Commemorating great memories with box dates?

[awkwardPause]

I know I’ve seen some occasional mention of this practice on the site before, but curious how many of you have searched out boxes with specific dates to remember a particularly significant event. I’ve taken note of a few members mentioning particular box codes they’ve sought out to commemorate the birth month of child (great idea!), which seems to be the most common trend. I find this to be a fun practice and I personally go a bit further and even enjoy picking boxes that align with the month/year of an especially memorable vacation, or times spent with friends/family.

 

As an example, I’m always on the hunt for boxes from May 2013, as this date aligns with one of my most memorable travel experiences. For this particular trip, my wife and I (fiancée at the time) spent the first half of May exploring central Italy, taking in some fantastic wine/olive oil tasting while staying in the Tuscan countryside outside of Montepulciano in a cottage hosted by a family friend. I picked up a few handfuls of cigars at the Rome LCDH (good luck finding that!) prior to heading north out of the city to our eventual destination. From that batch of smokes, I had my first Behike (meh), a very solid PSD4, and the best stick I’ve smoked to date - a La Escepcion Selectos Finos (ER Italia 2011) I plucked from an open box in the LCDH. That last one was smoked while sipping a wonderfully flavorful vino nobile from a local winery, while taking in the subtle sounds of jangly little bells hung around the necks of sheep grazing just down the hill from us. It was just dusk as I lit up and it’s difficult to describe the feelings of peace and tranquility that blanketed us that evening. Just a perfect, fragrant Spring evening, with the soft glow of Montepulciano tucked in upon the hilltop across the valley. Now, despite what I consider close to the perfect surroundings for that evening, that LESF was just sublime and I’ve been trying to replicate a similar “perfect setup” ever since that trip. Anyhow, all of this to say May ‘13 was memorable to me and I’m always happy to pick up boxes of cigars to commemorate the wonderful time we spent there together. More recently, I’ve been buying up boxes (a much easier task!) from Nov 2017, my baby girl’s birth month. I look forward to future years where I can pull these boxes out and think about what we were doing around that time (my poor wife...).

 

Of course this process will sound positively ludicrous to some members and I’m not expecting cigar magic just because of a particular date stamped on a box, but it does remind me of good times whenever I pull those boxes out, nonetheless.

 

If you feel so inclined , please share your experiences in box-picking and even the reason why that particular date is special to you. I’d love to hear the stories, and honestly, what better way to enhance our cigar smoking experiences than with great life events!

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

[filltang]

I was fortunate enough to bring home my first haul of CCs on my honeymoon this past June. While I may sample the inventory every now and again, I do plan to let these cigars nap, even if just for a short while. Unintentionally, I may have stumbled upon something very special. I do have brothers and sisters-in-law that will be getting married and having children (along with us) in the next 5-10 years. Seems like great occasions to break out some matured cigars on memorable occasions.

 

 

The box dates will read roughly 9 months before the purchase date but I feel like the story behind them still resonates ... this was the first set of sticks I carried home. Even if they’re not PSP, that still counts for something right?

 

 

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[Piligrim]

I never look for specific box dates for myself, but some of my customers do. also for box numbers of edicion regional. for example I sold box number 1976 which is my birthdate without any thought to keep it. but many people ask me for specific numbers.

[Booyaa]

Been pretty much everywhere in Italy, by far though Montepulciano is my favourite place. And the wine is insanely good.

[Diabolicalpherpher]

I bought Punch DC Oct 17 HQ to commemorate my wedding day, told myself I will smoke one every anniversary.   I have never smoked one but from all the reviews and descriptions, it should be a winner.  I also tried with HU#2 since it said OCT 17 on the 24:24 but ended up with a SEP 17 box, oh well.  Saw some CoRo with the box date offered but there was another date so I passed.  Still on the look out but only if it’s something that I would want to smoke.  

 

[Islandboy]

I was just pondering this topic a month or so ago, after I made my one and only purchase (so far) of aged stock, and it suddenly dawned on me that the date perfectly coincided with one of my most memorable achievements. What I really think is cool is that I didn’t seek it out at all, it just turned out to be a significant date in my life. 

The cigars are VEL Oct 02 Hoyo de Monterrey Particulares. I hurriedly picked them from a 24:24 aged sale based mainly on low price, wanting to simply test the waters of aged cigars. I knew nothing about this cigar, but quickly looked them up after being confirmed - haha! Damn things are how long? 9 inches? Holy crap.

Anyway, I’ve smoked 2 of the 5 now, with one being really good, and the other simply outstanding. While smoking the second and more sublime one, I zoned in on the date. October. 2002. Hmm, something very cool happened then. Ahh yes, my first triathlon.

I competed in the 2002 Xterra World Championships, held here on Maui every year. I trained for 8 months solid, and was without a doubt in the best shape of my life. I was at zero body fat and weighed a svelte 206 lbs. I beat a brutal course that day. Our local paper even featured a photo of me in their article. One of the finest days of my life.

These days I’m just south of 250 lbs, though still active on the mountain bike. Those were the days! 

So, here I am on October 27, 2002, quite possibly the day those Particulares were boxed.

 

[Lotusguy]

I used to do this for birth months, anniversary, et cetera. Still have those boxes but most of the time I simply forget to smoke one at that month or I’m too lazy to dig it out of the coolers or I’m simply not in the mood for that particular stick at the time. Not doing it anymore.

 

[PigFish]

Box dates... Date's box... Oh, never mind, I am off on another tangent!

-Piggy

[LGC]

Spent a while searching a box code for when my kids were born a little while back. I finally found a box code and made a purchase. The first cigar out of the box was an under filled dog rocket... even though the cigars looked great. I decided to dedicate a box of festival marevas at that point. I realized that the cigar is just about taking the time to smoke and reflect on things. A box code is irrelevant. I’d rather smoke a cigar that I know will perform.

 

[Fuzz AI]

I'd be lucky if I even remember when I bought a box, let alone the why and what for. Example, bought a box of Partagas Coronas not too long ago.. Two months later, I was trying to figure out why I had several Partagas Coronas in my travel humi. Took me a week to remember I took out a fiver and then stashed the box at the bottom of my coolidor.

[kwsaw63]

4 hours ago, Fuzz said:

I'd be lucky if I even remember when I bought a box, let alone the why and what for. Example, bought a box of Partagas Coronas not too long ago.. Two months later, I was trying to figure out why I had several Partagas Coronas in my travel humi. Took me a week to remember I took out a fiver and then stashed the box at the bottom of my coolidor.

You clearly have too many cigars!

[awkwardPause]

I'd be lucky if I even remember when I bought a box, let alone the why and what for. Example, bought a box of Partagas Coronas not too long ago.. Two months later, I was trying to figure out why I had several Partagas Coronas in my travel humi. Took me a week to remember I took out a fiver and then stashed the box at the bottom of my coolidor.

I’ll have similar senior moments when I’m perplexed about a random box showing up at my house, only to realize later it’s something I purchased while half asleep, or similar

[awkwardPause]

Box dates... Date's box... Oh, never mind, I am off on another tangent!
-Piggy

I guess that does make a box code “chaser”, in a sense. That said, I’ll only pick something up that I know will be quality (24:24, etc) should the opportunity present.

Now that you’re here though, got any early eighties boxes to commemorate some childhood milestones of mine? Lol!


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[Colt45]

I understand why people do it. My personal take is that box date is just that - when the cigars were boxed, not when they were rolled, so it means a little less to me. Fun to do just the same.

[Trimming]

16 hours ago, PigFish said:

Box dates... Date's box... Oh, never mind, I am off on another tangent!

-Piggy

Totally agree with your tangent, the roll isn’t specific when the box was made and stamped, makes a found memory though... 

[PigFish]

6 hours ago, awkwardPause said:

 

I guess that does make a box code “chaser”, in a sense. That said, I’ll only pick something up that I know will be quality (24:24, etc) should the opportunity present.

Now that you’re here though, got any early eighties boxes to commemorate some childhood milestones of mine? Lol!


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... what year and month?

That got me thinking (yes, a bad thing).

Buying cigars to celebrate a millennial's birth has got to be against the law...! -LOL (read with levity, you youngsters you!)

-the Pig