Cuban Cigars - Is It Real or Fake?
Gray4lines
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,439
in Cigar 101
I looked on here some, but did not find a general discussion for authenticating CC's. I thought I'd post here so maybe anyone with questions in the future can use this thread as a reference.
There are plenty of great sites that may be good resources to use as well: http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/default.aspx "Cuban Cigar Website" Great for looking up packaging, production years, and other info.
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/counterfeit "Cigar Aficionado's Cuban Counterfeit Gallery" comparing bands of real vs fakes.
I also recommend the "Dr.Joe" cigar show on youtube. He has a great collection of videos on identifying real cuban cigars and how to be safe with online sources. He also does nice reviews.
http://www.habanoscritic.com/ "Habanos Critic" good reviews and also a forum. This is done by the guys who do the "What Embargo" shows and include one of our own members. Check out What Embargo for discussion of all things Habanos.
I will not post an all inclusive guide (I don't think I'm an expert by any means either), but a few things that I look at first:
1. If you receive a single cigar as a gift, it can be very hard to tell what exactly you have. This seems to be most common, and unfortunately, most seem to be fake. If this is the case, try to gauge the size and search for a picture of a the genuine cigar and band.
2. Check the band. It should be placed neatly on the cigar. It should have correct coloring, embossing (raised letters), graphics, gold letters, etc... It should also be consistent with the brand's line. I.E. You don't want a L.E. band on a cigar size that was never released as a limited edition. Some older bands are pretty "ugly" but are genuine. Look for multiple example pictures online.
3. All cubans have a triple cap. Look for the "lines" at the cap. They are usually pretty clean too.
4. If you've had a real Cuban before, check the aroma.
5. If you bought a box, there are tons of features you can check. However, a genuine box and even bands do not necessarily mean genuine cigars. Best advise is to know as best you can where you are buying from.
There may be other features you can check, but I won't go into any more detail.
I received a CC as a gift recently and this prompted my idea of consolidating questions regarding "rel vs. fake" here. I'll post it up soon. I welcome any questions, experiences, pics, or info. Hopefully this can be a help to someone.
There are plenty of great sites that may be good resources to use as well: http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/default.aspx "Cuban Cigar Website" Great for looking up packaging, production years, and other info.
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/counterfeit "Cigar Aficionado's Cuban Counterfeit Gallery" comparing bands of real vs fakes.
I also recommend the "Dr.Joe" cigar show on youtube. He has a great collection of videos on identifying real cuban cigars and how to be safe with online sources. He also does nice reviews.
http://www.habanoscritic.com/ "Habanos Critic" good reviews and also a forum. This is done by the guys who do the "What Embargo" shows and include one of our own members. Check out What Embargo for discussion of all things Habanos.
I will not post an all inclusive guide (I don't think I'm an expert by any means either), but a few things that I look at first:
1. If you receive a single cigar as a gift, it can be very hard to tell what exactly you have. This seems to be most common, and unfortunately, most seem to be fake. If this is the case, try to gauge the size and search for a picture of a the genuine cigar and band.
2. Check the band. It should be placed neatly on the cigar. It should have correct coloring, embossing (raised letters), graphics, gold letters, etc... It should also be consistent with the brand's line. I.E. You don't want a L.E. band on a cigar size that was never released as a limited edition. Some older bands are pretty "ugly" but are genuine. Look for multiple example pictures online.
3. All cubans have a triple cap. Look for the "lines" at the cap. They are usually pretty clean too.
4. If you've had a real Cuban before, check the aroma.
5. If you bought a box, there are tons of features you can check. However, a genuine box and even bands do not necessarily mean genuine cigars. Best advise is to know as best you can where you are buying from.
There may be other features you can check, but I won't go into any more detail.
I received a CC as a gift recently and this prompted my idea of consolidating questions regarding "rel vs. fake" here. I'll post it up soon. I welcome any questions, experiences, pics, or info. Hopefully this can be a help to someone.
Comments
A quick glance, the band on my cigar is a little sloppy. Also, a close look at the top of the band shows that the "white squares" are flush with the end of the band, or appear to be "cut off". The genuine cigar has a black border at the top and the squares are not cut off. Also, the gold lettering of the embossed letters is flaking. Something just seems off. Surprisingly, the cap looks OK.
This cigar was a gift and had "dried out" a little... it came from a friend on vacation. The story sounds sketchy and who lets a $30 cigar dry out, unless of course, they bought a 5-pack for $40...
I say fake. I've never had a Cohiba before, so I could be wrong. I appreciate the gift, and may smoke it one day.
...and you pointed out the band.
and no problem. I learned cc's from you!
What would be most telling, is how pronounced the lettering emboss and border emboss is. Look at the corners on the inside of the border, they curve, and are not precise. Look at the letters COHIBA, and typically on a fake, they will be a tad off in size from letter to letter as well.
Bands aren't always the best way to tell, some fakes have such good bands it seems maybe the band itself is legitimate and applied to a fake cigar. But when the band is bad there really is no question.