Tweet
I had a pretty exciting morning. A co-workers brother-in-law brought back cigars from Cuba and was interested in selling them. I asked if I could see them as I was interested. The cigars were purchased from a cousin of the guys cuban wife that works in the factory. He said the cigars came from the factory. The same old story....
Yes, it turns out they were fake.
First box:
Cohiba Pir?mides....From the outside: Were in a brown wooden box. The Habanos band and Cuban Tax/Customs sticker looked legit. BUT no date stamp on bottom of box, no Edicion Limitada band in corner of box under the Habanos band, La Habana, Cuba on wrong side of front.
On inside of box: This was the kicker. Edicion Limitada band on cigars said 2011 but cigars were Pir?mides format not the Cohiba 1966 Ca?onazo Especial format. They didn't smell right and the craftmanship of the torcedor was not good at all. They were ugly cigars.
Second box:
The next box was RyJ. They box looked legit, the Habanos band and Cuban Tax/Customs sticker looked legit. HOWEVER, again no date stamp on bottom of the box, and nothing on the side of the box telling me what vitola it was. I had to open the box to see what format it was.
On the inside: Turns out it was a Churchill. The cigars were a much better quality than the Cohibas I looked at earlier. But they didn't smell right either. The band(S) looked legit. It had the red RyJ band and the gold band saying "Romeo y Julieta Churchills". However, of all the searching I did online I could not find this combination of bands on one cigar. I found a red RyJ band and also gold band saying only "Churchill" on the same cigar. And I found a only a gold band saying "Romeo y Julieta Churchills" on a cigar. Even though the cigars themselves looked good the other inconsistencies made my spider senses tingle.
I didn't buy either of the boxes and told him they were fakes. I took pictures but can't load them right now. I have to wait till I get home. I will post the photos later.
For those that will make the trip to Cuba, (if you haven't seen these already) I hope this helps you know what's out there.
Even though I missed out on a chance for some great cigars, it was time well spent looking at and touching real fakes. I've read a lot about fakes but never actually saw some with my own eyes. It was a pretty cool experience.
Cheers!
Post Edit: I'm back home and posted the pictures below.....
Yes, it turns out they were fake.
First box:
Cohiba Pir?mides....From the outside: Were in a brown wooden box. The Habanos band and Cuban Tax/Customs sticker looked legit. BUT no date stamp on bottom of box, no Edicion Limitada band in corner of box under the Habanos band, La Habana, Cuba on wrong side of front.
On inside of box: This was the kicker. Edicion Limitada band on cigars said 2011 but cigars were Pir?mides format not the Cohiba 1966 Ca?onazo Especial format. They didn't smell right and the craftmanship of the torcedor was not good at all. They were ugly cigars.
Second box:
The next box was RyJ. They box looked legit, the Habanos band and Cuban Tax/Customs sticker looked legit. HOWEVER, again no date stamp on bottom of the box, and nothing on the side of the box telling me what vitola it was. I had to open the box to see what format it was.
On the inside: Turns out it was a Churchill. The cigars were a much better quality than the Cohibas I looked at earlier. But they didn't smell right either. The band(S) looked legit. It had the red RyJ band and the gold band saying "Romeo y Julieta Churchills". However, of all the searching I did online I could not find this combination of bands on one cigar. I found a red RyJ band and also gold band saying only "Churchill" on the same cigar. And I found a only a gold band saying "Romeo y Julieta Churchills" on a cigar. Even though the cigars themselves looked good the other inconsistencies made my spider senses tingle.
I didn't buy either of the boxes and told him they were fakes. I took pictures but can't load them right now. I have to wait till I get home. I will post the photos later.
For those that will make the trip to Cuba, (if you haven't seen these already) I hope this helps you know what's out there.
Even though I missed out on a chance for some great cigars, it was time well spent looking at and touching real fakes. I've read a lot about fakes but never actually saw some with my own eyes. It was a pretty cool experience.
Cheers!
Post Edit: I'm back home and posted the pictures below.....
I mean I'd like.to think that I'd have seen something wrong if I was faced with them but who knows???
Comment