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Just a quick word. My dive into the CC world is only a few months young. I have heard it said and seen it written "Let them acclimate to your humidor" "some time down will help" and so on. This is so true. It is hard not to try a smoke ROTT, and I suggest that you do so you can see where it goes at it ages. I am starting to see now just how much a little time (3-4 months) can make a big difference. I'm not talking about aging...that's different. So...in conclusion. For those that that like me, are new to this, let them rest and you'll be rewarded.

We all like to rest our newly received cigars in the humidor for at least a month or so; well at least the disciplined among us do. But when we travel (and by this I mean long distance air travel), and bring stogies, are there cigars that hold up better than others? Has anyone cracked the code on this? I keep a stock in the U.S., and another collection in my second office in Saigon, and both of these collections of resident cigars consistently taste better than any of the sticks that travel with me. However it seems to me that not all traveling stogies suffer equally. For instance I've noticed: 1. H. Upmann Petite Coronas don't travel well (at least on this route), but they're better after a couple of months resting (and still best of all in San Francisco rather than the heat and humidity of Saigon). 2. Punch Punch really suffer. 3. Sancho Panza Bellicose ('12) actually do quite well, they lose much of the sweetness, but otherwise smoke fine and never get harsh in the heat and humidity. 4. PSD4's travel better than Epi 2's. Go figure. The 2's get pretty sharp and nippy, doesn't matter if it's an '09, '12, '14 or '15 but they are just lovely at home in SF. 5. HdM Churchills really struggle with the travel. 6. Monte 4's have been great and not so great. Hard to spot a consistent trend here. 7. Punch DC ('12) do just fine from SF to NYC. Haven't exposed them to transpacific travel yet. I just haven't found consistent, durable winners. Best luck has been with the SP, R&J Churchill (only a 50% success rate though) and PSD4's. I keep trying though. What do you guys take on the road? And are there any secrets to minimize a cigar's suffering in route? Are there any types of cigar (full flavored, medium, aged, current, etc.) or Marcas that do better?

How often do you "rest" your cigars to allow them to acclimate in your home storing conditions before smoking them? Historically I let them be for two weeks before lighting up. More recently I extended it to three weeks. Some give them a month. I have at least one friend that gives them three months. I have noticed that I've had cigars that after two weeks seemed blah, but after a couple of months really opened up and turned into incredible smokes. So what say ye, fellow FOHers? How long do you put down new acquisitions before smoking them? How did you settle on that amount of time?