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09-26-2014, 11:02 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-26-2014, 11:06 PM by Maduro Dan.)
I recently bought some "vintage" cigars from JR. They were 1989 (I think) vintage Ramon Allones Size 4s and I noticed the same thing about them. When I cut the foot with a perfect cutter, I noted that the outer (aprox.) 1/16" of the cigar was hard and the wrapper seemed to be overly dry. The cigar was firm and would not compress without breaking the wrapper. It rebounded completely from a gentle squeeze. The core of tobacco in the cigar was more moist, but not by much. When I lit one, I was VERY pleased. They smoked like a dream. No tunneling. No relights. Razor sharp burn line. The only thing that you MIGHT consider a flaw was that the burn line was a bit wavy, but that in no way affected the way the cigar burned.
The ash was not striated, rather was one solid plug and was light grey in color with no variation. And the flavor .... mmmmm!!! These cigars are undoubtedly some of the best I've EVER smoked. And ... the price was right at about $5 per stick. I suspect that the same will be true of yours, but I'm not really the expert. I've been smoking cigars for about 40 years yet I only have this one experience with an aged cigar, which is a shame.
I do not know at what temp/RH that JR stores their cigars, but I intend to call them and ask. If they decide to share that information with me, I'll share it with you. Meantime, I saw some good advice. Just set one on fire for S&G. You be the judge. I know you don't want to waste a stick especially if there is something that you can do, but my experience was good.
It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out, it's the pebble in your shoe." [Muhammad Ali]
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No doubt. It smoked very well. A bit milder than I remember, but a delicious smoke nonetheless.
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I have an Opus X that I am saving for a special occassion. It has aged about 7 years now. Humidor has been at a good setting so I'm not worried about it. Is there a point were "aging" a cigar will make it go bad even in a good environment?
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Good question and so many factors involved with that decision. One is your palate and humidor. Many premium cigars will benefit with some extra time in the humidor. But that's normal.
They say Cubans are good aging stogie (just a nice mild smoke). Some strong flavor cigars might lose some of their strength.
I guess is done for various reasons I age mine because I have too many to smoke.
The benefits from aging cigars will vary from stogie to stogie and will have various ranges from considerable to very little difference in taste.
Most cigars are already aged before you buy them. As they sit in your humidor and get together with your other stogies, the flavors that were once so clear may be more difficult to pick up because they have mellowed and blended.
Of course many experts have a seperate humidor for aging so the answer really varies.
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Just smoke it now ..... I smoked this 7 yr old while walking the dogs cos you don't know what's around the corner
The 2 most important days of your life are: The day you were born & the day you find out why
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I had a 10+ year old Opus that I was saving for a special occasion. I said "had" because I smoked it last week. Similar to what Parkster said...I smoked it because if you keep waiting for a special occasion, you might never get to enjoy it when it does come.
BTW...the cigar was covered in plume & was delicious!
If Sonny had EZ-Pass, he'd have survived that hit...
Never apologize mister, it's a sign of weakness. - Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
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I like Opus fresh, or aged for about 4-5 years. They can get pretty sublime if you're patient. I no longer keep a humidor, so I just smoke them when I get them.
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I found a 2006 Forbidden X while moving my main humi to my buddies house for a while. Covered in plume .... its his 50th in a couple of weeks and we have a 30 yr old whisky to drink in celebration so the opus will get torched then ... his smoke will be from one of 3 cigars gifted to us during our 2006 visit to NY for his 40th ... watch this space.
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The 2 most important days of your life are: The day you were born & the day you find out why
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(08-14-2016, 05:11 AM)Parkster Wrote: I found a 2006 Forbidden X while moving my main humi to my buddies house for a while. Covered in plume .... its his 50th in a couple of weeks and we have a 30 yr old whisky to drink in celebration so the opus will get torched then ... his smoke will be from one of 3 cigars gifted to us during our 2006 visit to NY for his 40th ... watch this space.
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Dave, I'm thinking of a World Wide Stogiechat Virtual Herf!
Maybe real time on the Stogiechat Facebook group
Let me know what day & time you'll be smoking...I have a 2004 Don Carlito God of Fire and a 2005 Opus X in the tube, a gift from LZ6
I don't have a 30 yr old whisky, but maybe a 12 or 18 yr old will do
If Sonny had EZ-Pass, he'd have survived that hit...
Never apologize mister, it's a sign of weakness. - Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
