They will burn uneven, not stay lit and taste harsh because there is still too much moisture in the leaves. Aging for a period of time can vastly improve the smokeablity of one of these smokes. Also, aging will bring out the oils in the wrapper and if you like an oily cigar aging can be a big help. Just giving the tobaccos a chance to mix and share flavors for a while is always a good idea. Hope this helps.

...you can get into real trouble transporting under-age cigars across state lines.

..especially if you remove their cello and lick them from end to end.

I personally age my smokes w/o cello and keep them physically separated in my humi's.. I understand that flavors, etc can mingle but at least they are not touching each other.. idea.. for those of you that like the cello but are questioning your decision why not "un-seal" the cello at the "sealed end" cut them off flush to the cigar end and make sure the cello is lose around the cigar.. this would kind of give your cigars some "air" and also let you keep the postitive attributes of keeping the cello on... whatchathink??

Sounds like a cello circumcision to me, Hmmmmmmmmm, have to think about that.