Yeah its definately spanish cedar, I think the smell I have been getting is from the paint finish on the outside, as the drawers on the inside all have a painted front to them. It is wearing off now, I've got about 20 cheapies in there which seem to doing alright, I think that it hadn't been taken out of its box as no doubt it came from a warehouse, as opposed to Humidors in the past that had been kept on the shelf of a tobacconist. It just smells of new wood, and I need 50 cigars or so to make it smell nice.