Early 1980's Jamacian Temple Hall Petite Corona

[Knuck42]

Smoked an early 1980's Jamacian Temple Hall Petite Corona with Cameroon wrapper this evening.

I felt very fortunate to have sourced this little bugger. It's not every day one gets to indulge in a 25+ year old cigar after their evening meal, but tonight was such a night for me.

As soon as I pulled the cigar out of the extremely yello cello in which it had lived for over 1/4 century I became concerned. The distinct smell of milldew wafted upward offending my sences as it permiated my nasal cavity.

The wrapper was a light chocolate color with nary a veign to be found. It felt very spongey in the hand when gently squeezed. Pre-light draw revealed more of that damned milldew stuff. I was beginning to get very worried.

Lit this baby up, and you guessed it... milldew. I tell ya, Cameroon wrapper is among my favorite non-Cuban wrappers, and as such I was really looking forward to sampling some nicely aged vintage stuff. It was not to be.

I smoked this baby to the 1/2 way point and all I got for my troubles was that damned bitter, harsh, offensive, taste of old moisture. I swear, it was like smoking last years pool water. I pitched this thing after hitting the 1/2 way mark

This just goes to show you how storing cigars poorly can completely ruin them. This may have been a real treat had it been stored properly, but as it was all I found was something completely offensive to my taste buds. So guys, keep an eye on your hygrometers will ya? The pallate you save may be your own!

[BigSteve]

freakin shame !!! ... and a good reminder to us all about storage.

[Knuck42]

Yea, it was a real let down for sure,  :tears:

[tksamtec]

[quote author=Knuck42 link=topic=10115.msg55713#msg55713 date=1309519945]
Yea, it was a real let down for sure,   :tears:
[/quote]
Uh huh... nice to hear that some of these vintage babies still exist. :cool:

[Knuck42]

[quote]Uh huh... nice to hear that some of these vintage babies still exist[/quote]You know at one time I would have agreed whole heartedly, but looking back over time, more often then not the uber-aged cigars I've had the privilege of smoking have been a let down.  Just about every Clear-Havana or pre-embargo I've smoked was meh at best, and some, like this Jamacain Temple Hall was downright bad, (although who knows what it might have tasted like hd it been stored properly).

In my experience 8-20 year old cigars have been the best in terms of overall condition, eveness of burn, flavor, and just plain enjoyment.  Stuff that's been older then that seems to have been more about novelty and/or bragging rights. 

[tksamtec]

[quote author=Knuck42 link=topic=10115.msg55765#msg55765 date=1309544272]
You know at one time I would have agreed whole heartedly, but looking back over time, more often then not the uber-aged cigars I've had the privilege of smoking have been a let down.  Just about every Clear-Havana or pre-embargo I've smoked was meh at best, and some, like this Jamacain Temple Hall was downright bad, (although who knows what it might have tasted like hd it been stored properly).

In my experience 8-20 year old cigars have been the best in terms of overall condition, eveness of burn, flavor, and just plain enjoyment.  Stuff that's been older then that seems to have been more about novelty and/or bragging rights. 
[/quote]
Based on soem of the reviews I have read, that seems to be a very fair assessment.  I know Steve and Brooks have reviewed soem vintage stuff, and really didn't think too highly of the stuff that was really old (30 years or more).

I have had a couple people tell me that Cubans peak at about 10-15 years of age then they might even degrade after that...

"meh, at best" for an uber expensive, impossible to find cigar, is not good... I will take a box of opus or almost any box of CCs for that 1 single vintage stick every time !!!

[randomhero1090]

[url=http://www.cigaraficionado.com/videos]http://www.cigaraficionado.com/videos[/url]

Not only can you see the video of those recently discovered H Ups, but the video titled "Tasting the 1960s" is pretty good. 

Ajay Patel talks about aging cigars.  62-63* and 62-63% was Ajay's recommendation for long term aging.

[Knuck42]

[quote]Based on soem of the reviews I have read, that seems to be a very fair assessment.  I know Steve and Brooks have reviewed soem vintage stuff, and really didn't think too highly of the stuff that was really old (30 years or more).

I have had a couple people tell me that Cubans peak at about 10-15 years of age then they might even degrade after that...

"meh, at best" for an uber expensive, impossible to find cigar, is not good... I will take a box of opus or almost any box of CCs for that 1 single vintage stick every time !!![/quote]

With regard to cigars in general, "peaking", I guess that depends upon what you're looking for.  Certainly the flavor profile continues to evolve long beyond 15 yrs, but that is not to say that it evolves into something better, (or worse).  With regard to fullness of body and balance of flavor there is a point of diminishing returns, but my experience has led me to believe that this point is different from marca to marca and vitola to vitola.  Add to that personal preference and you have an extremely subjective matter on your hands. 

Hell, I know some guys that live on fresh Opus!   

[tksamtec]

[quote author=Knuck42 link=topic=10115.msg55774#msg55774 date=1309546210]
Hell, I know some guys that live on fresh Opus!   
[/quote]

Yuck...I have had some fresh Opus that were pretty nasty and made me see things that were not really there... pass and I will leave them for your buddies to smoke.

Opus x freshies need time to rest (1-2 years, IMHO minimum)... I am working on a box of 08s now and they are pretty good.  I have a bunch from 04 and 06 that are great too...but I managed to leave them alone for a very long time. 

[Fuente Fan]

[quote author=tksamtec link=topic=10115.msg55768#msg55768 date=1309545301]
Based on soem of the reviews I have read, that seems to be a very fair assessment.  I know Steve and Brooks have reviewed soem vintage stuff, and really didn't think too highly of the stuff that was really old (30 years or more).

I have had a couple people tell me that Cubans peak at about 10-15 years of age then they might even degrade after that...

"meh, at best" for an uber expensive, impossible to find cigar, is not good... I will take a box of opus or almost any box of CCs for that 1 single vintage stick every time !!!
[/quote]

I've smoked '86 Monte #2s that may tend to disagree with that.  Even at 25 years plenty of strength and was one of the top 2 or 3 cigars I have smoked. 

Like knuck said "this point is different from marca to marca and vitola to vitola".