Young & Wild, or Aged & Smooth - Which do you prefer?

[Philc2001]

I know, this will be wildly subjective, but I'm curious since my aged stock is getting depleted. 

Tell us what smokes you prefer at sub 24 months old, and which smokes you ALWAYS defer to a minimum 24 months of box age. Give specific box codes if its not too much trouble.

For me; SUB 24 MONTHS: Montecristo No. 1 (BUM ABR 15), Montecristo No. 5 (MUL OCT 14), PL Montecarlo (EML JUN 15), and Cuaba Divinos (TOS JUN 16) have been quite good at sub 24 months, though I hope they continue to improve if I can keep my hands off them to let them age - NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

Cigars I will seldom touch young, requiring a MINIMUM OF 24 MONTHS of age are most Partagas, but especially the 8-9-8 Varnished (LAU JUN 16) and Lusitanias (no rececnt acquisitions). There is something magical that happens with these vitolas as they cross into the 4-5 year range. From my experience, Lusis continue to develop well past 10 and even 15 years.

Recent stock that I think needs more time is JL Seleccion #2 (SEA ABR 16), and RyJ Cazadores (ORG MAR 16) - though I never bought them before so I don't know how long they actually need. The Cazadores seems very flavorful, but a bit wild and inconsistent, so I think another 6-12 months would settle them down. The JL were consistent but very one-dimensional, straight and simple solid tobacco core. It seems to me the JL will open up and evolve a little over time.

 

[El Hoze]

I am fairly inexperienced compared to the crew here but I am sitting here realizing now that Lusitanias is a cigar I am loving on the more fresh side. I have some really old ones that are super good, box by box as I have some old ones that are so-so. But I have had a ton of Lusis young that are great. Cohiba robustos I find to be a cigar on the other extreme, that off the truck can be so-so, especially into the last 1/3, but needs at least a year or three.

Most of the time, though, what I enjoy most is smoking a box (or better a 50 cab) throughout it's life. Same with wine. Even the younger guys I smoke/drink just to see. That's why you need to buy large quantities!

[JohnS]

For me (currently, at the moment)...

SUB 24 MONTHS:

San Cristobal de La Habana El Principe EML Abr 15

Partagas Shorts PMS Feb 15

H.Upmann Half Corona TOS Jun 16

Montecristo No.2 OPG Jun 15

Cuaba Divinos TOS Mar 16

MINIMUM OF 24 MONTHS:

Cohiba Siglo II BTO Dic 12

Cohiba Piramides Extra ULA Dic 13

Montecristo No.5 AUM Jul 14

Por Larranaga Petit Coronas GMA Mar 14

Partagas Serie D No.4 OPA Mar 10

 

[boilers183]

I don't have box codes, but in general:

Sub 24: Lusi, Epi 2, Juan Lopez 1 and 2, PSP2

24+: anything Montecristo, PSD4, H Upmann 2, Dip 2, Partagas 898, Punch Punch

[dominattorney]

Likewise, no box codes but young, love hu mag 46, monte 4, boli cj, partagas d4.  

More than 24 months, monte especial and especial no 2 jump to mind. These really shine for me at 4 or 5 years. Never had an older one but imagine they just get better. Also, partagas Solomon 24 months plus. 

[Philc2001]

Curious what the consensus might be on Juan Lopez JLS2 and JLS1. I'm new to the marca, and recently acquired some of both vitolas from our host on 24:24.

I tried the JLS2 (SEA ABR 16) a couple of weeks ago after 2 months acclimating in my humidor, and it was just OK, not very impressive. The flavor was fairly pronounced, but really it was just straight forward tobacco flavor, very one-dimensional - nothing I would go out of my way to smoke. Does it get any better with more time, or is this as good as it gets?

I haven't tried the JLS1 (OPS DIC 15) yet, which is a format I prefer over the JLS2. But based on the experience with the JLS2 I'm curious if it is very similar to the JLS2, and whether the consensus is to rest them longer.

[ErikB]

I like a minimum of two years , even then it can be wild


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[rhcolbert]

Cigars? By the title I thought something else and was going to go with aged and wild ?

 

[Philc2001]

1 hour ago, rhcolbert said:

Cigars? By the title I thought something else and was going to go with aged and wild ?

 

You fell for the trap! LOL 

[rhcolbert]

46 minutes ago, Philc2001 said:

You fell for the trap! LOL 

I fell for the aged and wild trap twice.  Did not come out unscathed ??

[planetary]

On 4/2/2017 at 2:56 PM, JohnS said:

Cohiba Piramides Extra ULA Dic 13

I've had only a couple of these (ULA AUG 14, in my case), but I've been so impressed with them, I have to call this out and agree.  This cigar was magnificent at 2 years of age, and also screamed with aging potential.  I am doing my level best to keep my remaining stock on lock-down until they reach 5 years.  But it is difficult.

Overall, I'm absolutely in the "aged and smooth" camp.  No question.

[Dave001]

 

On ‎4‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 6:51 PM, dominattorney said:

Likewise, no box codes but young, love hu mag 46, monte 4, boli cj, partagas d4.  

More than 24 months, monte especial and especial no 2 jump to mind. These really shine for me at 4 or 5 years. Never had an older one but imagine they just get better. Also, partagas Solomon 24 months plus. 

definitely the case with my favorite cigar of all time the monte especial no 1 and 2 I have 40 year old samples that are pure bliss

for me its all about at least 5+ years on every cigar I just love the mellow tastes that change over time specially in the ryj's, glorias and qdo's to name a few

[Philc2001]

On 4/2/2017 at 9:44 PM, boilers183 said:

I don't have box codes, but in general:

Sub 24: Lusi, Epi 2, Juan Lopez 1 and 2, PSP2

24+: anything Montecristo, PSD4, H Upmann 2, Dip 2, Partagas 898, Punch Punch

There is a couple of opposing observations here that really made me wonder. For me Lusis have always needed a long rest for several years, but it seems you're having some success with new stock.  Your observation on Montecristo is curious to me because lately I'm finding new arrivals of Montecristo to be more approachable than ever, and I'm loving the Monte #1, #5 and Esp. #2 with sub 24 months age. 

I find your observation on JL intriguing since I found the JLS2 to be very unrefined at 1 year of box age. But I'm new to this marca, so I have no prior experience with it. 

Is it merely a case of different tastes, or is it really variation in the product that puts our tastes on opposing sides? 

[Boss Hog]

Aged and smooth camp here as well.

[BellevilleMXZ]

Easy for me......everything I have is under 24 mnths!     Working on getting stock set up.......that said the MC #2 right now i'm enjoying is very good. Next time i'm up in Toronto at the LCDH I'm going to try and find a few aged sticks of some I like and compare. SO MUCH great info on this forum , slowly learning.

[boilers183]

15 hours ago, Philc2001 said:

There is a couple of opposing observations here that really made me wonder. For me Lusis have always needed a long rest for several years, but it seems you're having some success with new stock.  Your observation on Montecristo is curious to me because lately I'm finding new arrivals of Montecristo to be more approachable than ever, and I'm loving the Monte #1, #5 and Esp. #2 with sub 24 months age. 

I find your observation on JL intriguing since I found the JLS2 to be very unrefined at 1 year of box age. But I'm new to this marca, so I have no prior experience with it. 

Is it merely a case of different tastes, or is it really variation in the product that puts our tastes on opposing sides? 

I am not sure... all of the boxes I listed were 2 or 3 years old. Lusis and Juan lopez are all from 2015. I haven't had an aged Lusi, so that could change my opinion. I have some PSP Monte 2 and HQ no. 4 from 2014 that are just now becoming smokable. In all fairness, monte isn't my favorite marca. 

 

I imagine it is a difference in tastes, as JL, partagas, and upmann are my favorite smokes. I like almost all of those rott. 

[Philc2001]

1 hour ago, boilers183 said:

I imagine it is a difference in tastes, as JL, partagas, and upmann are my favorite smokes. I like almost all of those rott. 

True that^^

[RijkdeGooier]

Well .... anything under 5 years stay away for me. 

 

[oliverdst]

When I was younger I would go all the way young and wild. As I get older I started choosing aged and smooth.

About cigars I dont know.

[Philc2001]

When I was younger I would go all the way young and wild. As I get older I started choosing aged and smooth.

About cigars I dont know.

Didn't we all ?


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[subport]

Uff difficult one. When I was younger I liked the older, experienced (means mine+ 2-10yrs range) Had to learn I guess. As I got little older I looked back for the younger ones. Wanted to teach I guess. Now somewhat in the mid range with experience but not well done, hahaha. I want to give and take and enjoy I guess. Don't know the future but I am a happy man. 

Now the cigars. Even more difficult. I like a lot of cigars young and fresh and wild. Few I can't stand though: plpc under 2, mag 50 under 1 rather 2,  coro under 3-4 from older batches however the newer ones are much more approachable sooner. Like to give 2yrs for  party 8-9-8.

On the flip side I have psd4 boxes from10,11,12... and to be honest I enjoy a lot more the fresh ones. (15,16)

Never had aged 5+ JL but I absolutely love the 14-15-16 s1 and s2 too. 

I have never bought any cigar to age. It has just happened as I didn't smoke as much as I bought. 

Like them either way, still wanna smoke more young ones these days. When I got a punch of this and that what is clearly possible to name. While the aged stuff...everything is smooth and merged together. Difficult to pick and name one flavour cuz everything is there but all together...

 

[Philc2001]

Kind of a mix of American Pie and Forrest Gump!