How Long can a Cigar Actually Last In Your Humidor? The Aging Answer is Pretty Amazing… WIN Some SWAG Too!

It’s a great question, right? How long can a hand rolled premium cigar actually last in what you would consider “smoking condition”? Well, there are a bunch of variables here and it’s not a simple answer like “5 years” or “ten years”. But it’s a great question that’s worth taking a look at.

The very first thing you NEED to have if you want to keep cigars around for a longer period of time is a really good humidor with a nice seal. No matter how long you plan on aging them for, they HAVE TO stay in the right humidity and temperature. If they completely dry out, you’ve basically lost them. If they get too moist, you can bring them back down but beware of beetles or mold.

The one thing you should consider for longer term aging is doing it with stronger, heavier, full-bodied smokes. Why? Well, after a few years or so of aging, most cigars will lose their power. They will get smoother and flavorful as all hell, but they will begin to lose their strength. I’m personally not a big fan of Opus X, but when I aged a bunch for over 5 years they were amazing to smoke – complex and much more refined. Recently I found a few LFD’s in one of my humidors that were around 7 years old. They were still strong as hell but turned very complex and I enjoyed the heck out of ‘em!

Now you really shouldn’t try to age medium to milder bodied cigars because they will lose a lot of their strength and even taste, so stick to fuller bodied cigars. And when aging, you really should separate them in either boxes or cedar or dividers and keep the same cigars with each other. While some people don’t believe that keeping different cigars together will marry the tobaccos, I just don’t want to take that chance when putting them with each other for a long period of time.

There are some present-day cigar makers who sell full bodied smokes. A couple of them aged a certain harvest 4-6 months longer than prior and customers told them they lost their pop. I’m talking about a few completely different brands that aged them just a tad longer and they lost their mojo. That’s kind of interesting as all hell, isn’t it.

So, let’s get back to wondering how long a cigar can actually last. A few years ago, my buddy Sal owned a cigar shop. Sal loved unusual smokes and came across a sale of several boxes of Cuban Cigars that were being auctioned. The best part was the paperwork from the Cuban government that was sworn, signed and sealed that the cigars were 60 years old each. It was a brand that hadn’t been made in decades that was kept in the original factory for all of that time, and my buddy just had to have them. Well, he won the auction for a hell of a lot of money. He sold one box of cigars for $200 for each cigar and they went in 2 days, but he kept the other box for himself. So, were they good? He swears to this day they were the most flavorful cigars he’s ever smoked. Originally, they were a heavy blend, but they ended being medium bodied upon smoking. 60 years will do that to you.

Properly maintained cigars that my friend bought lasted over 6 decades and smoked absolutely amazing. So, depending on the quality of the cigars and the condition you keep them in, they can last one hell of a long time. Let me know in the comments section below what you think!

THIS MONTH’S SWEEPSTAKES GIVEAWAY!

This month, cigar maker Alec Bradley is giving away 3 amazing prizes worth $205 in value!

3 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS will be chosen to WIN the following…

Alec Bradley Burner Lighter – $49.99 in value

Alec Bradley Firkin Humidor – $74.95 in value

Alec Bradley MEGA Burner Lighter $79.99 in value

It’s running ‘til the end of the month and all you’ve got to do is put your email address in the form and you are officially in the running!

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Aging Cigar Tobacco: See The 3 Step Process That is Simply Amazing – and Win Some Killer Swag Here! Are Hand Rolled Cigars Healthy? Few Consumable Products on Earth Are as Pure & Natural – WIN Cool Swag! Is It IMPORTANT to Rotate Your Humidor Cigars? Answer: YES… & NO? Lemme Explain – & WIN Some SWAG Here! How Many New & Different Cigar Blends Can Be Created? The Answer is Mind Blowing – Contest Winners Announced!