Holy Smokes

How to age, store and collect the world's finest cigars

- By Duncan Quinn

Many of us know that the very finest wines in the world are best tasted after appropriate aging in proper conditions. But rather fewer understand that this is also true of premium cigars. And as with fine wine, the components of a premium cigar often improve with age. Bold, powerful flavors mellow, imparting a more complex, fuller, experience. So if you’re not already collecting and aging your smokes, here are some things to consider as you build a cellar worthy of Zino Davidoff.

I can attest to the magnificence of aging firsthand after having been lucky enough to receive a package of pre-Castro Cubans that had been biding their time in a friend’s father’s humidor for over 50 years. Like a beautiful velvety, claret from a Grand Cru Classé, the smoothness on the palate and rich, warm flavors and aromas are what I remember most. Similar to the first Château Margaux 1982 I experienced some time in the early 2000s.

The feeling these aged cigars gave transported my mind’s eye to an image of myself ensconced in a well-worn cognac-leather armchair in a beautifully-adorned, high-ceilinged gentleman’s club, surrounded by leather Chesterfields, thick velvet curtains, and a roaring fire. Like a scene from a Jules Verne novel writ large. Sitting there puffing away with an enormous grin on my face, ecstatic with my Cuban companion and the transportive effect it created.