Tercio-Aged: Unwrapped

Every leaf used in premium cigars is aged to some extent. Some for a long time, others only briefly. The aging process helps mature the tobacco and adds complexity to the final flavor profile. In addition, the aging process can help finish the tobacco’s color and texture to the desired result using moisture, heat and other factors. Speaking generally, cigars are cured in barns and then aged in burlap bales. The burlap is porous, and thus a lot of temperature and humidity is exchanged with the tobacco inside.  

There is nothing wrong with this method; in fact, we age many of our tobaccos just like this. But when we heard about a fascinating Old-World aging technique called “tercio,” we had to learn more.

“Tercio” is the name of a bale of tobacco wrapped and bound in yuca. Yuca, which is the bark from the Royal Palm tree, is non-porous and seals in the natural flavors of the tobacco, which can be lost in the traditional aging process. To properly bind and secure the tobacco within the yuca is a process all its own. The yuca is incredibly rigid, which makes it difficult to work with and even more difficult to craft into the proper shape. Even with all of the resources and experts we are privileged to have at our disposal, we found very few skilled enough to properly craft a tercio to Old-World standards.

Once complete, the tobacco is then aged to perfection, yielding a deep and complex flavor unique to this aging process. 

The result is exquisite. A medium-bodied cigar with rich earthy flavors and a smooth finish. It’s no easy task; we’ll be the first to admit it takes a lot of time and resources to age tobaccos this way. But the time and effort are well worth the final result, and although we took a gamble on Old-World techniques, we walked away knowing that process makes perfect.