Question for members....

[cohibaIV]

Forum members

There have been a couple of questions niggling at me for a while now, so I thought I would put them to the forum to see if the big bang can be explained (so to speak).

1 ? Why do Dominican and some Nicaraguan, Honduran (that I have seen) come wrapped in plastic sleeves??
Even the very high end samples?
Now, I can understand that they may protect the cigars but I really am struggling with how they are able to breath!??!!
Of which we all know that storing a cigar in perfect conditions is to enable the cigar to live and breathe and not dry out.
I personally remove the plastic wrapping before storing in the humidor?Am I right to do so, as I do to my Cuban cigars that come in tubes?

2 ? Why don?t said cigars from the Dominican have dates on there boxes???
How are you meant to know how old they are??

Well, over to you.
Hope you can cure the niggle for me?.

[Montesmoke]

I think the plastic sleeves are soley for shipping purposes & to protect the stick, once you get your order you should remove them then place in humidor so they can absorb & breath.
I think also its to try & keep them fresh when shipped/delivered, soon as i get mine i take off the plastic sleeves & straight in the humidor to rest & breath for a good few days before i fire one up.
Its personal preference i spose if you either take off the plastic or leave it on.
But i like my sticks to absorb & to breath, i find you get a better conditioned stick IMHO.
Monte.

Forum members

There have been a couple of questions niggling at me for a while now, so I thought I would put them to the forum to see if the big bang can be explained (so to speak).

1 ? Why do Dominican and some Nicaraguan, Honduran (that I have seen) come wrapped in plastic sleeves??
Even the very high end samples?
Now, I can understand that they may protect the cigars but I really am struggling with how they are able to breath!??!!
Of which we all know that storing a cigar in perfect conditions is to enable the cigar to live and breathe and not dry out.
I personally remove the plastic wrapping before storing in the humidor?Am I right to do so, as I do to my Cuban cigars that come in tubes?

2 ? Why don?t said cigars from the Dominican have dates on there boxes???
How are you meant to know how old they are??

Well, over to you.
Hope you can cure the niggle for me?.

[smokiejoe]

Im not an no it all of cigars but have tried lots of different types wrapped and un wrapped and my conclusion to your answer dale is when you open the wrapper of said cigars run your nose across it and smell the difference as i think it stores all the flavours of the tabacco.There seems to be a large difference in the smell and taste im sure you will agree.but im the same as you and the first thing i do is take the wrappers off and into the humidor.

[larrysputnik]

The plastic sleeves are usually removed form the cigars as soon as they are purchased. They don't keep the cigar fresh and they don't keep the cigar from breathing either. The plastic is actually really porous and the cigar is the same with or without the plastic when kept in a humidor. however, some people choose to leave the plastic on so that the tobaccos from one type of cigar do not touch the tobaccos of another type of cigar. I tend to only leave a few cigars in the plastic in my humidor, but it really comes down to personal preference.

[cohibaIV]

What about box dates Joe??
Any ideas???

[smokiejoe]

Answer me this one then larrysputnik,a few months ago i were given some old cigars that were wrapped,these cigars were about nearly 50yr old and i couldnt believe it when i unwrapped them to find they still had lots of smell and taste.?????there were in a box and not humidor kept.strange eh.

[Montesmoke]

Another reason for Cellophane on cigars

In the retail environment the cellophane gives the merchant a place to add the price sticker or with the advent of computers and sku barcode so the computerized register can ring up the purchase and keep inventory. I would prefer all manufacturers place their products in cellophane but recently we have seen more cigar makers stop this practice.

Also package machine made cigars in cellophane would be to help protect the cigars during handling/shipping and keep them sanitary for every customer.

From a good friend of mine who has his own cigar wholesalers in the states.

Sheds a bit more light on the subject anyway.

[smokiejoe]

Its a strange one that and as long as the cigars taste good,,what the hell.

[larrysputnik]

I don't know why they don't do box dates. I do know that the high end Padrons come with a little slip of paper in the back of the box that has the date of inspection and the name of the person who inspected the box.

[larrysputnik]

I have never heard of such a thing, smokiejoe.

I can tell you that I have left a cigar out for a couple of days in cello by accident and it was rock hard when I found it. I'm sure that the cello has a purpose, but I don't believe it has anything to do with preserving the tobacco (other than keeping a cigar from absorbing flavors from the cigars next to it).

[smokiejoe]

I know what your saying larry,but i prefer the cigars to go hard ,dont ask me why...i found these old ones well mature and a bloody good smoke.

[Willie1]

I prefer to keep the plastic wrapping on, purely because I haven't got a humidor yet and so, any cigars I get, I just keep 'em in the wrapper untill I'm about to smoke the bugger into oblivion lol

Once I get sorted with a humidor and some good quality sticks, then I'd be more inclined to take the wrapper off and allow the cigars to breathe and mature a little in the box

Willie

[Montesmoke]

Its personal preference i find, each to their own in my book

[SmokinCohibas]

I know what your saying larry,but i prefer the cigars to go hard ,dont ask me why...i found these old ones well mature and a bloody good smoke.

I don't like hard cigars.
Nothing better than a nice soft oily well humidified stick

[did64]

Very interesting answers to this question, regarding cellophane. Especially Monte's point about being able to use price tags.

What I would say is regarding ageing:

Very serious collectors usually go for anaerobic aging. IE they try to stop the cigar breathing or being exposed to air, usually to the extent of using heavy duty plastic wrapping or vacuum wrapping around every box. Coupled with a low temperature and humidity (55-58%) this apparently has the effect of not allowing the air to leech the flavours out of the cigar over time. However this is best for long-term ageing, i.e. over ten years; the consensus is that this method slows down the ageing process consoderably but creates a better cigar in the process, slower but better ageing.

For the rest of us planning to smoke our cigars in the short term there is a toss-up decision to be made. For instance: if you find a new box of cigars is tasting a bit 'young', a bit harsh and bitter, or you can smell ammonia, then exposing the cigars to air will remove these unpleasant aspects quickly (a few months say). If they were wrapped in plastic and not exposed to air then these flavours could stay in the cigars for years and years. However when they do go they will not have been leeched out by the air aroun the cigar, rather the chemicals (ammonia etc.) will have transformed into something else, and created a richer more complex cigar.

None of the above is my own direct knowledge. Rather most of it comes from Min Ron Nee, a collector and authour of the 'An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars', and who posts on another forum. (see - http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/rev...5_MRN-book.htm)

I myself do tend to wrap my cigars in zip-lock baggies, I find they maintain a certain richness. Though it's probably just psychosomatic because I'm very easily influenced by what others say.

All of this is a bit of a sidetrack (apologies) because cello wrappers, like tubes, are not completely airtight: they allow the cigars to breath a little. Usually for ageing poeple will leave the cellophane on. Especially on old cuban cigars: Cellophane wrapped COhiba Coronas and Cohiba Lanceros from the late 1980s and early 1990s are apparently smoking beautifully. Ah well, I can dream