Box Pressed

[Ropey]

Not so much the shape as the press which causes the difference in burn and flavor.

Try this experiment. You'll need two of the same cigar and some Lego pieces. Take the Lego pieces and build a long open-ended "box" just slightly smaller than the cigar. Put one cigar in so that it's squished. Wrap Lego box with tape if necessary. Let them sit for a year. Smoke em. See if there's any difference.

[rodwha]

I remember someone explaining this before that most of the box pressed cigars these days aren't a true box press. Meaning they are packed tightly in boxes and that's what squares them off a bit. They are rolled round but then put in a mold to get the desired shape. After they've sat in the mold for a specified amount of time then the wrapper is put on. Which would give credence to Nature's theory of there being a little more wrapper to influence the flavor. Hopefully someone more experienced can explain better.

I'll buy that I suppose. I thought they were rolled round and then pressed into shape. But then I am quite ignorant of a lot of things cigar. Not long ago I was under the impression that Maduro wrappers were shunned and then Jeremy sent me some and set me straight!

[allusred]

I'll buy that I suppose. I thought they were rolled round and then pressed into shape. But then I am quite ignorant of a lot of things cigar. Not long ago I was under the impression that Maduro wrappers were shunned and then Jeremy sent me some and set me straight!

I'm one of dose guys wot bin shunin Maduros...fer quite a time.
Smoke sum now, tho still ain't my top choice wrapper.

[herman]

dont know but I prefer them yet not sure why.... this thread is a good start.

[Engineer99]

As I understand it, box pressing started out with cigars being squared off on the sides by the tight packing into the box. Some makers liked the look and deliberately pressed the cigars during the rolling process for purely aesthetic reasons. Another reason some box press is for a slower burn, compressing the tobacco together to firm up the draw and change the combustion characteristics for any number of reasons.

[allusred]

As I understand it, box pressing started out with cigars being squared off on the sides by the tight packing into the box. Some makers liked the look and deliberately pressed the cigars during the rolling process for purely aesthetic reasons. Another reason some box press is for a slower burn, compressing the tobacco together to firm up the draw and change the combustion characteristics for any number of reasons.

Will have to start picking up some Box Pressed cigars...need some smokes that will burn longer, seems everything I set fire is reduced to ashes in no time at all.

[Sir Lancerolot]

I thought they were rolled round and then pressed into shape.

They are - at least partially. Cigars consist of filler rolled in a binder and then rolled in a wrapper. Commercial (and a lot of home-rolled) handmade cigars are placed in a mold after the filler is rolled in the binder. After the desired time in the mold, the wrapper is added.

I don't think the box-pressed molds are likely to squish the filler any tighter than cylindrical molds or whatever other shape is used. But they do change the shape of the cigar, which might influence the ratio of wrapper to binder/filler. It's also not impossible that the square shape affects the way air passes through the cigar, as opposed to a cylindrical shape.