Lefty

As to the rest your heading the right way as you know what you DON'T like that's a good thing. But. That may change. I say stay open minded and don't be afraid to try any cigar. Its part of the fun!

....very good. And age naked. Not you, your cigars. Results are much quicker. 4 weeks makes a big difference, then another 3-4 months to stabilize, mellow, and by the time a year rolls around you can have a completely different cigar. Just started doing this in April, and the smokes I am pulling out now from May and June are MUCH BETTER.

I would put forth arguments about this point, but I'm too lazy right now, lol. Suffice it to say this:

Faster aging does not necessarily mean better aging.

Example: bout 10 years ago I boutght several boxes of Jose Marti in these wooden tubes. Thought they outright sucked azz. Gave away most of them but kept 1 box for **** and giggles. Smoked one a couple weeks ago and could kick myself. They've got probably 15 + yrs on em now...

Now when I buy boxes, I put half away in 1 yr increments, 2 each yr, for 5 yrs just to see what happens.

Maybe this should have been under the Cigar Quirks thread.. 😰

I am not part of the uncelloed crowd, and I also have seen some cigars don't age well, while others do. Some of those curl your toes cigars will with time, turn into solid rich, flavor filled cigars without the harsh notes.

This.

By far best bit of info for noob agers (myself included.) There is a certain 'harshness' that you begin to recognize that has the potential to really smooth out with age.

I move my cigars around way too much before smoking them -- those with cello stay with cello -- many without get bagged. I use boxes and trays and bags, but still, I've got cigars that I've been moving around humis and coolers for 5-6 years and if they didn't have cello, they'd be a real mess. It's only the cc's that don't, and I keep those in their boxes and am more careful handling them.

+1

Just because you age them doesn't mean they will necesarily get better either. Sometimes they lose too much flavor, sometimes you just prefer something with more pepper, kick, etc., and sometimes you age a **** cigar and it's still ****, as it should be, lol.

For example I have a box of '08 Illusione MK's that are amazing and some '11 Mk's that are amazing, but very different cigars for different occasions. '08s are way more mellow and '11s have a nice spice to them.

If you take off the cello to age them then you don't end up with yellow cello...........:-"

Cigar manufacturers advertise the number of years the leafs has been aged, not since the cigars have been rolled.

Cigars are made from many different strains and/or different regional tobacco. After the tobacco is rolled together, time is needed for the leafs to exchange oils, minerals, and other organic compounds to make the final flavor profile. The time needed for aging varies dramatically. Some are ready out of the box, like Padrons, and other need many years like Cubans. Some others will not age well.

Aging will mellow down harshness, if the cigar is made of good tobacco, but peppers will remain.

Palates do not mature. Psychology and memory plays a roll in this.