dress box vs. cab

[bigharpoon]

I've seen several references lately of people liking the cigars from cabs much more than the same line but in a dress box. Is being slightly box pressed the reason why the cigars from the dress boxes may be inferior to their cab brothers or is there more to it? Just had to ask, thanks.

[maverickdrinker]

I wouldn't say inferior. More preference than anything. I know that there are a lot of people who prefer cabs as the cigars are not as cramped in a cab and more cedar contact with the cigars. Many people who like to age their cigars prefer cabs for this reason.

I tend to empty a couple of dress boxes into cabs if I don't plan on smoking them for awhile..

Hope this helps

[MatthewB]

Great topic!

Very interested myself..

[mk05]

I wouldn't say inferior. More preference than anything. I know that there are a lot of people who prefer cabs as the cigars are not as cramped in a cab and more cedar contact with the cigars. Many people who like to age their cigars prefer cabs for this reason.

I tend to empty a couple of dress boxes into cabs if I don't plan on smoking them for awhile..

Hope this helps

Perhaps it's because in a cab, the lack of having tobacco pressed against each other allows for faster and more even maturation? Can't say conclusively, but after some time, cabinets taste much better for me. Especially BBF and RASS.

[nikesupremedunk]

It might just all be in my head, but my cigars in cabs always seem to look "oilier" and better than ones in dress boxes. With the exception of some quality boxes like the BHK's and other pricey cigars.

I love cabs/SLB's and would always prefer it over dress box. One thing I don't like is the band press around the edges though.

[Lotusguy]

It's probably more psychological than anything else for me but I'll take a cab over a dress box anytime, every time.

[Troels]

Sometimes you see "cabinet selection" written on a dressbox - that has made me come to the conclusion that it was better quality - but its just words?

[Pilgrims]

I prefer cabs as I really do prefer my smokes to be round, just feels better in the mouth I think. Love some of the artwork on dress boxes though.

[mk05]

Um, there is more tobacco contact in a cab than in a dress box....I would imagine.... There is also better or more even air circulation. Also, just a hunch...

It's a bit more complicated. Let me lay it out.

You are forgetting that in reality, dress boxed cigars are - almost always - very box pressed. In fact, the cigars are so packed in, you have to claw them out. In reality, there's more volume of air residing in the cabinets available for oxidation, vs the dress boxes.

The hypothesis/claim here is that a cabinet cigar seems to taste better than the dress counterpart. I - for one - am part of that group. Let's say that a cigar - in itself - is nothing more than a roll of dead leaves touching other dead leaves inside a box. In which case, the discussion becomes all about surface area and oxidation. The cabinet cigars are not as tightly packed in as dress boxed, and have more air volume present for oxidation, in and around the cigar. An extreme example of the dress box cigar would be a plugged cigar - I find plugged cigars to have less elegance when "opened" up, as proper maturation had not taken place.

However, a complication takes place at this point. This means that maturation is faster in a cabinet, although the presiding theory is that maturation is slower in a cabinet. I think this is where things get tricky. For me, this is where the most important distinction of the discussion takes place. It now comes down to the mediums. Know that wood and cigars are hygroscopic. As there are exchanges, the cigar takes from the wood, visa versa. The air effect on the aging process is not as crucial as the medium, in my opinion. Dress boxes are made of bleached plywood, and covered with paper that was submerged in glue. Cabinets are not. Do you think that these mediums will not impart a flavor? Think again. There are wide differences in flavor from cigars contained in pecta, Ziploc, dress, and cabinet. Furthermore, most spirits are kept in wooden vats to age, in order to exchange the inexplicable flavors from the wood to the spirit.

Many variables, but the medium plays the biggest contributor to the resulting taste, and air being the timetable for readiness.

[Puros Y Vino]

I humbly submit a third option. Jars.

I've been using glass or acrylic jars to age my cigars. The aroma when you open the jar is heavenly. There is no imparting of cedar or plywood though I do cut a circle from a cedar sheet to lay on top of the cigars. I've filled up two empty Siglo VI jars, one full of Mag 50's, Hamlet Lanceros and Piggies...so far it's working out great. And the RH is rock solid stable.

[Diamondog]

Definately more contact between cigars in a cab. Dress boxes seperate via cedar sheet

[CanuckSARTech]

I really concur with mk05's post. Very technical and hypothetical, but something that I think most would agree with the synopsis behind it.

And, for what it's worth, I also agree/prefer to have my cigars in cabinets versus dress boxes. To me, a cigar was blended and "designed" in Cuba to be X mm's in length, and X ring gauge....and to be within those dimensions, as they were rolled, round. A round cigar is just "the way it should be", IMO. (I will put up the caveat that some cigars in dress boxes are not "box pressed" and heavily squared off - some are still nice and round, and have plenty of room. But those that are, like RASS as the biggest example off the top of my head right now, are definintely best in the cabinet format rather than a box-pressed dress box.)

[stunod]

I like the dress boxes. I don't think there is any difference for aging, and I like the way they fit in my humidor.

[Colt45]

It's my understanding that there is not supposed to be a difference in the quality of cigars in either type of packaging. I do fall on the side that feels a bundle of cigars as is an SLB are in closer contact to the cigars around them than are cigars laid out flat in a dress box. I also prefer my cigars "in the round", but personally that's purely aesthetic.

For me, there is something about the aroma from an SLB - dank, rich - which I don't often find as intense in dress boxes, but I can't claim with any certainty that one type of packaging is better / different for maturation than the other.

At the end of the day, I've had great cigars from both type of boxes, I've had less than great cigars from both type of boxes.

[PigFish]

My cigars, the last time I asked them, don't have an opinion about their housing!

A cigar is something that you smoke outside of the box. A box is a box! They are two different things altogehter. A preference is real, but a quality distinction is an illusion! (MHO)

I too prefer a certain box. That would be a cab box. I like round cigars that come out of that box. I used to like them without bands too, but that is just another preference and has no correlation to quality. Cab boxes are harder to store typically in my humidors.

Dress boxes are also made of wood, just like the cab boxes. The paper however is the first place for a mildew odor to start if you don't store your cigars correctly. That would not stop me from buying dress boxes.

I will buy cigars in cardboard if they are good cigars and they are priced right. I am not into buying a cigar based on the box it comes in. A box is not a factor for me when I consider the smoking experience. Once I light up my cigar, the box it came in is long and far removed. A quality cigar at a reasonable price far overshadows the type of box a cigar comes in, in my world.

-

[Guybrush]

I like Cabinets but I am quite sure they are not made of cedar.

[thechenman]

I like my cigars in the round, but like Piggy says...preferences are real, but I agree with him that any other differences are only the individuals perception or bias. That said...while I prefer cabs for my round cigars, I'll buy dress boxes when they are cheaper. Again, I like my cigars in the round, but I'm not paying any material premium for contour of my cigar...it's going to smoke the same.

[dangolf18]

Cabs take up less space so I prefer them. I'm also not that keen on the box press. The one cigar I wish came in cabs is the RyJ SC.

[sactochris]

I wish that some things that are only available in a 50 cab were also available in a 25 dress.

[CanuckSARTech]

Agreed as well. PLPC would be great in a 25 cab, as would RASS cabs of 25 too.

[PigFish]

... Mmmm! Bigger boxes means more cigars and less box! I vote for more 50 cabs, less box! I know this goes agains Tabacuba et al plans to become the best cigar box maker on the planet but this would not be the first time that I would disagree on the subject of cigars with the boneheads at Tabacuba!

-the Pig

[LGC]

At 15 to 40 bucks per stick, the 50 cabs would never move. Their plan of jacking up prices would never work...

Plus... people feel like they are getting a better deal with the fancy boxes, while being bent over

... Mmmm! Bigger boxes means more cigars and less box! I vote for more 50 cabs, less box! I know this goes agains Tabacuba et al plans to become the best cigar box maker on the planet but this would not be the first time that I would disagree on the subject of cigars with the boneheads at Tabacuba!

-the Pig

[goalie204]

Um, there is more tobacco contact in a cab than in a dress box....I would imagine.... There is also better or more even air circulation. Also, just a hunch...

I personally just like having 50 cigars in one place. Nothing better to look at than a nice big bundle with a ribbon around it. Its like Christmas in a box!

channukah in a box

[dangolf18]

Imagine a 100 cab of Esplendidos or Siglo IV. Would be a site to behold. Then who the hell would spend $3000 on a box of cigars.

[Puros Y Vino]

Imagine a 100 cab of Esplendidos or Siglo IV. Would be a site to behold. Then who the hell would spend $3000 on a box of cigars.

I was actually looking for a Cajon (100) of Montecristo Especiale's No 1. No luck.