If you did not purchase them directly from an authorized store yours is most likely fake. In Cuba, which is a good baseline because it has the lowest Cuban cigar prices on the planet, Montecristo No. Cuban cigars aren’t packaged in boxes with clear lids. Although many fake Cuban cigar bands may look authentic – and in some rare cases are – it’s not unusual to find bands with spelling errors, poor alignment, the wrong color and/or typeface, missing embossing, and in the case of fake Cohiba cigars, the wrong size or number of white squares on the band. Yes the name on this cigar may be confusing, so let me explain. Rather, they are fake ‘Cohibas’, ‘Montechristos’ or any other original Habano marque that they seek to replicate through false labelling and packaging. Does the box of cigars you’re buying have a glass, Lucite or otherwise clear lid? You see Habano Cigars are Cigars made from tobacco grown in a specific region of Cuba. Save your money (and your palates) by following these eight key tips to avoid getting burned by a …. handy tool to search for Casa del Habanos around the world, 8 Things To Know About Counterfeit Cuban Cigars, Cigar Aficionado’s 17 Gifts for the 2020 Holiday Season, Merchants Cigar Bar Reopens In New York City After Four-Year Hiatus, Court Strikes Down Key Premarket Review Process for Premium Cigars, Quality Importers Expands Stinky Cigar Ashtray Line. A proper box of real Cubans will have a certain amount of symmetry. Fake Packaging includes genuine boxes (either stolen in large numbers or a reused genuine box), counterfeits of genuine boxes, or totally bogus boxes (e.g. Seeing as the fake Cuban cigar business is a multi-million dollar a year enterprise, this seems like a relatively smart move. By 1982, the smoke broke free from the island and was introduced worldwide - the United States excluded - meaning these Cuban cigars are very often counterfeited, as fake Cohiba cigars seemed to pop up everywhere. My friend is smoking a fake Cuban, should I tell him or not? I just bought a 25 box off the street knowing they were fake Cohibas, but tasty. Learn how to tell whether the Partagás you're smoking is authentic or fake. It’s … When it comes to Cuban cigars—especially Cohibas—there are no discounts. Rolled with a complex blend of ligero, viso, and Cuba-seed seco tobaccos harvested in Estelí, Nicaragua these beauties offer you the potency and quality of a genuine Cuban cigar. It is guaranteed to replicate the rich and zesty flavors of an original Cuban. Look at the consistent, sharp white border along the head outline. Fake Cohiba cigars are produced in huge quantities, sold all over the world to people who don’t know any better. Genuine Cuban Cohiba Esplendidos, when you can find them, sell for about 23 CUC. No content may be used without express permission. Look at the sharpness of all edges especially the white squares. If a vendor offers you an Esplendido for 10 CUC, it’s not the real deal. Currently, this cigar is sold for more than $ 30. Note how the chin is sharp and goes just above two squares with a slight space. © Cigar Aficionado Online, M. Shanken Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. If you are familiar with this release, you know they only put out a box of 10s! Most counterfeit boxes are smoother than the Cuban boxes. If you did not purchase them directly from an authorized store yours is most likely fake. The band is often the first place your eyes will go, so the more familiar you are with the … ... Any Cohiba you are being offered for $10 is fake. The same goes for that vendor on a Caribbean beach. Just for my satisfaction, I followed the same steps as in my previous post (Fake or Real Cuban But it doesn’t have to be this way. Hello Cigar Analysis, I made a purchase from Finest Cuban Cigars website and dissected one of their cigars (Cohiba Siglo 1). Welcome fellow cigar lover, enjoy your visit. If someone offers you a Cohiba Limitada from 2016 or 2015, for example, it’s a certain fake because Cohibas were not part of the Edición Limitada trio in those years. Give 2 Cigar Aficionado Gift Subscriptions for the Price of 1! Note how the bottom point only touches the right square, not the left. Note the lineup of elements such as the placement of C in Cuba to the letter I in COHIBA. A counterfeit box of Cohiba Behike, left, looks similar to the real thing, right, but there are several telltale signs that can help Cuban cigar buyers confirm the authenticity of their next purchase. Barber pole cigars—cigars made with two wrappers of different color, intertwined in a fashion similar to a barber pole—are intriguing to the eye, but they’re not part of Cuba’s cigar portfolio. And with an increase of counterfeit Cohiba photos being uploaded to Facebook, more and more calls not to tell someone show up. It’s easy to get a box or bundle of unbranded cigars from any cigar-producing country and pass it off as Cuban. Straight-sided Cuban cigars (i.e. Shop now for the best prices! You will not be able to see this brand at these websites because they have never counterfeited this brand as it is a really cheap one. Cohiba cigars are available in a variety of different lines, blends, and sizes! Note the spacing and amount of black space. Know Your Prices. OK, you’re not near an official LCDH. But for Ministry of Cigars, the answer is simple. Behikes cost even more, around 30 to 40 CUC each—when they are in stock. Originally from Cuba, these are still top sellers and when thinking cigars, this is a brand that come up often, known for luxury and flavor. Holding the world's leading video cigar review collection of brands such as Cohiba, Padron, Drew Estate, Gurkha, Partagas, Macanudo, Arturo Fuente, Ashton, CAO, Oliva, Rocky Patel, etc. Pass on Glass. That article focused on the major flaws that are easily detectable. If it varies in ANY way from the example above, you have a fake. Given its success, it’s no surprise that Cohiba Behike became one of the most counterfeited brands in the world shortly after … Many stogie hustlers will try to tell you that they have a relative working in the factory, sneaking cigars out the back door. You'll only be walking into a large den of discount fakes. Fake cigars are often sold for unrealistically low prices, and a … At Cigar Aficionado, we’ve seen lazy counterfeiters sell boxes with labels in the box, not attached to the packaging. That’ll bring a tidy profit on cigars that might have cost as little as $20 for the bundle and pennies for the packaging. Note the spacing, thickness and exact font of Habana, Cuba. Know before you buy. This is the first legitimate Counterfeit Cuban on the market. Bright, white ashes are good signs of cigars made with non-Cuban tobacco. Feel a lot of real Cuban boxes and remember the way the box feels. May 31, 2018. The original Cuban Cohiba cigars were established in 1966 as a limited production private brand made exclusively for Fidel Castro to enjoy alone or to share with high-level officials in the Communist Party. Find out if your Cuban Bolivar is real or fake. Fakes are often made with substandard quality control. Some are far better than others (the older band design is much less common these days, this only applies to the design pictured). Cuban Cohiba Siglo VI vs. Cohiba Crystal Corona. Cuba releases three per year, and those releases are all documented on this website. One sure fire way to tell is to closely examine your band. Last week we dove into the signs of counterfeit Cohiba cigars. The first tip is to feel the box. Fake cigars are often sold for unrealistically low prices, and a savvy cigar aficionado should know to beware when a cigar is too great a bargain. Look for the Habanos label in the top-right corner of the box, the Cuba guarantee seal (complete with hologram and box code) on the left and stamps on the bottom. Some Cuban cigars come in various packages—others don’t. Fake or upgraded cigars can also be genuine Cuban cigars with stolen or fake bands purporting to be an exclusive valuable cigar. You don’t even need to study and memorize tomes of information (though that helps) to be able to spot a fake Cuban cigar. Pass. They are sure fakes. A mounted head is no guarantee of a real Cuban cigar, as other producers make cigars this way as well, but the lack of one guarantees a fake. Sign up to receive our curated weekly newsletter about cigars and the good life. Look for free shipping when you buy Cohiba cigars at Thompson Cigar… With so many fake Cuban cigars finding their way into the mouths of unsuspecting smokers, we decided to create a cigar that is a “GENUINE” counterfeit. Hand rolled at the Perdomo factory, there are several different varieties, each containing the flavor and characteristics of a true Cuban cigar. Barber-pole cigars, made with intertwined wrappers of different colors, are … Don't get lured into anyone's apartment either. A question that a lot of people struggle with. Find out if your Cuban Romeo y Julieta is real or fake. 2 questions,,,,,Can I fly them home to Saramento, CA w/o a customs problem, as they say Cuba on the box and the bands, and thats all BS. Others don’t. It is not a profitable idea to counterfeit this one because producing a fake cigar costs around 50-100 $ and this brands price range is around 70-100 $. Does the box of cigars you’re buying have a glass, Lucite or otherwise clear lid? Since when did COHIBA BEHIKE 56 came as a 24 cigar box?!! The Siglo VI is a Cuban Cohiba that calls for a … No discussion about it. Edición Limitadas are heavily faked. Today we show some more fakes and give a few more tips on how to spot a counterfeit cigar. These days, the best counterfeiters make facsimiles of Cuban cigar bands and put them in facsimile Cuban cigar boxes and sell them to an unsuspecting tourist outside the hotel. With a rich counterfeit market hawking fake Cubans throughout the Caribbean and other tourist destinations, it’s easy for any cigar enthusiast to get duped into buying a bogus …. That said, a box of 25 Esplendidos has a retails price of around $ 750 (in Cuba $ 500). If you know what to look for before buying a Cuban cigar, it’s a good bet you will avoid getting scammed. In Cuba, the bi… Yes, absolutely, tell. So is the 10 CUC Cohiba. Buy Cohiba Cigars from Cigars.com! Laynard replied to bradbrennan's topic in Cigars Discussion Forum "the water hole" I feel like you have been witnessing my progression first hand the last few months. Cigar Obsession is a leading premium hand rolled cigar review site blog and video review depository. Cohiba Behike BHK cigars, one of the world’s rarest smokes—come in boxes of 10. In Cuba it is around $ 20. Fake Cohiba cigars are produced in huge quantities, sold all over the world to people who don’t know any better. Look at the placement of the head and white border. It’s fake. This is an Antique, one-of-a-kind, very detailed, Prisoner made, 200+ year old colorful straw work cigar case hand crafted by a prisoner of war during the1793 - 1815 War between Napoleon's French Navy and the Naval forces of King George III of England. When Cuba launched the Cohiba Behike BHK line in 2010, it instantly captivated cigar connoisseurs around the world. FAKE CUBAN CIGARS LIST. You need to look at every detail for differences, anything different means it’s fake, period. Maybe they want $300 for the box. It’s one of the most common questions we receive here at Cigar Aficionado: “Is this Cuban cigar fake or real?” With a rich counterfeit market hawking fake Cubans throughout the Caribbean and other tourist destinations, it’s easy for any cigar enthusiast to get duped into buying a bogus Cuban. Avoid The Barber Pole. I am now finding old favorite NCs just don't have the complexity they once did. It's the most common line used to deceive hapless tourists, and it often works. Look at the sharp clear hologram lettering at the top and bottom. Buying cigars on the streets of Havana is a near-certain way to buy a fake. EVERYTHING must be good for yours to be real, period. The Cohiba cigar is known for a broad lineup of luxury premium handmade cigars with many flavor profiles. parejos) are finished with mounted heads, also known as three-seam caps. Rounded or sloppy heads are a quick way to spot a cigar rolled elsewhere. One of the most counterfeit cigars in the world are the Cohiba Esplendidos, due to its value and fame. That $100 Rolex is fake. I have in my possession fake Cubans! Find out if your Cuban Cohiba Behike BHK is real or fake. new reviews are posted regularly. If you want to get a real Cuban cigar it helps to buy from a genuine vendor, such as a Casa del Habano. The new smoke won critical acclaim as well as commercial success, and the Cohiba Behike BHK 52 was named Cigar Aficionado ’s 2010 Cigar of the Year. One sure fire way to tell is to closely examine your band. Proper packaging doesn’t guarantee a genuine Cuban cigar, but bad packaging is a quick and easy way to spot a fake. (The Habanos website features a handy tool to search for Casa del Habanos around the world.). All content © 2020 by Bryan Glynn. What do you look for? Instead, check out our primer below for some simple, straightforward tips on what to look for to avoid imitation Cuban cigars. We’ve seen several fake Cohibas made in this method. I made a side by side comparison of the real Cuban counterpart I acquired from the duty free shop in Canada and the fake one I bought from Finest Cuban Cigars. If someone offers you a Behike, and it’s in anything other than a box of 10, it’s a fake cigar. We’ve seen fakes packed 25 to the box. Although many fake Cuban cigar bands may look authentic – and in some rare cases are – it’s not unusual to find bands with spelling errors, poor alignment, the wrong color and/or typeface, missing embossing, and in the case of fake Cohiba cigars, the wrong size or number of white squares on the band. Last week, Ministry of Cigars published an article on how to spot Counterfeit Cuban cigars. Don't take the bait and don't be tempted by the idea of a bargain. Learn how to tell whether the Hoyo De Monterrey you're smoking is authentic or fake. The bands themselves are often telling, as fake bands often lack embossing, proper color and the right details found on the original article. http://www.cigarbunch.com the “classic” glass top boxed Cohiba). Firstly, I must clarify that the cigars being sold are not actually fake cigars. How to spot a fake Cohiba? Note the hologram rings and inner head on the large head design. A real Cuban cigar tends to burn with a gray ash, or one that takes on a salt-and-pepper look. The Habano’s seal is always going to be in the top right corner of the box, so if you see it anywhere else, it’s a dead giveaway. At this moment I was jumping up and down with excitement! Missing stickers, glass top boxes, or things like Edicion Limitadas from a year that that brand doesn’t have an edicion limitada. 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