Aged Cardboard Packs ....Opinion

[El Presidente]

When we were doing our pre Christmas clean up here at Czars, I came across some old cardboard packs of cigars dating back from 1998 to 2006. it was a mix, Vegueros, HDM, Cohiba, Upmann.

6 weeks later I have had an opportunity to try most of these. Some have been good without being outstanding. Most have been below average.

I really have little experience of carton pack cigars. I just don't smoke them (no real need). A lot of you have way more experience and I would like to tap into that.

Do you find that Carton Pack cigars (aged) lose more in flavour than dress, tubed or cabinet packed cigars from the same period?

From the tastings I have conducted over the past 6 weeks I would be all for CP cigars to be cellophaned or Tubed. However, my experience is limited. Would love your thoughts.

[CaptainQuintero]

Limited experience too, I've had some 01 Lanceros recently which while good didn't have any particularly rich nature a out them.

The same with 06 RyJ short Churchills.

I think they tend to taste a little dry if anything, it might be suggestion to say they taste a little cardboard like. Certainly compared to the richness of a cigar aged in a tube, cardboard seems quite poor.

[1LegLance]

I have bought various carboard packed cigars over the years from Montes to Hoyos to Jose P's

They always age faster due to the increase in airflow they get.

I like the easy to carry format but I don't keep them around anymore as they will loose flavor much faster than the wood box version.

Now all that said....if you came across any SLR PC's in any packaging format I will take them off your hands

[BonVivant]

Some experience with some brands from the top of my head:

Cohiba - after a while in paper (3-5) years it is almost tasteless - nothing can save it.

For some reason, Trinidad does great in paper - 3-12 months, depending on age of cigars, in the Hospital (outside of paper in a good humidor and/or wood) and it is all great

H.Upmann and Montecristo do not do very well in paper, nor does Partagas, unless in cello - do not know the reason - hopefully someone knows.

Paper is a tourist packaging for convenience and is just that - if one wants to age, buy cigars in wood and that is what HSA seems to be focused on - one example is Partagas Serie E no.2 - 5-pack wooden box - brilliant, IMHO.

Tubos are the way to go and it comes mostly in paper

[SparklePony]

I often pick up petit or tres petit coronas and the like in cardboard packaging. There's no doubting the convenience of it, and the 5-packs make them much more affordable. I've never noticed a terrible decrease in quality from my paper packaged cigars, but I *have* noticed a lack of complexity in some cases. For example, Siglo I SLBs are often more complex than my fivers. I guess it's because they're each individually packaged and they're not mingling with each other.

[jdackerman]

I recently picked up a 5x5 cardboard package of cohiba lanceros from 03/04, they were amazing to me. That being said I've never had any that age from a wooden box. My mouth is watering thinking of them right now haha.

[Overproof]

I've wondered, why they don't they wrap the cardboard packaged cigars with some cedar and a tack of tape like some tubed cigars.

Be interesting to taste both one with cedar and one without just in the cardboard a few years on. Probably little to no difference but it might act as a buffer to humidity maybe.

[dvickery]

As long as a person understands that ...

cardboard packs age faster than dress boxes

Dress boxes age faster than cabinets

Cabinets age faster than varnished boxes

Varnished boxes age faster than tubos

Understanding this and smoking older 5packs ... You know better what to expect .

That being said ... '02 monty#4's ( in cardboard ) are smoking pretty good just now .

Derrek

[Professor Twain]

I don't have any experience with aged cigars in cardboard. But I have a story.

In 2006 I got a 15 pack of Monte Edmundos in cardboard, box code from 2005. I used to get together with Chuck (Tampa1257) to smoke every Thursday night. We often brought unbanded cigars and tried to see what the blinded guy tasted. I'd had them in my humidor for a month. So I took two of the Edmundos out of a cardboard pack, took the bands off, and put them in my travel case. That night we lit the cigars up. I asked Chuck what flavors he tasted. He said, "Cardboard".

My palate's not that good but I trust Chuck's opinion.

[El Presidente]

I don't have any experience with aged cigars in cardboard. But I have a story.

In 2006 I got a 15 pack of Monte Edmundos in cardboard, box code from 2005. I used to get together with Chuck (Tampa1257) to smoke every Thursday night. We often brought unbanded cigars and tried to see what the blinded guy tasted. I'd had them in my humidor for a month. So I took two of the Edmundos out of a cardboard pack, took the bands off, and put them in my travel case. That night we lit the cigars up. I asked Chuck what flavors he tasted. He said, "Cardboard".

My palate's not that good but I trust Chuck's opinion.

Chuck always had an excellent palate!

[Lotusguy]

The only cardboard pack sticks that I have found to improve with time were Quintero Nacionales from 2002/3. Don't ask me why.

Everything else I tried from older Petacas was pretty much gone after 5 years of age. Example: HMD Epi 1 from 2006 in 3x5. Peaked in 2010 and then rapidly went down the hill.

Now tubos, on the other hand

[PapaDisco]

Cardboard is also more temperature and humidity sensitive. When I was keeping my stash at 70/70 I'd bring back cardboard packs (mostly Epi 2's) that were still white (the box) and some up to 4 years old from Duty Free and a distributor in Canada. When I put those in my 70/70 coolerdor you could see the yellowing happen over 6-12 months, not from light aging the paper, but rather from tobacco compounds evaporating off slowly, a process that clearly hadn't happened up until then.

4 year old Epi 2's were fantastic anyway, but not as good a year later. To me this indicated that keeping cardboard packs cooler and dryer (and in some sort of ziplock barrier) will allow the sticks to age o.k., but a wooden cabinet type of packaging is by far preferred for aging and any cardboard packs that I buy now are for immediate consumption.

[CoCigarSmoker]

When you guys are talking about the cardboard are you referring to the small 5x3 packs you can purchase cigars in or are you referring to the boxes themselves?

Is this a cardboard box?

Or is this what you are talking about?

[Lotusguy]

I'm talking about the latter.

[CoCigarSmoker]

I'm talking about the latter.

Copy that thanks!

Seth

[Napa_Smokes]

I have some cardboard boxes that I brought back from Europe in 2005. I never intended to age them just forgot about them until about 6 months ago. The cigars were Cohiba's, Montecristo #4 and RyJ. They were good not great and the flavor profile was much more muted then the cigars I had from boxes with the same codes on them. They worked great when traveling around though I would never buy them to age.

[rigby]

I don't buy many cardboard packs, but if I do I always move the cigars to a normal wooden cigar box for storage.

exactly

[soutso]

I avoid cardboard boxed cigars but when they are my only choice available, I immediately take them out upon receiving them and put them in an empty dress box. I find that the cardboard boxes smell very... well cardboard. Even the cigars at cold have that slight cardboard aroma. They smoke well though.

Based on that I'd never age in cardboard long term.

[Bucky McSwensen]

Just scored a 5x3 pack of cohiba esplendidos off of today's 24:24.  Recently did a search on aging cardboard packs and this thread has been super helpful.  I'm thinking I'll need to unpack and move these to a tray of singles asap (same thing I did with my monte Edmunds before).

Is a tray good enough (top of my coolidor) or is that too much air flow?  Should I vacuum seal in cardboard, out of cardboard?  Or place in an empty dress box or slb?

One thing seems for sure, the double cardboard packaging needs to go.  I'd appreciate any input on this as this may be the finest cigar I have in the worst packaging.

[IanMcLean68]

After some not so good experiences with Cohiba Siglo II and IV from cardboard packs with a few years on them, I've learned my lesson. They tasted of cardboard, and not much else. Cardboard packs are not for aging IMO. I almost never buy them now. The odd one or two occasions I have, have been to try something out, or for convenience when out and caught out with no cigars. In any case, only ever to consume immediately.  Cardboard seems to ferment a little in the humidor, and not in a pleasant way,

[RijkdeGooier]

It really depends on the storage as with all cigars. 

I’ve had mostly good experiences n

[ChanceSchmerr]

Have had many terribly tasteless HDM Du Roi's from Cardboard packs from '03, and an equal number of excellent SLR PC '05s from Cardboard packs.....so I guess it goes down to sheer luck.  Most cardboard Cohiba's I've had have been meh - with the exception of an '01 EL CoLa that I received in a box pass, that was excellent.

 

I normally avoid Cardboard as much as I possibly can.

[CaptainQuintero]

6 hours ago, Bucky McSwensen said:

Just scored a 5x3 pack of cohiba esplendidos off of today's 24:24.  Recently did a search on aging cardboard packs and this thread has been super helpful.  I'm thinking I'll need to unpack and move these to a tray of singles asap (same thing I did with my monte Edmunds before).

Is a tray good enough (top of my coolidor) or is that too much air flow?  Should I vacuum seal in cardboard, out of cardboard?  Or place in an empty dress box or slb?

One thing seems for sure, the double cardboard packaging needs to go.  I'd appreciate any input on this as this may be the finest cigar I have in the worst packaging.

If it was me, remove all cardboard totally. They should be fine in a desktop, preferably in a cab but I don't think it's something to stress about.

[joeypots]

I have bought a couple of cardboard packs that were aged. Those were lousy. It could have been storage but I'll never leave cigars in cardboard ones, threes, or fives. Just to be on the safe side.

 

[dominattorney]

1 hour ago, joeypots said:

I have bought a couple of cardboard packs that were aged. Those were lousy. It could have been storage but I'll never leave cigars in cardboard ones, threes, or fives. Just to be on the safe side.

 

I bought some 2003 HDM Hoyo Des Dieux from 2003 that were in cardboard.  they started off tasting bland and terrible, and burned poorly.  I put them in an empty siglo III box for a year and forgot about them, and that did wonders to improve the burn, and maybe its just loss of memory, but also the flavor.  I doubt they're as good as they could have been though.