Macanudo Freshness Packs
 

I was sitting in my living room watching the 2013 Golf Merchandise show on Golf Channel and after wishing I had the ceiling space in my house to justify buying an OptiShot, they go to an anchor standing in front of a wall of cigars!!! I'm thinking, here we go! Then he starts talking about Macanudo Cigars....As if that wasn't bad enough he begins to explain to me that Macanudo has a new process that once their cigars are rolled they place them in this freshness pack. Think a bag of Backwoods Cigars. Looks like that. Apparently Macanudo says this locks in the freshness for 3 years.....right.

I have always wanted to like Macanudo and then they do something like this.

Re: Macanudo Freshness Packs
 

Is the pouch air tight, or do they just seal it all in with a nice slathering of PG?

Honestly though, anyone who cares how the cigars will taste after three years wont be buying them in a pouch. They all probably have humidors.

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Re: Macanudo Freshness Packs
 

Scott any HumiGod knowledge on this???

Re: Macanudo Freshness Packs
 

These have been out for, I believe, at least a year now.

I don't know if these use PG or not nor am I familiar with the process that General Cigar uses for these pouches or what the pouches are made of. I know there is at least one person on this forum who works for General, maybe they can comment on people's concern about these things.

Personally, I think it's a great idea. How often have you seen premium cigars improperly stored at liquor stores, gas stations, golf pro shops, etc? This packaging can eliminate most of that. They are packaged in singles, this is perfect for the occasional smoker, you know, the guy who buys two cigars for the golf course every month, or one to go fishing with, etc. This is how you bring them over to our side, rather than turning them off with a dried out/overly moist/moldy or otherwise unsmokeable premium cigar.


So only people with humidors care about how their cigars taste? That's absurd.

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I had an Excalibur that was packed the same way. It tasted fresh. I posted about this a while ago. I figure it would be nice to be able to buy a box of theses and keep a few in my desk at work and other places with out setting up a humi or bringing one with you.

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Looks like Macanudo wants to break into the blunt wrap market IMHO... :lr

Sad to see a company with mediocre reputation drop the bar this low...

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I could not agree more. I love the idea as well, especially for gas stations, almost every gas station around here has a humidor, but doesn't use ANY humidity source... And around here the ambient RH in the air is around 40RH normally, very dry.

The only thing that bugs me is the fact they say they can last "up to" 3 years. So after 3 year they are dry? In my mind this means that there is a known problem with the packaging that could cause it to leak. Isn't a perfectly sealed environment going to lock in the correct RH forever? Maybe not?

Wish someone with knowledge could comment.

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More seriously... I see Adam and Derrick's point... but I think Derrick brings up a good question... are these packs really something NEW or are they just like the packs that white-owl's come in now? Sorry to say that if they are... they too will eventually dry out...

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They have several different brands at one of my locals packaged like this. I think it is a great idea as TG said for newcomers and those just grabbing a smoke or two on the run.
I doubt anyone who buys these is actually going to keep them more than a week anyway.

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Another thought on this... why not just sell the cigars in a tube or a tube with a better seal so the product can be viewed and evaluated before purchase? I have never liked the idea of "mystery buying" anything...

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I agree... but they might sit on the shelves for a a couple months with various temperature spikes and humidity changes...

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Yeah, I guess one of the top grossing cigar companies in the world has to worry what you think about their reputation. :sh

As Adam stated, this looks more like an attempt to insure their cigars are better presented to the casual smoker. Macanudo is already one of the top selling brands in the world. By increasing their presence to other retailers it will only help the brand grow. :2

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Ok... Ok... my slight towards Mancanudo aside... I would have rather seen them take a more traditional approach toward cigar presentation and preservation... A tube or "new and improved" tube or something would have accomplished that... without the tube the cigar is left open to impact damage at the very least...


Yes, I am sure Macanudo will do just fine and cares nothing about what I think of their reputation, they are a top selling brand in the world and I am sure this will expand their market as well...

Personally, I have always been weary of cigars that show up in gas-stations... the people that sell them know nothing about the product, the way it should be cared for, ect... I always shy away from anything I see behind a gas station counter and if I were Macanudo, I would not want my product to be surrounded by all the rest of that cr@p... IMHO...

now take macanudo out of the equation... what would you think if you walked into a gas station and saw a Viaje surrounded by Blunts, White-Owls, Dutch-masters, and the like? might change what you thought Viaje's were.... right?

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If I remember reading about these Drew Estate thought about using these for Acids. It's a smart marketing method. Going on vacation? Grab a pack and go.

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apparently I am the dissenting opinion on this... so I'll let it go... I just disagree with the idea, but then again I'm sure everyone disagrees with something... :2

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They had these at a couple golf courses this year here. Looked like it worked fairly well for that purpose. Also saw fuentes in a similar pack but it was more like a single finger bag with a small boveda in it.

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Heh, the Lars Tetens super-exclusive uber special packaging that he learned from a 1700 year old wise man living in a cave at the top of the Himalayas they he, Lars, himself scaled while only wearing a speedo armed only with a plastic spork from KFC, and fought off a hundred mongol warriors, ten elephants, six attack trained lions, and sonic the hedgehog, to reach.

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Say what?

:D

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Wait? You mean Lars was full of **** when he told that story?

:sad

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I got your gorilla finger right here. :pn

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Cost, these "sudo-plastic-metalic-substitute" pouchs are most likely pennies to mass produce, they have more 'ad space' on them and they can make them stand out and look flashy, think bigger billboard than a tube would be (again not to mention so much cheaper).

The main problem or one of the problems i see is the kid in the store that mashes a bunch of these up or snaps the sticks and puts them back, that would suck.

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Impact damage... yes...

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How dare you disrespect the man like that.

He's a modern day da Vinci I tell you.

He even wrote that about himself on his website, so it must be true.

After all, he invented the art of cigar rolling. Just ask him.

(talk to the schmuck long enough, he'll tell you how he invented electricity too)

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I have not seen these Fresh packs, but they would not put me off buying a Macanudo. They used to be my favorite lunch time smoke when I worked in the city.

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Just visited the website... the selfies and articles on his next-to-godliness made my day :r:r:r

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Clearly what a modern day da Vinci looks like:
http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/...ps595c1e2e.jpg

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I've seen these in a few convenience stores and have purchased ones that I enjoy every now and then, including Macanudo, Punch and Partagas. They tasted great, BECAUSE I enjoy those brands anyway. If I saw Viajes like this, I would snag some up, without any change of my opinion of them. I think it's a great idea for those brands to found in places where a humidor wouldn't be ideal, like convenience stores. I've probably purchased a box worth so far with no problems of damage or construction flaws. It is kinda of a gamble though buying them sight unseen, but I don't believe it's any more of a gamble than buying mass produced hand made cigars any other way.

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They do use them for Acids. Saw at a gas station near my bothers house.

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That would be CertiFresh display's that you saw. They sell to thousands of golf courses all across the country.


http://certifreshcigar.com/index.html
http://certifreshcigar.com/OurDisplays.html

Re: Macanudo Freshness Packs
 

I can tell you firsthand there was a lot of thought and debate over this product before GCC released the freshness packs. Personally i didnt agree with the conclusion but on paper it actually makes a lot of sense.

There are approximately 2500 b&m retailers in the country that sell premium cigars? How many convenience stores, pharmacies, gas stations are there in the US? Hundred thousand? More? Even if they capture only 1% of that market General Cigar has increased their distribution points by an incredible amount. This required a solution to store and sell cigars without the need for a walk-in or display humidor. Hence freshness packs.

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Macanudo is really marketing to the golf crowd these days. They are a primary sponsor of the Big Break show and I've seen them noted as the sponsor of a few local charity golf tournaments. Never tried one of the freshness pack cigars but I'm not a fan of macanudos anyway. If it works, it's a good idea for supplying cigars to retail locations that don't want to have humidors or a big cigar selection. I think the intent is that people are going to smoke them right after buying them, so the bags are probably more for retailer storage and shelf life. That's my two cents anyway :)

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i'm not big on Macanudo, but some of the worst ones i've ever had were in those metal tubes you see in gas stations, and travel plazas... you know, the ones with that cute transparent plastic "humidor" thingie.

like sucking s*** through a straw, may as well bought a handful of philly blunt's.

maybe the fresh pack will be a minor improvement

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I've seen what you are describing at a few of the finer B&M's I've visited while in Panama. One even had a very little humidification stone in the cap, and it was intended to seal the humidity in. I believe these tubes were made locally and intended for the gentile man who purchases a single to enjoy later. They were sold with a locally produced cigar, I tried one, wasn't bad, but to fellow running the store mentioned that often customers will dispose of the Panama cigar for one of their more desired sticks.

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General isn't the only company, I know of at least one other manufacturer who will launch fresh packs in the next year. And I think it is a great idea, it reaches out to a whole new crowd and make this industry grow and that helps us fighting the ridiculous smoke laws for example.