Learning about box codes

[Isaac]

I need a bit of education about box codes.  Now Im sure we all know the number is the year of production, and ideally you want a lower number, which means there is age on the cigars.  Now the question I have are those of you chasing manufacturer box codes.  What are the codes out there and what factories do they represent.  Are certain factories more sought after than others, and why?  At this point in my hobby, I'm just happy receiving boxes, but Im sure there will come a time when I am looking for specific factory codes.  

[Chuckmejia]

Search button

 

but here you go

 

 

[Isaac]

5 minutes ago, Chuckmejia said:

Search button

 

but here you go

 

 

Much appreciated.  The search is useful, but sometimes reposting also brings such things to light for newer members.

[NSXCIGAR]

7 hours ago, Hutch said:

Factory codes do not have near the significance that they used to...say 15-30 years ago. There was a time when there was indeed a drastic difference in production, both in blend and construction, between factories. That is MUCH less the case nowadays. That being said, I have some personal favorites, both in general, and for specific marca and vitola. That's not to say that I haven't been very pleased with product from other factories, but, I have seldom, if ever, been disappointed with cigars from my favorites. Rob has posted several great threads giving us his opinion of superior box codes for specific years. Probably not coincidently, these codes have very often matched up with my favorite factories.

^^ This

When factory codes were introduced in the mid-1980s a bias toward Havana factories vs. provincial factories arose. Oddly it took over 13 years for Tabacuba to rectify this as stock with provincial codes was piling up from buyer and retailer preference.

Since about the early 2000s, QC has been fairly well standardized across all Cuban factories eliminating the need for "code chasing" for all intents and purposes with the one exception being El Laguito factory. 

[Isaac]

5 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

^^ This

When factory codes were introduced in the mid-1980s a bias toward Havana factories vs. provincial factories arose. Oddly it took over 13 years for Tabacuba to rectify this as stock with provincial codes was piling up from buyer and retailer preference.

Since about the early 2000s, QC has been fairly well standardized across all Cuban factories eliminating the need for "code chasing" for all intents and purposes with the one exception being El Laguito factory. 

Why the preference for the El Laguito factory?

[havanaclub]

To my understanding, the El Laguito factory is the Cohiba factory with the most experienced rollers. Not to say other factories don't have any. But this is were some cigars are only rolled there. I believe Behike, Cohiba lanceros etc. I have seen other cigars rolled there. Most recently 2015..PSD4 and monte PE.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JLFIRST]

I'm also kinda partial to La Corona across the board, most product from HUpmann, and quite a bit from Partagas.

 

@Hutch, we sound quite alike my friend. I love LC rolls; HUpmann, and Partagas especially. These make up a lot of my Habanos, especially in the box department.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

 

 

[zeedubbya]

Have done a fair amount of research on this.  There's some level of reliability can be assigned to certain vitola being rolled within a factory.  La Corona and H Upmann produce the best figurados IMO.  Monte 2s from Upmann or La Corona are generally better roll quality than anywhere else.  

El Laguito rolled Cohiba boxes will have a greater value than a sister of the same box.  A CORO box from El Lag is more valuable than a CORO from any other factory.  It's widely known El Lag has been rolling a fair amount of Partagas lately. Lots of E2s and D4s. 

The mother factories of a Marca inevitably seem to be somewhat more desirable than ones rolled outside of them.  Upmann from Upmann and Partagas from Partagas are examples of this.  You'll also find certain Marcas rolled almost exclusively at a certain factory-I.e Bolivar and LGC at Partagas, PL at La Corona.  Punch and Monte are all over the place.

Lately I've found the Villa Clara provincial factory to be rolling some stunning cigars   One of the most gorgeous cabs I own is a Punch Punch 50 Cab from SOM code.  We've narrowed down (on here) SOM to most likely be the Villa Clara provincial factory.  

None of these are absolutes by any stretch, and as others have said above box code chasing has become almost a waste of time because it's not like it used to be in relation to getting good cigars from only certain factories. 

Also as a side note, I've heard rumors the factory codes were just changed recently.  Soon we will start seeing different codes from what we've seen over last 1.5 years.  You can bet we will start seeing some new codes on Bolivar boxes this will likely be the Partagas factory code, new PL boxes will be most likely be La Corona, and El Laguitos code will most certainly come to light soon enough.  I'll be trying to decipher what the new Villa Clara code is because I've had great luck with boxes rolled there recently.  

[MahDooRow]

I'll second the quality coming out of SOM.  I've received some very good boxes from this factory.  However, I also strongly agree that chasing specific box codes is unnecessary.  If you're buying from Rob via the 24:24 sales you know exactly what you're getting in terms of quality (regardless of box code).  

[jcorona]

Agree with the above. However if you are at a duty free somewhere, buying blind, and you see two boxes of coro, one with the AMO code and the other with LEP, you'll pick up the AMO box cause you know it comes from el laguito, and therefore there's a higher probability of getting better quality cigars. Some basic knowledge of box codes is necessary, and it's also fun.

[SilverFoxPDX]

Anyone have an idea about SUM or SGA codes from 2016? Don’t see on sheet, would be ERDM Belux

[Derboesekoenig]

On 8/6/2017 at 11:23 PM, jcorona said:

Agree with the above. However if you are at a duty free somewhere, buying blind, and you see two boxes of coro, one with the AMO code and the other with LEP, you'll pick up the AMO box cause you know it comes from el laguito, and therefore there's a higher probability of getting better quality cigars. Some basic knowledge of box codes is necessary, and it's also fun.

I know this is an old post....alas, no I would most certainly not! I'll be opening both boxes and picking whichever looked better to me, despite box codes. Always have to open them, ESPECIALLY at a duty free, I might add.