|
must make sure that the tobacco is rolled into good cigars. Obviously, if you're going to invest the time and energy to age cigars, you'll want to insure that they will be smokable when the time comes. Finding a well-constructed cigar is important. A cigar which is too loosely rolled may lose all of its flavor by the time you have aged it, while a cigar which is too tightly rolled may crack its wrapper with changes in temperature and humidity. The size of the cigar is also important. The larger the ring gauge, the greater the variety of tobacco leaves and hence, the more complex the final flavor of the aged cigar will be. Further, the insides of larger cigars tend to be somewhat shielded from the outside environment, less apt to be affected by fluctuations in humidity and temperature (hence, the "cone" of ash produced in young cigars that are rapidly loosing their moisture content). This added stability that larger cigars provide is highly desirable for long-term aging.
Probably a good 50%, if not more, of a cigar's flavor is determined by its wrapper, making this something you'll want to focus on when you're picking out your cigars. As we mentioned earlier, it is the oils and aromatic compounds that provide the cigar with much of its flavor. The amount of oil in a cigar is revealed by the presence of small oil spots, as well as translucency of coloration and the presence of variegation and mottling (these occur in the body of the leaf and are not to be confused with bruising, which occurs along veins and indicates damage caused by the crushing of leaves, or with the small, white "sunspots" which are relatively harmless). Aromatic compounds impart a yellow to reddish tint to things, turning the otherwise pale brown cigar wrapper a deeper shade of reddish brown. Hence, a darker colored cigar may be more appropriate for aging. Don't be confused by "maduro" cigars, whose dark coloration and distinctively strong, sweet flavor is produced by a process of artificial aging. While these cigars have found a place in many people's hearts, they will not benefit from aging. While the inner filler and binder will age nicely, the wrapper of these cigars has been "fixed" -- essentially killed, as far as aging is concerned. The same is true of other "cured" cigars from Brazil, the Philippines, etc. You may also note that most cured cigars are not kept humidified, for this very reason. Letting a cigar dry out also serves to "fix" its flavor, by causing dehydration and oxidation, leading to polymerization and chemical decomposition, which precludes further aging from occurring. This brings us to the important topic of #2: "where 'ya keep 'em" -- that is the | environment of the aging cigars. Everyone has probably guessed, based on the presence of walk-in humidors (the large temperature and humidity-controlled rooms found in quality cigar stores) that temperature and humidity may be just a teensy bit important in aging and maintaining cigars. Fundamentally, cigars should be kept at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 percent relative humidity -- the well-known 70-70 rule. Any more and your cigars will rot; any less and the aging process begins to be impeded. And by the way, that fancy, decorative hygrometer often found in cigar stores and humidors is just that -- a decoration. Use it to brighten up your Christmas tree, but don't believe the little dial. You can tell the correct humidity by experience: the cigars will be supple and the foot will yield to gentle pressure easily without "crackling" or "rustling" but will feel elastic to the touch. The cigar which feels "mushy," "spongy" or which drips when you squeeze it, has been over-humidified. The more obsessive-compulsive of you can obtain a relatively accurate hygrometer at your florist.
The most crucial aspect of aging is maintaining a stable environment for your cigars. A constantly fluctuating milieu spells disaster. Rapid changes in temperature and humidity cause cigars to expand and contract, cracking their wrappers and may also lead to partial "fixation," disrupting the aging process. Ideally, one would have a sort of decompression chamber, much like the ones used by divers to use upon entering and exiting the humidor, which would be lit solely by darkroom "red light." Not everyone can afford this happy condition. For those of us here on Earth, there are a few pointers you may want to follow. Avoid exposing cigars to direct sunlight for months on end. This would give you a bad sunburn, and your cigars don't like it either. Sunlight heats things up and provides energy for chemical reactions and photosynthesizing creatures. Uneven heating can dry cigars out and ruin them. Extreme cold is also the enemy of cigars (i.e., the refrigerator) since it causes water condensation and at times crystallization, as well as shifting many volatiles to a solid phase, effectively "fixing" them and stopping the cigar aging process. Cigar aging is an active, "living" process. You can't just shut your cigars in a sealed box at a specified temperature and humidity and be done with it. The chemical reactions of the aging process produce many, at times noxious, gasses as by-products, which if allowed to build up would be an impediment to further aging. But by providing egress for these gasses, we also provide an opening for water vapor to escape spoiling our constant humidity. This problem resulted in the invention of the humidor, an open box with a constantly replenished humidity element. Ideally, the space in the humidor should be at least twice the volume of cigars |
- Click on the button to turn to the next page of this article.