How we source and check our vintage cigars

A vintage box is only worth what its history can support. Boxes that have passed through several hands over twenty or thirty years can arrive beautifully kept — or quietly ruined. This is how we handle the vintage cigars we offer, and what we can tell you about each one.

Where the boxes come from

Our vintage boxes are acquired from private collectors, not from open marketplaces. In practice this means we know who we bought from and when. For most boxes we can also tell you roughly how long they were held and under what storage conditions — ask us before you order and we will tell you what we know, including when the answer is "less than we would like".

What we check on arrival

Every box is opened and examined at our Madrid shop before it is listed. We look at three things:

• The box itself — factory and date codes, seals, warranty stamp, and whether the construction matches what a box of that period should look like.
• Condition — wrapper appearance, signs of past humidity swings, mould, beetle damage, and how the cigars sit in the box.
• Consistency — bands, moulds and dimensions against the reference for that vitola and that year.

Boxes that do not convince us are not listed. We would rather lose the sale than sell you something we are unsure about.

How they are kept

Once accepted, boxes are held in our humidified storage in Madrid until they ship, at stable humidity and temperature. Vintage cigars are not rescued by good storage — but they are ruined by bad storage, and that part is within our control.

What we do not claim

We are a Madrid tobacconist, not a certification body. We do not issue certificates of authenticity, and no seal we could print would make a box more genuine than it is. What we offer instead is a named seller, a documented source, an inspection we can describe to you in detail, and a straightforward position if something is wrong when it reaches you.

If you have questions about a particular box — its origin, its codes, its condition — write to us before ordering. We would rather answer ten questions than settle one dispute.