Box-pressed cigars were first created in Cuba for ease of packaging and to keep them from rolling off the tabaquero’s table. But just as the shape of a glass can affect the flavor of fine Cognac, the shape of a cigar can influence its taste, and this four-sided cigar smokes cooler and conveys the tobacco’s taste more strongly. The new Davidoff Nicaragua Box Pressed ($15.10–$17.80, davidoff.com) is an especially notable example. In comparison with the other Nicaraguan puro shapes in this line, the dark, oily Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapper and its fillers from Ometepe, Condega, and Estelí express more spice and earthiness, as both the 5 × 48 robusto and 6 × 52 toro attest.
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