Robert Caldwell roams the earth, sniffing for tobacco. He inhales deeply in between sips of the beverage of the day – wine, perhaps? – and scouts for something combustible that time has forgotten. Eventually, he gets his hands on some good stuff, sets a torch to it, and tastes the wares. If it’s nice enough, it just might become part of the Lost and Found line.
So it is with Caldwell Secret Stash cigars.
As the package explains, “These Cigars Are Exceptionally Aged.” If you want young tobacco, you’re barking up the wrong tobacco stalk. These blends are for the lovers of mature blends and subtle complexity.
Secret Stash cigars are a line unto themselves, with a variety of shapes, sizes, and blends. You’ll find toros, coronas, and even some exotic pyramides, which feature dramatic tapering on the head for a concentrated draw that should fit into the mouth of just about anyone.
There are Caldwell Secret Stash cigar “vintages” from 2008 to 2012. Lots of them heavily feature Dominican leaf for the filler blends. Around that, you’ll often find Habano wrappers and other Ecuadorian leaf for balance. The richness and leather of Dominican tobacco meets the spice, creamy coffee, and cedar of Ecuadorian tobacco.
Cigar aging is unlike aging liquor or wine. The upper limit of effectiveness is reached fairly “quickly,” somewhere in the 5-15 year zone. Beyond that, there’s not much more that’s going to happen. And if you go really far, the cigar can degrade. Some super aficionados may be able to pull out a 40-year-old cigar, but it’s not going to be analogous to what you would get if you aged a Scotch for that same time period.
Remember, cigars are just leaves, at the end of the day. Don’t quote us on that.
Caldwell Lost and Found Secret Stash cigars offer an opportunity to go on that journey that dudes like Robert Caldwell, Aging Room’s Rafael Nodal, and other international cigar men may take many times each year. There’s a leaf out there aging in storage that hasn’t found its blend yet, and there are also tobacco hunters diligently trying to find the best of it.
When they do, we reap the benefits.
Please browse our selection of Caldwell Lost and Found Secret Stash cigars at your leisure.
