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The image above of a 2003 50 Cab of Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo des Dieux (thank you kindly dear friend, Fuzz for sharing - glorious!) recently got me thinking...how many of the 27 brands and 181 regular production cigars are still packaged in 50 cabs? The answer? 7 brands and 10 cigars... In order of ring gauge: 1) Partagas Shorts (42 x 110 Petit Corona) 2) Por Larranaga Petit Coronas (42 x 129 Petit Corona) 3) Punch Punch (46 x 143 Grand Corona) 4) Punch Double Coronas (49 x 194 Double Corona) 5) Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas (49 x 194 Double Corona) 6) Saint Luis Rey Double Coronas (49 x 194 Double Corona) 7) Partagas Lusitanias (49 x 194 Double Corona) 8) Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2 (50 x 124 Robusto) 9) Juan Lopez Seleccion No.2 (50 x 124 Robusto) 10) Ramon Allones Specially Selected (50 x 124 Robusto) http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/list.aspx?current=&specialtype=;Current_Production;&packaging=90;82;102;86;153;57;178;179;81;107;144;145;88;89;186;115;&sortorder=ring N.B (Nota Bene or 'note well' in Latin) Por Larranaga Petit Coronas and Saint Luis Rey Double Coronas are packaged only in 50 cabs. This can be viewed in two ways. On a positive note, for those of us who love the PLPC's, a 50 cab allows you to enjoy them in the short-term with some 'mongrel' or 'bite' to them, then you can age the rest of the cab long-term (5 - 8 years) and enjoy the caramel sweetness. On the other hand, as El Pres has stated elsewhere on the forum, Saint Luis Rey Double Coronas 50 Cabs have been hard to come by in 2015, a slide lid box or dress box of 25 cigars would come in handy. (Even a 10 count dress box, like the Partagas Lusitania enjoys, would be good for the SLR Double Corona) As can be seen from the forum links below, 50 Cab packaging is highly preferred by cigar enthusiasts and I can still recall in 2015 when 50 Cabs of Ramon Allones Specially Selected cigars were offered on 24:24 listings in August these were sold out in minutes. (Even despite the requirement for long-term aging for these RASS cigars due to the oils in the wrappers and to allow them to become a little milder in strength.) http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=123301 http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=124235 http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=124795 http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=113112

So back 5 years ago or so when I was starting out, the consensus seemed to be that cigars from 50 count cabs were usually more consistent and of better average quality. Would you say that it is still the case now in 2015? Given the choice, for the same price would you buy blind two dress boxes or a 50 cab?