How long are cigars aged before they are sold?
Fermentation of tobacco takes place in two stages. First, the leaves are heaped in piles about 3 feet high under jute burlap coverings, and left to ferment for up to three months in temperatures no higher than 92°F. Then the piles are broken up and graded for use as either wrapper, filler or binder, and sorted for size, color and quality. The flattened leaves are then returned to the fermenting house, stacked in piles up to 6 feet high, tightly packed and stored in darkened rooms in temperatures no higher than 110°F. In this state they are known as burros. This second fermentation allows impurities of moisture, sap, nicotine and ammonia to be released from the leaves. They are kept as long as six months in the case of the darkest maduro wrappers to get those rich shades of brown and black. The leaves are then resorted, wrapped in palm leaves in square bales called tercios, and sent to the warehouses where they slowly mature – sometimes as long as two years, depending on the brand.
