Are cigars out of cabinets of 50 better?

[Jooners]

I’ve read and heard that cigars out of 50 cabinets are far better. Is this just an urban legend or is there some validity to it?

[Pigpen]

Cabinets of 50 look better


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[griller]

I've never been able to detect any difference, neither cosmetically nor flavor/quality wise, between cigars coming from 50ct. cabinets and boxes of 25.

[Ginseng]

It's hard to say without doing a strict A/B test. But anecdotally, I'd say the cigar itself is the far larger factor. Meaning I've had cigars from 25-dressed boxes that are amazing and from 50-SLB that were mundane.

[BrightonCorgi]

I sure hope they are not better.  Wooden box and tied into a bundle are the only differences.

[Ginseng]

45 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I sure hope they are not better.  Wooden box and tied into a bundle are the only differences.

Not really. The count and packing structure also differs and this two things contribute to the incredible "punch in the nose" wave of aroma you get when you open a 50-SLB that you really don't get from a 25-dressed.

[havanaclub]

They are infinitely better, round, construction, smell out of the cab and handpicked by the factory. Go all in


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[Corylax18]

I don't think there is any evidence (none that I'm aware of at least) that current 50 Cabs are packed with superior Cigars to dress boxes or cardboard. 

BUT. If you gave me the same cigar, but aged 10 years in either of the three packaging options I'm picking the 50 Cab every time. Aging the tobacco, on more tobaccos has to be better that aging it against cardboard or paper. I dont have any hard evidence, but I've smoked plenty of older cigars from 50 cabs and they've almost all been wonderful.

[Chibearsv]

50 cigars that you like is better than 25 cigars that you like.

[Shrimpchips]

2 hours ago, Jooners said:

I’ve read and heard that cigars out of 50 cabinets are far better. Is this just an urban legend or is there some validity to it?

Given that 50s are usually more costly than purchasing two 25s of the same vitola, I’d wager that the premium tastes delicious.  Maybe it depends on the vitola, but in my limited experience smoking Party Shorts from similar ages from a dress box vs 50 cabinet, like was said above, I think the individual box matters more than the packaging itself.

[joeypots]

I don't know if 50s cabs taste better than 25 boxes. 50s are great when they are full but take up disproportionate space in the humidor as the # of cigars in the  cab goes down. So, there is a practical reason to buy flat boxes or at least 25 count SLBs. I don't like playing humidor Tetris when I have a 50 cab with 15 cigars in it. It is though, a good problem to have.

[Bords]

I’ve had bad luck with aging cigars in flat boxes, often get an overly woody taste (counterintuitive but I think it is the cedar sheet separating the two layers). I’m talking 5 years plus. PSP monte 2 were great fresh in 2017 but are all cedar now in 2021.


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[KCCubano]

Getting a bad 50 Cab not good either. Twice as bad. Its happened to me a few times. 50 Cab of early Mag 50s and a Epi 2 come to mind. They make great gifts! 

[Tstew75]

Absolutely not.

[BrightonCorgi]

8 hours ago, Ginseng said:

Not really. The count and packing structure also differs and this two things contribute to the incredible "punch in the nose" wave of aroma you get when you open a 50-SLB that you really don't get from a 25-dressed.

How does the smell of a cab relate into a better smoking cigar?  Dress boxes can be quite aromatic as well.  I am not knocking 50 cabs at all.  I don't see much difference beyond most the cigars may be rounder and it looks cooler.

 

6 hours ago, joeypots said:

I don't know if 50s cabs taste better than 25 boxes. 50s are great when they are full but take up disproportionate space in the humidor as the # of cigars in the  cab goes down. So, there is a practical reason to buy flat boxes or at least 25 count SLBs. I don't like playing humidor Tetris when I have a 50 cab with 15 cigars in it. it is though, a good problem to have.

Totally agree.

[justince]

Might get hate for this, but a lot of cigar connoisseurs live their mantras by straight-up pseudoscience (plume, Rh levels, hell even tasting notes....the list goes on). Even Rob's grading, let's be honest...how can you tell if a stick is gonna smoke well if it has a pretty wrapper? Let alone every stick in the box? If you retort with "well the wrapper is the most important leaf", then you are proving my point. They are all tobacco leaves; what logic would deduce that one leaf would give a stronger flavor than the rest? Because it looks pretty? It's called placebo. The reason why manufacturers tend to put stronger blends in darker wrappers is for that reason: in our minds, a "dark cigar" must be stronger than a "light" one. There's nothing else to it than that.

 

Sorry for the rant, but going back on topic, I highly doubt there is any difference outside of Habanos dress boxes tend to get a mild box press, whereas the cabs stay round. I really doubt there's even an ageing difference too. Pure placebo in my book.

 

Hell, cigar ageing is a pseudo-science of it's own. We introduce so many foreign agents into our humidors just by touching the cigars with our bare hands, I'm sure people who age other things would be in pain seeing what we do 😂

[mprach024]

No difference, it’s just twice the cigars which is nice.  Honestly I prefer to have 2 25SLB, as the 50 count are awkward as hell in my cabinet humidor.  

[NSXCIGAR]

Exponentially better. They have no box press. 

[ChangBang]

6 hours ago, Bords said:

I’ve had bad luck with aging cigars in flat boxes, often get an overly woody taste (counterintuitive but I think it is the cedar sheet separating the two layers). I’m talking 5 years plus. PSP monte 2 were great fresh in 2017 but are all cedar now in 2021.


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Hmmm that's interesting, wonder what the point if the cedar divider is in general?  Ive been either taking it out or just setting it on top of the 2 rows of cigars

[mprach024]

30 minutes ago, ChangBang said:

Hmmm that's interesting, wonder what the point if the cedar divider is in general?  Ive been either taking it out or just setting it on top of the 2 rows of cigars

I always put it on the bottom.  Don’t know why, just always preferred the bottom row on cedar vs paper

[SCgarman]

4 hours ago, justince said:

Might get hate for this, but a lot of cigar connoisseurs live their mantras by straight-up pseudoscience (plume, Rh levels, hell even tasting notes....the list goes on). Even Rob's grading, let's be honest...how can you tell if a stick is gonna smoke well if it has a pretty wrapper? Let alone every stick in the box? If you retort with "well the wrapper is the most important leaf", then you are proving my point. They are all tobacco leaves; what logic would deduce that one leaf would give a stronger flavor than the rest? Because it looks pretty? It's called placebo. The reason why manufacturers tend to put stronger blends in darker wrappers is for that reason: in our minds, a "dark cigar" must be stronger than a "light" one. There's nothing else to it than that.

 

Sorry for the rant, but going back on topic, I highly doubt there is any difference outside of Habanos dress boxes tend to get a mild box press, whereas the cabs stay round. I really doubt there's even an ageing difference too. Pure placebo in my book.

 

Hell, cigar ageing is a pseudo-science of it's own. We introduce so many foreign agents into our humidors just by touching the cigars with our bare hands, I'm sure people who age other things would be in pain seeing what we do 😂

The pretty looking wrapper cigars are just that. You can wrap up a mean old hag in a beautiful dress and makeup and heels and she may look like a playboy centerfold. But on the inside still just a mean old hag. Some of the best cigars I have had regarding Cuban cigars have been ugly sticks wrapper wise.

[Jimmy_jack]

I guess it takes twice as long to reach the bottom…so sticks towards the bottom are more aged than a 25ct?

[havanaclub]

I don't know if 50s cabs taste better than 25 boxes. 50s are great when they are full but take up disproportionate space in the humidor as the # of cigars in the  cab goes down. So, there is a practical reason to buy flat boxes or at least 25 count SLBs. I don't like playing humidor Tetris when I have a 50 cab with 15 cigars in it. It is though, a good problem to have.

But there is a solution... buy another humidor lol


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[Enduin]

6 hours ago, justince said:

Might get hate for this, but a lot of cigar connoisseurs live their mantras by straight-up pseudoscience (plume, Rh levels, hell even tasting notes....the list goes on). Even Rob's grading, let's be honest...how can you tell if a stick is gonna smoke well if it has a pretty wrapper? Let alone every stick in the box? If you retort with "well the wrapper is the most important leaf", then you are proving my point. They are all tobacco leaves; what logic would deduce that one leaf would give a stronger flavor than the rest? Because it looks pretty? It's called placebo. The reason why manufacturers tend to put stronger blends in darker wrappers is for that reason: in our minds, a "dark cigar" must be stronger than a "light" one. There's nothing else to it than that.

 

Sorry for the rant, but going back on topic, I highly doubt there is any difference outside of Habanos dress boxes tend to get a mild box press, whereas the cabs stay round. I really doubt there's even an ageing difference too. Pure placebo in my book.

 

Hell, cigar ageing is a pseudo-science of it's own. We introduce so many foreign agents into our humidors just by touching the cigars with our bare hands, I'm sure people who age other things would be in pain seeing what we do 😂

Not gonna give you hate, but I respectfully disagree with your opinion. Some things are pseudoscience (plume is a good example), others are not.

Regarding Rob's grading, the way I understand it there is no guarantee that the cigars are going to smoke well as in perfect draw and combustion, but that's just half of the equation. The other half is whether or not better quality tobacco has been used to roll those specific cigars. That can absolutely be judged by an expert like Rob by looking at the appearance of the cigars and evaluating the smell and feel of the cigar. So by getting Rob's higher grade stuff you at least know that chances are (even he is not infallible of course) that the cigars are made with quality tobacco and without MAJOR construction flaws. They can still be plugged or have other not-so-obvious construction flaws but you are reducing your risk. 

Also the "they are all tobacco leaves" statement is demonstrably wrong. The flavor that we get from tobacco comes from the chemicals that were in the leaves when they were harvested. It's a well known fact that the chemicals in tobacco (or other plants) can change pretty dramatically due to temperature, water, sun exposure, chemicals in the soil, and a myriad of other factors, and it has been proven with GC/MS lab analysis. This is without even considering the curing process, which can be done more or less skillfully and it will also affect the flavor of the final product. You ask about the logic for which one leaf would give a stronger flavor than others? If it's at the top of the plant it will get more sun and it will develop more chemicals that will result in more flavor (coeteris paribus) than a leaf grown at the base of the plant where it's always in the shade. If one leaf comes from a year where the weather was better for the tobacco, or the soil had more nutrients, it will likely have more and better flavor than a leaf grown in a crappy year. The list goes on.  

I mean if everything were just placebo, then all red wines made anywhere from any vintage ever would all taste the same because they are all made with fermented grapes, all cheese would taste the same because they are all made of milk, and so on. It's pretty obvious that that is not the case. 

Back to the 50 cab topic, I can totally see an impact from not having the box press and hence possibly having a better draw, so that could make them "better". For the rest like with aging, I feel like the connection is a lot more farfetched but you never know. I'm a strong believer of the old saying: the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. 

[SCgarman]

50 count cabs are going the way of the dinosaur, so enjoy the few that are still produced. For myself I have no preference to packaging. A good cigar is a good cigar. I don't care whether it comes from a 50 cab, 25 cab, 25 SBN or 25 dress box.