Yes, more fakes from Cuba...

[nev coss]

It's an old rule ,if it is not bought from an official shop then it is a fake, no matter who is trying to sell you a box , it will be a fake , the cigars are rolled with anything they can find , usually inferior tabbaco not good enough for the factories ,so the leaves will not have been fumigated to get rid of the beetles, put them in your humidor and you are likely to get an infestation of them , I know some will say that they are not a bad smoke, but they are not the real thing , also if you paid more than $30 you were robbed

[larrysputnik]

It's an old rule ,if it is not bought from an official shop then it is a fake, no matter who is trying to sell you a box , it will be a fake ...

while this is a good general rule to follow it should still be stressed that many of the shops that are reputable also get duped and sell fakes. I had fakes intermixed in boxes of genuine cubans sold to me from a hotel i was staying at in ireland and a cigar shop in cuba as well as a store in the carribbean. Inspect all the cigars in a box but dont trust that everything from a reputable store is legit.

[Agricola]

It's an old rule ,if it is not bought from an official shop then it is a fake, no matter who is trying to sell you a box , it will be a fake , the cigars are rolled with anything they can find , usually inferior tabbaco not good enough for the factories ,so the leaves will not have been fumigated to get rid of the beetles, put them in your humidor and you are likely to get an infestation of them , I know some will say that they are not a bad smoke, but they are not the real thing , also if you paid more than $30 you were robbed

Agreed, if it's not a legit retailer but a guy that has an uncle that knows a bloke that works as a cigar roller then it is almost certain that all you're purchasing is an expensive outbreak of tobacco beetle!

[Nightwingvyse]

What do fakes generally taste like? I've never come across fakes before, simply because cgars and their direct competitors get 99% of my cigar money.

Do they taste bad? If not then I'll save some money and buy some fakes. (I exaggerate to put a possible point across).

In the specific case of the cigars in this post. What is it that gives the pictured cigars away, cause I'd have been scammed by them.

[Agricola]

The OP states there's no date stamp on the box, but as for the cigars themselves I couldn't tell them from the real deal.

My point is that if if I'm buying a Rolex and I have the choice of going to a licensed dealer or buying one at a fraction of the cost from a trader named "Del Boy" selling them out of the back of his three wheeled van at Peckham market, then I shouldn't be surprised when I discover Del Boy has taken me for a ride. Could I tell the difference between a real and fake Rolex? Probably not. But that little thing called common sense is a bloody good indicator.

[tippexx]

Excellent to get pics etc of fakes other than cohiba, I reckon most people would by now be dubious about the cohiba, glass tops etc etc but the RyJ I reckon would slip thru people's net alot more often
Thanks

About 20 years back Clive James did a TV program on Cuba. Apart from the cultural stuff, state of cars etc. and the good stuff health, education etc. he did a little bit on tourists and the cigar 'cottage industry'. Being a cigar smoker himself he approached the purchase tongue in cheek and ended up buying a box of RyJ Churchill from a back street flyboy .... which he later likened to smoking sawdust.