My brother-in-law found out i have been getting myself into cigars and said he had some for me. Handed me this oliva 6-sampler box still had the seal and wrapped in plastic. I have absolutely no idea how old these are or in what conditions they were stored in. I opened the box and dividers looked pretty warped. and all the hinges are rusted but the outside of the box looks intact. Upon removing one of the cigars from its recent home i notice how yellow the cello is, on all 6. I've heard that is a good sign they are aged, but again, not sure what condition they have been stored. i don't see any "mold" but the inside of the cellos boast several white-sh "spots" that have a snowflake like pattern to them. They smell like a cigar (never had an "aged" cigar so nothing to compare it to) i have attempted to remove a few of them from the cello and they almost look "waxy" (plume?) i am attempting to bring these bad boys back to health in a zip lock back and some 70% Xicar Pillows. i am a little weary of storing them with my regular stash because i don't know if there is anything on them and i don't want them to "infect" my other cigars.

Is there anything i can do to tell the age of the box/cigars? if they were stored for years un-humidified (which is most likely the case since my Bro-in-law doesn't smoke), are they even going to be smoke-able?

i can throw some pics up in when i get home from work but until then...should i even be wasting my time?

The Oliva V line isn't that old. I suppose the cello could turn yellow after only a couple years, but even the labels look worn out. It could be my cheap PC and monitor, but to me the label looks odd for some reason. It just doesn't seem to have the same coloring I'm used to seeing. 🤔 ...they look darker (tobacco staining from dampness?)

They look like they have been wet at some point.

I'd toss em. Or at least go buy a series o and g to see if you think they're worth bring back. If that's even possible.

i think Dave hit the nail right on the head. perhaps the yellowing is just from condensation that dried leaving behind tobacco stains. It's not consistent, after removing all cellos it seems that the head is where most of the yellowing is at. (upside down when dampness or water damage occurred?) probably just end up chucking em.

Judging by the wrinkling of the capa leaf, especially noteable around the head of the torpedo, I'd say these look like they have been very poorly stored. They've seen some extremes in humidity.

The snowflake growth looks like a mineral crystallization of some sort.

Also, it's hard to say from a photo, but that cello looks more like stained cello from the cigars being too moist and the tobacco leeching into it than it looks like actual "yellowed cello" (from age, heat or exposure to certain chemicals like ammonia).

They might be ok to smoke, although they might fall apart when you try.

What everyone else had said, very poorly stored. In my personal opinion I would try to save it, hate tossing out until I have tried it, also have never tossed out a gifted cigar yet. Oh bring up the RH slowly on these, they look really really dry right now, and it looks it was really really wet at one point, good luck.

PC

What do you ahve to lose, throw em in the humi for a year and see what happens

I say smoke em.

As TG said you can tell by the leaf being wrinkled looking it has has some extreemly high humidity/water damage. Not good.

1. They didn't get TOO wet/damp . . . the bands are still glued.
2. It doesn't look like mold to me . . .I agree with crystallization.
3. Don't toss them yet. Keep them separate from your other cigars and see what happens in 30-60 days.