Looking at a website I noticed that there are two identical cigars w/ the same description but one has SLB added to the name and cost a little bit more. What does the SLB mean? I could not find it listed in there glossary.
Ok so I've got my first Noob question
- Thread starter Frank N
- Start date
Here is some history if you are interested.
The term Cabinet is a British invention and it really means cabinet, a big cabinet.
According to a Hunters and Frankau newsletter a few years ago, which I can’t locate now, during the turn of the 20th Century some private customers ordered thousands of cigars from one factory in one single order. The factories put those cigars in a large cabinet, those cigars were packaged in bundles of 50s tied with a silk ribbon and packaged inside cubical unvarnished slide lid boxes.
These big cabinets (now empty of course), typically double door cabinets which can hold more than 40 Slide Lid Boxes still appear in every cigar auction of Christie’s. These cabinets came marked with the name of the brand. And sometimes the name of the customer. (See the Churchill entry in the MRN book for the look of these cabinets).
The packaging was plain because the beautiful dress boxes were a marketing ploy to lure customers to buy cigars. Customers pre-ordered these cigars and so the look of the packaging was not really important.
Sometime later cigar merchants in the UK began to import these huge cabinets themselves and sell the Slide Lid Boxes individually. The Slide Lid Box remained that way.
I think it’s a reverse snobbery thing and customers who purchased these Slide Lid Boxes knew already what they wanted to buy, and therefore the beautiful trimmings in the dress boxes were not really that necessary.
The cigars in those Slide Lid Boxes were popularly called Cabinet cigars. And the Slide Lid Boxes were called Cabinets.
They were even marketed by UK cigar merchants as better cigars and those cigars were labelled as “Cabinet Selection”.
The term Cabinet is a British invention and it really means cabinet, a big cabinet.
According to a Hunters and Frankau newsletter a few years ago, which I can’t locate now, during the turn of the 20th Century some private customers ordered thousands of cigars from one factory in one single order. The factories put those cigars in a large cabinet, those cigars were packaged in bundles of 50s tied with a silk ribbon and packaged inside cubical unvarnished slide lid boxes.
These big cabinets (now empty of course), typically double door cabinets which can hold more than 40 Slide Lid Boxes still appear in every cigar auction of Christie’s. These cabinets came marked with the name of the brand. And sometimes the name of the customer. (See the Churchill entry in the MRN book for the look of these cabinets).
The packaging was plain because the beautiful dress boxes were a marketing ploy to lure customers to buy cigars. Customers pre-ordered these cigars and so the look of the packaging was not really important.
Sometime later cigar merchants in the UK began to import these huge cabinets themselves and sell the Slide Lid Boxes individually. The Slide Lid Box remained that way.
I think it’s a reverse snobbery thing and customers who purchased these Slide Lid Boxes knew already what they wanted to buy, and therefore the beautiful trimmings in the dress boxes were not really that necessary.
The cigars in those Slide Lid Boxes were popularly called Cabinet cigars. And the Slide Lid Boxes were called Cabinets.
They were even marketed by UK cigar merchants as better cigars and those cigars were labelled as “Cabinet Selection”.
Wasch_24
2005 BoY
It is the same cigar but some feel it is different now and will become even more different later...let me explain.
SLB cigars are not going to be box pressed, or square-ish in shape. Therefore, side-by-side the two cigars will appear different. They will even feel different while being smoked. Personally I prefer SLB cigars over dress box cigars of the same vitola. I just like them to be nice and round.
SLB cigars are also going to age differently. I am by no means smart enough to go into the details, although there are plenty to be found, but cigars in an SLB age differently then cigars in a dress box. It has to do with the amount of air space and other things. Some would argue they age better...but I'll just leave it at different.
SLB cigars are not going to be box pressed, or square-ish in shape. Therefore, side-by-side the two cigars will appear different. They will even feel different while being smoked. Personally I prefer SLB cigars over dress box cigars of the same vitola. I just like them to be nice and round.
SLB cigars are also going to age differently. I am by no means smart enough to go into the details, although there are plenty to be found, but cigars in an SLB age differently then cigars in a dress box. It has to do with the amount of air space and other things. Some would argue they age better...but I'll just leave it at different.
Are they different blends?
I can state as a FACT that Cabinet cigars were of a different blend until 1997. This is not an OPINION as to how they taste differently, they have different constructions. Cabinet cigars have a “solid foot”. That is, if you squeeze the foot, it does not yield. This is because the cigars are made from much bigger leaves and cut to the correct lengths. A lot of leaves are “wasted”. But this is the way to bunch cabinet cigars in order to give their rich taste. The tip of a tobacco leaf does not have much taste.
Up to 1997, the ratio of Cabinets to Dress Boxes of the same vitola was about 1 to 10. And during 1997, the time cigars shortage was at its height, Cabinets retailed in parallel cigar merchants in Hong Kong for 2.5 times the price as dress boxes. The “official” retail price of Cabinet cigars in Pacific Cigar was 20% higher than dress boxes.
In the UK, they are not even listed for sale. The cabinets were reserved for special customers. See the pic of the price list of JJ Fox in 1994. There are no cabinets listed.
Policies were changed during Autumn 1997, cabinet cigars began to have the same blend as dress boxes cigars and the retail price became the same. This is the beginning of the crazy era, in fact, in some cases the same cigars were produced for different vitolas. See this pic of 2 boxes of 0ASU (June 1998) of “Londres Finos/ Petit Partagás”, the same cigars (same size by the way) was packaged at the same time with 2 different vitola names. This was busted when the guy who packaged these 2 boxes fucked up and placed 2 different labels on the same boxes.
As for why this change was not mentioned in the MRN book. Francisco Linares’ reign as Head of Habanos S.A. ended in mid-2000. The following few years were extremely chaotic years when it comes to official policies. The new management just took over and many blundering policies were subjected to review. This coincided with the period when the MRN book was written. No one can tell whether this would be a permanent policy. If this is regarded as a blundering policy. This piece of history is better forgotten, to protect the reputation of Havana cigars.
This is again not from me but most of you can probably guess who it's from.
I can state as a FACT that Cabinet cigars were of a different blend until 1997. This is not an OPINION as to how they taste differently, they have different constructions. Cabinet cigars have a “solid foot”. That is, if you squeeze the foot, it does not yield. This is because the cigars are made from much bigger leaves and cut to the correct lengths. A lot of leaves are “wasted”. But this is the way to bunch cabinet cigars in order to give their rich taste. The tip of a tobacco leaf does not have much taste.
Up to 1997, the ratio of Cabinets to Dress Boxes of the same vitola was about 1 to 10. And during 1997, the time cigars shortage was at its height, Cabinets retailed in parallel cigar merchants in Hong Kong for 2.5 times the price as dress boxes. The “official” retail price of Cabinet cigars in Pacific Cigar was 20% higher than dress boxes.
In the UK, they are not even listed for sale. The cabinets were reserved for special customers. See the pic of the price list of JJ Fox in 1994. There are no cabinets listed.
Policies were changed during Autumn 1997, cabinet cigars began to have the same blend as dress boxes cigars and the retail price became the same. This is the beginning of the crazy era, in fact, in some cases the same cigars were produced for different vitolas. See this pic of 2 boxes of 0ASU (June 1998) of “Londres Finos/ Petit Partagás”, the same cigars (same size by the way) was packaged at the same time with 2 different vitola names. This was busted when the guy who packaged these 2 boxes fucked up and placed 2 different labels on the same boxes.
As for why this change was not mentioned in the MRN book. Francisco Linares’ reign as Head of Habanos S.A. ended in mid-2000. The following few years were extremely chaotic years when it comes to official policies. The new management just took over and many blundering policies were subjected to review. This coincided with the period when the MRN book was written. No one can tell whether this would be a permanent policy. If this is regarded as a blundering policy. This piece of history is better forgotten, to protect the reputation of Havana cigars.
This is again not from me but most of you can probably guess who it's from.
FYI...
SLB are generally slightly stronger than the identical vitola in a dress box. This is due to the amonia levels in a young cigar being trapped more efficiently in the thicker walls of a SLB. They are also clumped together and not sepearted by that thin flat piece of cedar as in the dress boxes.As the cigar ages, amonias are released by the tobacco. Sometimes this is a very strong smell as a newer box is opened.
Again....Smoke those Cubans at least two years after they are manufactured! I read so many reviews of Havanas that are just too young to smoke, and the review (of course) is bad. Cuba is producing younger and younger cigars these days. It used to be that a retailer would recive Havanas that had a least a year of age on them. Now they are just a few months old in some cases, and barely saleable.
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
SLB are generally slightly stronger than the identical vitola in a dress box. This is due to the amonia levels in a young cigar being trapped more efficiently in the thicker walls of a SLB. They are also clumped together and not sepearted by that thin flat piece of cedar as in the dress boxes.As the cigar ages, amonias are released by the tobacco. Sometimes this is a very strong smell as a newer box is opened.
Again....Smoke those Cubans at least two years after they are manufactured! I read so many reviews of Havanas that are just too young to smoke, and the review (of course) is bad. Cuba is producing younger and younger cigars these days. It used to be that a retailer would recive Havanas that had a least a year of age on them. Now they are just a few months old in some cases, and barely saleable.
Happy Thanksgiving, all!