Indeed, a hologram has been introduced to the seal. Thats not to say you cant buy a legitimate Cuban cigar in the U.S. or online, you simply need to be more careful. More attention should be made on the CIGAR in this aticle How it feels, how the cap looks, the colors, etc. This steps below can be followed to understand if you are dealing with a counterfeit product: 1. Dimensins are totally different. This is not a holograph. They are sure fakes. A proper box of real Cubans will have a certain amount of symmetry. No box of Cuban cigars leaves the country without it. Period. If youre going to abandon common sense and buy from an unreliable source, make sure you are intimately familiar (you know what I mean!) Inspect, feel and smell the cigars. Shorter leaves will always be present, since during construction the leaves are also broken and the shorter parts are used to ensure that the cigar has a homogeneous filling. If we are facing one of these boxes, we are facing a 100% counterfeit product. I have boxes from LCDH Knokke, who has sterling rep. All my box hologram labels match Habanos authenticity check. 2. At Cigar Aficionado, weve seen lazy counterfeiters sell boxes with labels in the box, not attached to the packaging. Lets say that it is the last step, the one left to be performed when you are almost certain that the cigars are fakes. So what can you do? Cuban cigars arent packaged in boxes with clear lids. The Cuban boxes also have a date stamp on the bottom of the box. It is therefore difficult to find yourself in front of a box that doesnt feature it. 12/03/2021 at 5:15 PM. A true Cuban cigar should have grey or salt-and-pepper ash. If youre offered a barber-pole cigar a cigar with two wrappers of different colors its not real because there is no real Cuban cigar made this way. All Cuban cigar boxes should have a Made in Cuba stamp on their left. And you really will not find an authentic Cohiba Behike for sale outside of a licensed Habanos (Cuban cigar entity) store. Look for the Cuban seal of authenticity with a hologram and bar code to help you avoid fake Cuban cigars. This check is performed simultaneously the touch analysis (next chapter). It is a good starting point to quickly understand how the counterfeit cigar boxes look like. 9. The hologram barcode seal was intact, so I might just being paranoid? If theyre made by hand it will also say, Cuban cigars do not come packaged withcellos. Many stogie hustlers will try to tell you that they have a relative working in the factory, sneaking cigars out the back door. Heres another problem. One of the easiest ways to tell if you are dealing with a fake Cuban cigar is if its unbanded. You must be 18 years of age or older to view page. If someone tries to sell you a $300 box of Cubans for $50 or even $100, odds are theyre not the genuine article. A great example of how Cuba has dealt with preventing the counterfeiting of bands can be found on the Cohiba Behike cigars. Cigar cut Fidel Castro, socialism, excellent rum and arguably the world's best cigars. 2. leaf size. So get to know the relative prices on the top Cuban brands, especially the ones that are most often counterfeited like Cohiba Edicin Limitadas, Cohiba Behikes, Montecristo No.2s, and Partagas Serie D No.4s, among others. This seal is placed either directly on the box or on the packaging that covers the box. In Cuba it is around $ 20. If the ash is white, you're likely smoking a fake. On the Behikes distinctive band, the nine rows of white squares run in a checkered pattern from the gilded top edge to the top of the word Behike. Again, if the squares are not full, even on the edges, then youre likely looking at a fake. 6. This is a seal that is usually affixed by the company importing cigars in a country. It's the most common line used to deceive hapless tourists, and it often works. To help prevent this, in 2010 Habanos S.A. designed a new seal using watermarks, a super-strong adhesive, a hologram on the right side of the seal, and a bar code on the left. Created in 1966, Cohiba was not commercially released until 1982. Although the cigar community realizes that Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic make cigars equal to if not superior to Cubans, they still have an air of mystery about them. You'll only be walking into a large den of discount fakes. Behikes cost even more, around 30 to 40 CUC eachwhen they are in stock. In 1999, the Cubans added a serial code to the seal. 2s in Ensenada. If the hustlers are going through the trouble of counterfeiting the seals, you can bet the bands have also been faked. Don't get lured into anyone's apartment either. In 1989, the Cohiba Esplndido, 7 x 47, and Cohiba Robusto, 4.875 x 50, were added to the classic line. And, remember, the only way you can really tell if you are dealing with a legitimate vendor is if all of his Cuban cigars have all the already described markings! Think you may have purchased or smoked a fake Cuban cigar? Hi Gary. In fact, by illuminating it with UV rays, the coat of arms of Cuba (which is also on the left side of the seal) will appear in the center. The lack of Cuo or if it features wrong codes, are in fact a very valid method to understand if the box is counterfeit. Copyright 2023 Holt's Cigar Company. No ridges or collars. A graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, prior to his career in the cigar business, Gary worked in the music and video industry as a marketer and a publicist. Visual analysis Not all fake cigars deliver a bad smoke indeed! Cohiba's bands have changed considerably. 3. The bands have several minor marks that you can identify. The Cohiba Behike is distinguished by the use of medio tiempo tobacco leaves in its blend. Its important to note that the squares are full and do not get cut off either on the top or bottom row. Holograms of the word Cuba and the Taino Indian head logo repeat on the gilded top edge of the band. The Habanos Seal should always be present on the upper left-hand side of your cigar box, approximately 3 to 6 mm from the edge. The logo is also repeated on the holographic edges several times. Lets see how to distinguish genuine Cuban cigars from counterfeit ones. 4. So sad what will become of such a once beautiful Island. For decades, there has been a market for counterfeitCuban cigars. 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. Each of the three Behike sizes comes in an elaborate package: boxes of 10 cigars that are bathed in a thick, glossy lacquer. 2s cost 8.50 CUCs (about $9.68 when factoring in the 13 percent you lose trading U.S. dollars into CUCs). This guide will help you tell fake Cuban cigars from the real thing. Some fake Cohibas are presented this way, too. Aside from the specific Edicin Limitada cigar, you should be wary of any kind of special edition cigar that is not sold to be a legitimate vendor. Some fake Cohibas are presented this way, too. Image 1: the color of the box is different from the standard color of Cohiba. To ensure authenticity, all you need to do is check the bottom of the Habano Cuban cigar box. The second is an analysis of the head and the foot of the cigar. One of the most important areas of the box to check is the bottom. In 2014 the holographic bands on Cohiba Behike cigars were updated to include even more detailed information to stop counterfeiters. In most of the cases, finding counterfeit Cuban cigars is very simple. For example, the popular Cuban brands like Cohiba, Partagas, Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo, et al., all feature the Habanos S.A. seal on the top right-hand corner of the box. The changes to this information leaflet were 3: This guide will help you spotting fake Cuban cigars. It is because of this, casual smokers can often be tricked into buying what they think are real Cuban cigars. The more complex answer to what Cuban cigars cost depends on a number of factors. If you dont have that kind of experience, then you are far better off staying away from the back alleys and buying from a main-street seller who you know, and can prove, is legit. In the past we came across counterfeit Montecristo No.2 and, although the aromatic bouquet was very different from that of the genuine No.2, cigars were not bad at all! You should know what a real Cuban cigar looks like. Cohibas, such as the Edicion Limitadas or Behikes are even easier to spot. Today Cuba still produces some of the worlds best cigars, but countries like the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras, where many Cuban tobacco-growers relocated after the Castro regime nationalized the tobacco industry in 1959, have leveled the playing field by making Cuban cigars just another option. One of the most important areas of the box to check is the bottom. As well, Cohiba's have the triple fermented wrappers that are usually quite soft and mild. This sheet is written in 4 languages: Spanish, English, French, German. Cuban wrappers tend to be naturally oily with a smooth, buttery appearance and entirely even in color. Cohiba boxes are lacquered on the outside, and therefore we are in front of an unlaqured box of Cohiba, unless it has been made for particular editions, we are facing a fake. Ironically, even in Havana there are almost as many counterfeit Cuban cigars as the legit smokes. Let us be the judge. The final difficulty with fake Cuban cigars is that some of the better counterfeits come in authentic boxes but are not actual Cuban cigars. It is a good starting point to quickly understand how the counterfeit cigar boxes look like. This is a strong sign of counterfeiting. Squeeze the cigar to feel if it's firm all the way through. #themoderndaydrifter #havanacubavlog #howtospotafakecigarFor demonstration purposes only, we purchase a FAKE box of Cohiba Siglo VI and compare it to a REAL . I believe its a combination of the two. Originally this green and white stamp came in three sizes: Large (~ 2 1/2 wide), Small (~1 1/4 wide), and Miniature (~ 13/16 wide). Cubas famous Cohiba brand is one of the most counterfeited cigars in the world. The purchase will also further expand STGs portfolio of top-rated premium cigars worldwide. 7. It had a sliding glass top. If someone tries to sell you a box of Cubans with a glass top, that alone should be a red flag. When Can I Buy Cuban Cigars in America? What about a cigar bought here in the states from an old local shop with no band at all? The bands themselves are often telling, as fake bands often lack embossing, proper color and the right details found on the original article. Smokes great. They look a little like paper money and printed in different colors. A serial code was added to the seal and the seal itself has a reaction if directly exposed to ultraviolet light. According to the Border Chief, these statistics are for the whole of the U.S border patrol, including the southern, northern and coastal borders. The word Cohiba later became gilded, the black letters becoming gold, and the La was dropped from Habana, Cuba. . What do you do? Cuos Some Cuban cigars come in various packagesothers dont. The heart and soul of Cohibas packaging, though, is the famous Taino Indian head logo, a graphic depiction of Cubas native tribe. The dates are not in code and the year is simple enough. That said, a box of 25 Esplendidos has a retails price of around $ 750 (in Cuba $ 500). 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. And Havanas have never been all that cheap, either. c/o Counterfeit Cigars Each box of legit sticks contains the hot-stamped words: Hecho en Cuba. The brand is known for its canary yellow coloring and famous white-and-black checkboard band. If the squares are not full, even on the edges, then youre likely looking at a fake. There are two ink-stamps on the bottom of Habanos boxes. Required fields are marked *. Your email address will not be published. 4. If id have seen this at the hotel i would of requested a refund. . The first, the white boxes on the main label continue under the gold band around the outside; and the second thing I noticed was a number (CHB056) on the back of each cigar label. Real vs Fake Cuban Cohiba Cigar Band / Label. How to Spot a Fake vs. A Real Cuban Montecristo, How to Spot a Fake vs. Real Cuban Romeo y Julieta Cigar. A great example of how Cuba has dealt with preventing the counterfeiting of bands can be found on the Cohiba Behike cigars. Complicating things further, Cohiba gained a new family member in 2006, the Cohiba Behike. First, the feel and look of the cigar. Other box and cigars are fake. Therefore, its always better to smoke at least one cigar before you buy. Furthermore, since the end of 2010, the seal has undergone a slight change: the ends of the seal are no longer rounded, but have a sharp oblique cut. The Holographic Taino Indian Head-Within-a-Head: Look closely and youll see that the larger head contains a smaller head. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. The first seal of this type was introduced in 1902. The fact is, the Cuban cigar industry doesnt make cigar boxes with glass or even clear plastic tops. Cuban cigars do not come wrapped in cellophane, at least not since 1992 when only machine-made Cubans got a cellophane sleeve. Use common sense and buy in a legitimate store, than you have no problem at all. . This is a clear indicator the person you are dealing with is selling you a fake, as no real Cubans come with more than one band. Shapira says . It would be very helpful for everyone if you posted clear, front on pictures of the band and cap, as well as a comment advising where the cigar was obtained from. If the hustlers are going through the trouble of counterfeiting . You should know that a Cuban Parejo has a mounted head (three seams, or a triple cap on the end you put in your mouth). The Habanos seal is always going to be in the top right corner of the box, so if you see it anywhere else, its a dead giveaway. Of course, just about anything printed on paper can be reproduced, and with todays technology, it takes a really well-trained eye to tell the difference. Front and center on the band is a holographic image of the famous Taino Indian head. . How to spot counterfeit cigars in Cuba (and everywhere else, too). These, obviously fake, Cubans are hardly the main problem, as some fake Cubans come with counterfeit bands and even in counterfeit boxes. Usually there are seals placed inside the box. 1 min read. Look closer and you will see that there isa smaller head within the larger. As can be seen from the picture above, it is made up of codes. Wondering if anyone here has noticed the same things and has any feedback as to whether these are signs the cigars are facke or confirmation the cigars real?? Here is an example to better understand the thing. JR Cigar Blog & Videos - Reviews, Lists & More. At Cigar Aficionado, we've seen lazy counterfeiters sell . The second type was used from 2005 until 2008/2009, and in addition to the HABANOS written it also has the words DENOMINACION DE ORIGINE PROTEGIDA. If the packaging looks suspicious, the contents probably are, too. Source: http://www.habanos.com/en/verificacion-de-autenticidad/. Reading Time: 3 minutes Alec Bradley Cigars will have a new home under a pending acquisition agreement with Scandinavian Tobacco Group to the tune of over $72 million. You don't need to take a chance. Many cigar boxes are real, with all the stamps and watermarks and holograms, but the cigars inside are bogus. 4 only to be disappointed when you lit up, you weren't in a laughing mood. So how do you spot the fakes . A telling sign of authenticity is the fleur-de-lis being embossed (raised) in gold on the band. * Offers valid while supplies last. Cohiba has been using a security hologram band featuring the head of an Indian since 2010, but in 2014 they added additional data that allows consumers to identify the original brand from any country in the world, while also providing information on the distributor and bill number, among other details.

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