Macanudo Freshness Packs

[mahtofire14]

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.

[Emjaysmash]

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.

[shilala]

[mahtofire14]

Scott any HumiGod knowledge on this???

Originally Posted by shilala

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

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

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by Robulous78

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

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

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

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.

[T.G]

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.

Originally Posted by Emjaysmash

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.

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

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by T.G

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.

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.

[mjdx88]

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.

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...

[dubleuhb]

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.

Originally Posted by dubleuhb

I doubt anyone who buys these is actually going to keep them more than a week anyway.

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

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...

[AdamJoshua]

Originally Posted by Robulous78

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...

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.

[RWhisenand]

Originally Posted by Robulous78

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...

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.

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?

[Zane]

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.

[stevef2005]

Originally Posted by Zane

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.

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

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...

[Mattso3000]

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.