For my money, in my limited experience, I foudn this statement to be true.

I used to love 1964 Imperial Maduros. But after having some that I aged only a year they seemed diminished to me. I came to greatly prefer ones that didnt have age on them. The same was true of my Diamond Crown Maximus, VSGs and San Cristobels. the only cigar I liked with age was the Avo 05 LE.

Keep in mind a lot of NCs have some age on them by the time the get to your store fronts.
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We're on a thread hijack at this point...

But. Not sure about that "diminished" POV. Same as with wine, for example, wines do not "diminish" with age since alcohol levels stay pretty much the same, it is the perceived aromatics and flavor that go through a transformation, same as with tobacco. Those who prefer wines on the young side, i.e. full of young tannins and tactile impressions they leave on the palate, most likely also prefer cigars on the young side as well for same reasons. Conversely, those who prefer more subtlety in wine, i.e. what aging does to good wines when tannins drop out (physically) and secondary characteristics develop, most likely prefer cigars with some age on them. Personally, I am in the second camp and will gladly take a nicely aged cigar with developed complexity over a young, tannic "in your face" cigar. Palate preference at play.

Any quality cigar will age fine. From my own experience and palate preference.
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A question to those who insist that only CCs age well: What chemical element in tobacco leaf is responsible for the supposed "proper" aging and why do you believe it only exists on the island of Cuba?
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That might be the factor here in aging. The Quality of the leaf of Cuban stock vs. NC stock. I also think that aging NC's do not help as much as CC's, but my experience is also very limited.

He's my :-), When I first joined Club Stogie back in the day I think Pnoon said it quite simply... aging a crap stick will only give you an old crap stick. When I smoke an NC now it's usually for a load of spice and full bodied punch. That in my opinion is what is lost when aging alot of NC's. Not that it's a bad smoke, but just not what I'm looking for.

The Riddick may very well prefer what an aged NC turns into, thus TO HIM they age well. A few NC's I prefer with a couple years but for the most part TO ME, I prefer them fresh,


In the end, if you like it... it's a good smoke! And yes, this even includes gurkhas:-)
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... its not an exact chemical element.... if that's the case then which grapes have different "chemical elements" in every region that "you believe it only exists on the" whatever region to produce the end product of wine? (wine is used as an example only)

If we go off your basis that they are all the same tobacco with the same "chemical element"... how come they all taste different? then wouldn't all maduro leafs tastes the same?
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Because your experience is the only one that counts right? we should all stop writing about our experience and just wait for you from now on... because "Anyone claiming otherwise has NO IDEA nor experience."
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Hang around here long enough, my brother, and you will learn the truth of that statement . . . for many of the inmates here. :-)

But that's just my experience.
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I am not sure you understood my post.

The QUALITY of the leaf is about the same if not better on the NC side, construction is easily better. The TASTE is what's really at play and as you (and I as well) stated, depends on what you like. Taste is main reason I dislike CCs, in general, and I know I am not alone, very few CCs are worth MY money.

As for the topic on hand, I am not sure any cigar is worth $15 (or above) when so many great cigars are available @ $3-10 per stick.
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The problem is that YOU are repeating what someone else said, I posted on my own ACTUAL experience. Seems you equate the two and so far have not posted about YOUR own experience with aged NCs.

Its the small details...

Carry on, you win, from now on any "I heard it from my neighbor's cousin's girlfriend's sister's classmate's brother" opinion takes the front seat over actual experience. :-)
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1.Padron 1926
2.LG
3.Diamond crown Maximus(call me crazy)
4. Tat Black tubos
5.Padron 44th Nat (be than the 45th IMHO)


Oh and NC Cohibas or Ghurkas.......... Kidding Kidding :-)
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greg, you need a smoke don't you. :-) Come down to Tower before it closes and pick out a smoke, on me. Lol
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I think the difference in aging CC vs NC is that the majority of NCs come aged, so there is no need to age them any further except for your own personal preference. If an NC is made with quality tobacco, it will age well. I find DPG, Padron, and Fuente cigars do well with age. On the CC side, until Cuba recently had to dip into its reserves because of a bad crop (hurricanes) almost all CCs except the LEs came out very fresh, went into sick period and then were finally ready to smoke 2-3 years down the line. The tobacco in a five year old CC is at the stage of aging that most NC tobacco is when the cigars are rolled and boxed, so while NCs don't need to be aged, a lot of CCs do need to be aged to taste how they ought to taste. While I do like a fresh CC once in a while, I'm loving my 06 and earlier a lot more now than the 07 and younger. There is a very noticible difference in the balance and complexity. One thing I have found, is that a CC that does nothing for me fresh can be vindicated with age, while an NC that sucks now will suck forever. I have tried to sit on NCs for a while and found that no amount of humi time will make an NC dog rocket taste good, whereas some CC sticks that didn't do anything for me fresh really "popped" after a little humi time. I have yet to experience any good cigar going past its prime, but then again I don't think I've really been smoking long enough for that to happen. Anyway, that's my:-)
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Also, I think the whole question of what's worth the price is so subjective as to be worthless to even ask. What's "worth it" to my uncle that's a multimillionaire ex-investment banker is going to be completely different than what's worth it to my broke ass. If I had his money, a Cohiba Gran Reserva would be worth it, 'cause my wallet woudn't feel a thing, whereas on my budget there's no way any cigar that costs almost as much as a whole box of PSD4 could ever be worth the coin.
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Really? I had one that was gifted to me, I think with a tad bit of age (although they already come with a little age, I believe), and it was the same size you mentioned - the Secretos.

I immediately deemed it box worthy, and I thought it was very smooth with a great flavor profile. I'll do a review at some point, but it was just a fun smoke.
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Maybe I got a dud? I'll have to look for another

aj
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This was my experience with the one I had as well. Nice little smoke, and actually probably more to my personal preferences than the regular Cohiba line. I think the problem is that people who love Cohiba don't like the Maduro 5 line because it doesn't taste like a Cohiba to them and so they say the whole line sucks. It doesn't suck, it just doesn't taste like a Cohiba. For those that aren't huge fans of Cohiba, that's maybe a good thing!
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If I come across another one (ie PIF, trade, etc.), I'll keep you in mind. I have a box of the Genios but those are being set aside for a specific purpose so I can't dig into them, otherwise I'd offer one.
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:-) Too many very good cigars on the daily deals for $4-7 for me to go the big $ ones that I have found not that much better.
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Yeah, Dave, that's me too, as much for frugality as for my tight budget. I have some Cohiba Esplendidos, and they are marvelous cigars, but they were gifted me. I would NEVER spend $30+ for a cigar. As for NCs, I love VSGs, but find it impossible to justify $10-$15 for them either. As much as I'd enjoy one, I'd enjoy 3 or 4 good ones for the same cost more - or at the very least, longer and more often.
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I feel that the Opus X/Diamond Crown Maximus Toast Across America sets are worth the ultra high price. Not just because you get a rare set of cigars, but also because the money is used for a well deserved charity. To me that's worth it.
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Same here!

aj
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