This question arises from last night.
Weeks ago, I'd bought a 5-pack of Punch Rothschilds in an oscuro wrapper from CBid and absolutely loved them.
I bought the exact same cigar (wrapper, brand, size, and all) from my local shop...and it wasn't near as good.
Maybe the ones from CBids were aged (which is pretty common with CI and CBids, thankfully), but here's the thing...
I'd also bought a Punch Rare Corojo from the same place. The cellophane was near brown, but the smoke was just bland, no complexity at all. The smoke shop in question has a big humidor room, and all the single cigars, except for a few in boxes, are kept in plexiglass bins. And besides the inside of the boxes, I don't think there's any cedar in that room either. Plus, the humi room is bright and well-lit, so that could contribute too. So could all these be reasons why my two smokes from that place were just mediocre?
Further damning evidence is that I had an Excalibur 1066 Dark Knight from there that had been kept in the box, and it was a great smoke.
I have a few other smokes from there (including a HDM 135th Anniversary robusto from the bins), and I'm hoping they don't suck like these others did.
(Note: Godfather has suggested the Punch RC's cello could've been browned up because of humidity swings. And althought the owner has been in business a long time, I get the impression he either doesn't know how to age cigars well or he just doesn't think any smokes will be in there long enough to age.)