CIGAR AÑEJAMIENTO
Cigar añejamiento starts with the "marrying" process after rolling. Traditionally, after cigars are rolled, they are tied up in bundles of 50, placed in Spanish cedar cabinets, and put in marrying rooms. The first week of marrying allows the humidity to lower and stabilize at around 70%; since the cigar's tobacco was at a much higher humidity when it was rolled.
After the first week of de-humidification/marrying, the aging / añejamiento process will begin; this will help the leaf flavors+aromas blend together and synergize. Just like with raw tobacco añejamiento, cigar añejamiento will release ammonia and other impurities during the aging process. Specific cigar makers' cigar añejamiento periods vary between countries, brands and blends: it is over when the cigar maker decides the cigars are ready for boxing.
Ultimately, cigar añejamiento continues until the cigar is smoked. Cigar makers, importers, distrubutors, retail tobacconists, and ultimately consumers are all custodians of cigar añejamiento. If cigars are not kept in optimal conditions, they will quickly be ruined.
It is important to recognize that cigar añejamiento (under proper temperature and humidity conditions) continues in the box, in your retail tobacconist's humidor, and in your own humidor. Well conditioned cigars will continue to age, develop, produce oils, and emit impurities until they are smoked. Just because a cigar maker "releases" a cigar does not mean it will not get better. In fact, the opposite is usually true. Cigars do get better and different with age, and this is because of the añejamiento process. And just as taste preferences are subjective, so too is the "optimal" time to smoke a particular cigar: only the individual smoker can determine the "best" time to stop aging and smoke.
Certified R&D Tobacconists: United States |
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