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Counterfeit Cigars
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A WORD ABOUT COUNTERFEIT CIGARS

A friend back from Cuba gives you a box of Cohiba, Partagas, Montecristo, etc. at half the official price.
There's some serious chance that your cigars are not made by Habanos.
You bought cigars directly from someone working at the factory?
This is not a guarantee. The cigars could be false as well.
The dealer is a torcedor and he picked up your box directely at the factory.
Once again, this does not at all guarantee the authenticity of your cigars.

In Cuba, the trade of counterfeit cigars is very significant. Practically all cigars sold in the street are counterfeit merchandise.

Answers

Counterfeit cigars in Cuba too
The counterfeit cigar is also a problem in Cuba. The only way to get true cigars is to buy them at the official stores. Indeed, Havana hides many workshops producing counterfeits cigars and a huge network of retailers. Practically all the cigars resulting from these parallel networks are imitations.

Non-official Havana cigars made in the factory
Good to know: In Cuba, each torcedor can roll cigars for his personal use on his own time. He can do this at work and with his own tobacco. Thus, you could buy a box directly from a torcedor, at the entrance of the factory, and get counterfeit cigars.

How good or bad is an imitation?
A counterfeit cigar will not be inevitably bad; You can find various qualities on the parallel market. Some are not smokable, stuffed with paper and reject material, or quite simply badly rolled, and others can be done with cuban tobacco and of good quality.

The cost of a counterfeit cigar
Should you travel to Cuba or elsewhere, if you plan to buy cigars directly from someone at a very (too) attractive price, and through the non official market, the point is to buy these cigars for what they are (most probably imitations) and pay for your box accordingly. If you pay 30 $US a box, then okay, that's a good deal.

Why does a counterfeit cigar in Cuba should be different than official Havana cigars?
Just like some prestigious French wines, the Havana is the result of complex procedures and know-how. In all this process, let's just mention the selection of particular tobaccos by the expert of the factory, blend of 3 types of leaves (ligero, seco and volado) in a way that will give to the cigar its identity and a taste in conformity with the brand.

If I could have the opportunuty to take care of a single vine in the best French vineyard, I would not for sure produce an exceptionnal wine, even with the best conditions. The same applies to the counterfeit cigars in Cuba: You could find there some suitable and even tasty cigars, but keep in mind that they will be completely different than the brand printed on the box.

Yes you can buy some Cohiba, Montecristo or whatever from the grey market, but do not pay more than 20 or 30$ a box (and definitely not 300$!). Smoke your cigars for what they are: modest (and maybe interesting) cigars but not Espendidos.

	It is advisable to check the factory code printed under the box (for more informations on the codes and their signification, you can email us at info@shortcut-cigars.com). The lack of factory code or a very fuzzy print can be a hint that the box is counterfeit (like the one shown on the picture), but be aware that some authentic boxes are badly printed too. «HECHO EN CUBA» must be branded on the bottom of the box. «Totalmente a mano» too if the cigars are hand made.

	A line of 13 cigars placed at the bottom of the box, and 12 cigars on the top, with the piece of paperboard at the end. This is an unusual way to pack these Bolivar Petit Coronas.

	The most well-known counter-feit box, and the most improbable too... and the most sought-after by collectors: The Cohiba box with glass lid is a true aberration.

Ramon Allones Specially Selected Take few seconds to compare these two Robustos. The left one has certainely something wrong: the top is misshapen, the gauge is not respected, the band is not embossed...	Cohiba Robusto The gauge of this vitola has something wrong:the foot is larger than the head. The giled letters are not well embossed.	Cohiba Robusto The print of the band is awful: the black stripes run over the orange part. Moreover, a piece of tobacco leaf is stuck in the band. This is definitively not a Cohiba.


Cohiba Piramide EL 2001 A cigar made in 2001... ...with the new Cohiba band (gilded and embossed letters) launched in... 2003!	Partagas Piramide EL 2001 This is clear. This cigar is a counterfeit. The head is misshapen and the body is completely curved.	Cohiba Lancero Here is a badly cut band (the top is cut down), stuck without care, diagonally, moreover, the warper is ugly. Astonishing for such a prestigious havana brand.


Partagas Serie D N° 4 Thanks to Mr. Vanore from New Jersey for this funny counterfeit Partagas. The band is awsome! Nothing realistic. Color, typo, embossing...	Partagas Serie D N° 4 The same Partagas (from Brazil). The wrapper seems rough and brittle. Ugly green spots and green nerves everywhere. A complete description of this cigar is available in the Aficionado's Corner.	Cohiba Piramides EL 2001 Thanks to R. van Zuylen from Belgium for this Cohiba. The counterfeit Cohiba is on the left. Misshaped head. The band is cut too far from the edge. The cigar is slightly too long.


Partagas Piramide EL 2001 The box on the right is the fake one. Edicion Limitada stripe is wrong. About the Habanos stripe, letters are deep orange instead of yellow. The dollar seal is not flush with the edge of the box.	Partagas Piramide EL 2001 Fake is on the left. Data is printed instead to be branded. Code of the fake: EOG ENE01 (la Corona January 01). The good box: OSU MAR01 (Partagas March 01). Fake dollar serial # is starting with DE. Good dollar serial # is starting with XX (special code for boxes controled twice). By the way, the XX dollar has been placed on a first seal.	Partagas Piramide EL 2001 Real Partagas Piramides Edición Limitada 2001 box is on the top. Notice that the black and gold EL stripe is cut too large. Thanks to R. van Zuylen.


Cohiba Robustos Millenium Everyone knows the famous Cohiba Millenium Jar. Habanos S.A. launched this product in 1999 to celebrate the new millenium. Here we have a jar of 25 robustos. Cohiba Robustos in Millenium jar doesn't exist. (However, Robustos Montecristo Jar has been produced for the New Millenium) (picture from eBay)	Cohiba Esplendidos Here is another box of these mad and most improbable Cohiba Esplendidos... This counterfeit glass-lid box is from Dominican Republic. This aberration is now even sought by collectors! (picture from eBay)	Cohiba Robustos The dealer says: «Selling an unopened package of 25 Robusto cuban cigars in box with humidor. I picked these up on a recent trip. The brand is Cohiba and the cuban governement seal is inplace. I'm not sure what size these are, but they're about 6" long and .75" wide.» Amazing. (picture from eBay)


Cohiba Robustos Purchased the week of June 14, 2004 in Ensenada, Mexico. Nice store, large walk-in humidor, lots of brands and all fakes! Thanks to Bob Blum, California	Cohiba Esplendidos Well, well, well... Now you can find your favourite Cohiba flavoured with vanilla. Insane... Bands, protective plastic, box... everything tells the origin of these unprobable Cohiba. (picture from eBay)	Cohiba Esplendidos The dealer says: "Please note that this is a original authentic tin cigar holder of a Cohiba Esplendidos. The value of the auctioned item is in the collectable packaging not in the tobacco itself. The package has not been opened, but the tobacco within is not for consumption. The collectable packaging is not available at normal retail outlets (That's a fact, Jack. This item does not exist) and the packaging has a value that substantially exceeds the current retail price of the tobacco in the package". Sure! since you don't know what you'll find inside... (picture from eBay)


Cohiba Torpedo Another non-official, unusual Cohiba-like box. This one is made in Dominican Republic. The seller says: "These are the RARE Cohiba Limited Edition cigars that have been aged for 5 years. They come in their own humidifed, cedar lined glass top boxes, similar to the Cuban Cohiba Design". (sic There is no official glass top boxes made by Cohiba in Cuba). These cigars are very rare in the USA and guaranteed not to last. Cigar lovers have been enjoying these cigars for many many years and they have built a reputation of some of the best cigars around".	Romeo y Julieta Hermosos No. 2 Edición Limitada 2004 (1st part) Cigar bought from a well known Swiss retailer soon after the official Edicion Limitada 2004 launch. Edicion Limitada cigar meet very high standards. For supposed EL, this Hermoso looks very bad. The head is ugly; Bevel shaped. Bad filling. The wrapper is ugly and shows kind of "shapes" under the leaf.	Romeo y Julieta Hermosos No. 2 Edición Limitada 2004 (2nd part) Same cigar bought from a well known Swiss retailer soon after the official Edicion Limitada 2004 launch. The wrapper is too slack and is ajar. Wrapper is crumpled too. The body shows spots of vegetal glu. Ash is too clear.


Hoyo de Monterrey Cohiba - Bolivar These boxes (Siglo VI, Royal Coronas, etc.) bought in Madrid, Spain, show two codes. Thus, the same box is supposed to come from El Laguito, May 2004 and simultaneously from Jose Marti, August 1999. Quite unusual! Fakes.	Montecristo N° 1 You don't have to be wizard to figure out that the cigars in this box are everything but Habanos. Oh my... These Montecristo are very bad. (picture from eBay)	Cohiba Siglo VI Low quality SLB cabinet of Cohiba Siglo VI. You can easily feel that the box is a fake. Poor finish, low wood quality, poorly varnished… Everything looks a bit different.


Partagas Serie D. No. 2 EL 2003 This counterfeit Edicion Limitada (right) comes from a retailer located in California who pretends that his stuff is clean. He claims that his cigars are bought from an official Spanish retailer.	Cohiba Siglo VI Edición Limitada Unbelievable! They did it! Pure science fiction cigar: The Siglo VI Edición Limitada. You can ask Fidel, this cigar doesn't exists.	Cohiba Siglo VI Edición Limitada Last update from Nèg ô Kay: Now, we can take a look at the bottom of these Cohiba Siglo VI Edición Limitada (sic). Wood quality do not meet the Cohiba hight standards, as well as the branded data. Fakes, fakes, fakes, even not a real box of Siglo VI. Credit: Nèg ô Kay


Cohiba Piramides EL 2004 The Cohiba Piramides Edición Limitada (EL) has been released in 2001 and wore the black and gold 2001 band. The vitolas in this box are banded 2004!	Cohiba Piramides EL 2004 They are nice, the box looks good, it's even stamped with the new holographic sticker. Of course, everybody knows that Habanos kept this cigar in production longtime after 2001, but… Produced in 2001 or 2002 (still in 2004?, not sure), this cigar has always worn the 2001 band. The 2004 band seems unclear, since the official EL 2004 vitolas are known. And no Cohiba Piramide has been announced by Habanos	Cohiba Siglo VI The fake is too long, the embossed letters aren't as embossed as the real one and the Habanos type is different. The horizontal line are much thicker than usual. The yellow color is not correct. Credit: Stixx

Cohiba Esplendidos These awful supposed Esplendidos have seen on the Swiss auction website ricardo.ch (word search: Cohiba). The seller says : Original Cuban Cohiba Esplendidos. Requested amount: 360 CHF for these very bad counterfeit cigars. The Cohiba sticker is badly cut with scisors! The Habanos sticker is still in the box, waiting for you to stick it whereever you want. Merci à Fabio Cremona	Cohiba Esplendidos Other fakes seen on ricardo.ch (search: Cohiba), the Dominican siblings. Oh... what a nice red ribbon!

Cohiba Esplendidos	Cohiba Esplendidos I found some really ridiculous fakes on eBay Germany. The seller quoted that he bought it right form the factory - in the dominican republic - sic! - There are litteraly tons of thoses on eBay Germany. but this box is the worst I ever saw. Stephan, Munich, Germany	Cohiba Esplendidos