Watch: Packaging Awards 2023 (12:00 P.M. CST)

As part of our awards week, we recognize our favorite new packaging designs from the previous year. It’s a longstanding tradition, one that actually predates halfwheel, and it’s always fun to talk about pretty and creative objects. These awards are also ones that we announce live, which you can watch below.

You may also watch on Facebook.

The Packaging Awards are exactly what they sound like, halfwheel’s list of what we think of as the best packaging of new cigars introduced in 2023. There are a few basic rules:

• New Packaging — This is pretty simple: the packaging must debut in 2023. By “debut,” we mean it must ship to stores for the first time in 2023. This does not mean the cigar needs to ship for the first time in 2023—reworked packaging like AGANORSA Leaf’s Rare Leaf Reserve—is eligible. Items that are shown off in 2023 but do not ship to stores until after the end of year are not considered for this list. The items must also be sold in a retail fashion, meaning limited edition humidors for auction are not eligible.
• Primarily a New Design — Some companies will take existing products and place them inside a special humidor, we won’t consider these “new” designs if most of the branding is entirely the same.
• One of Us Needs to See It in Person — One of the four members of the halfwheel team (Brian, Brooks, Patrick, or I) needs to see it in person.
• Retailer Exclusives Are Allowed — This was a new rule for 2021.

The way we determine the list is pretty simple:

1. Nominations — Throughout the year, any of the four halfwheel staff members are able to nominate however many items they want for consideration so long as they meet the above qualifications.
2. Voting — At the end of the year, each of us was asked to rank the 16 nominations from 1-16. A first-place vote translated into one point, a second-place vote meant two points, etc. We added up all the results and the 10 items with the lowest final scores made the list.

If you are not interested in watching the live show, once we finish the live show, the Packaging Top 10 will be published in a separate post.

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The remaining 2023 Awards week schedule is as follows:

• Jan. 19, 2024 (Friday) 12 p.m. CST — Top 25 Cigars
• Jan. 22, 2024 (Monday) 12 p.m. CST — The Consensus 2023