A German banker, Herman Upmann, loved cigars. So when he opened a branch in Cuba, he was extra thrilled to be relocating, and he was sure his VIP customers would enjoy the benefits of a Cuban bank branch, too.
He had cedar boxes made to ship cigars back to Germany to his best customers. Upmann didn't know that he would be starting a tradition in cigar packaging that would last to this day.
That's because cedar actually helps preserve the cigars. It keeps away beetles and also helps to stabilize the humidity (the reason why you have a humidor ) and adds that signature cedar flavor to the smoke.
These days, not all cigar boxes are solid cedar. Some manufacturers use cedar plywood, which is cheaper but still effective. Others only include a thin sheet of cedar on top of the cigars. That way, customers who spend less money still reap some of the benefits of the cedar wood without the added price.
Some cigars are actually box-pressed. Originally, Cuban cigars were tightly packed into the boxes, incidentally taking on a squared profile, but nowadays, most box-pressed cigars are molded into that shape intentionally. Many smokers like the way box-pressed cigars fit in the hand and in the mouth, as the contours provide a more natural fit than a rounded profile, especially those that are “soft pressed” with more rounded corners.
One box-pressed cigar is the Partagas Legend cigar, but that isn't the only sophisticated thing about this handcrafted cigar. It comes in newly-designed packaging, with a white lacquered box and elegant matching white embossed bands.
Despite its nod to the future, the blend of historically significant tobaccos honors the favorites of the men who started the brand. It incorporates a Honduran Olanco San Agustin binder and Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, along with filler leaves of Dominican Piloto Cubano.
Now all you need to do is get out a cigar cutter and you're all set.
