How old at time of box date?

[RDB]

I’ve just smoked a lovely Rafael Gonzalez PC, with a box code of SUL SEP 23. They looked quite unpromising…a bit over-filled and jammed into the box resulting in an almost square press, fairly pale somewhat dry wrappers and messy glue. But then the smoking experience has been great: perfect draw & burn, excellent flavour right down to the nub.

I simply can’t believe this is a fresh cigar. It smokes like it’s 5-8 years old, with that sense of gentleness and integration that age brings. The appearance likewise is of older leaf. I’ve had other 23s that were obviously young, damp and oily.

So the question: what is going on with the age of leaf here? Is Cuba using up older leaf from Covid times? Could these have been rolled and boxed years ago then stamped recently? What sort of age do we normally expect our Cuban cigars, or the leaf in them, to be when the box is stamped?

I know, Cuba is Cuba…

[NSXCIGAR]

While it's possible cigars can be boxed and sit around the factory for a while before leaving (box codes are the last thing done before they leave the factory) it wouldn't be for more than a few months. Also yours have new bands so they would have been rolled after 2022. 

In my experience RGPC is a very refined cigar and isn't one that shows much in terms of youth. It could certainly be standard aged leaf.

[Habanoschris]

Well ironically, isn't rg the box with the quote on the back that may help explain this  ? 🙂

"These cigars should be smoked within one month of the date of shipment from Havana or otherwise they should be carefully matured for about one year" 

Are they about one month old or so? But seriously, I do find sometimes a fairly fresh box smokes like it's 5-6 years old but these are 9 months old so that maybe pushing it. The other thing that comes to mind...we've all heard Habanos may of tweaked their blends.

[Lamboinee]

14 hours ago, Habanoschris said:

the box with the quote on the back that may help explain this

Surely you are not suggesting that statements from Habanos SA can be taken at face value. Lol

[NSXCIGAR]

6 hours ago, Lamboinee said:

Surely you are not suggesting that statements from Habanos SA can be taken at face value. Lol

That statement was introduced when RG was privately owned but also during an era that I believe was pre-Criollo/Corojo. Who knows what the characteristics of that leaf were. Even if it was added a few years later (Criollo & Corojo were introduced in the 1940s) it may have been more applicable to those strains. I vaguely recall MRN commenting that people always said fresh CCs in Havana in the old days always tasted good but a month later when brought back they became rough. I'll try and find the comment in the book. 

[Habanoschris]

6 hours ago, Lamboinee said:

Surely you are not suggesting that statements from Habanos SA can be taken at face value.  lol

Nah I'm just having fun...any chance to bust out the quote 🤣 But actually I have had a several cigars taste incredible/smoke really well very young though. I've heard some others say the same.  

The first time I experienced this was a 25 box of RASS around 2016 where the first like 5 I smoked were flavor bombs and it took the rest of the box until 2021/22 for them to return to being close to as good as they were in 16. There's definitely been a few others that were more recently too. 😚💨