Cuban Cigar Questions...

[Toxie]

#1- Nowadays, are Cuban cigars really that great? I have heard that cigars made in the DR and other places are just as good, if not better..

#2- What tobacco do they use when making counterfeit Cubans? Just wondering..

Thanks..

[cls515]

#1 some may say that DR and the like are just as good, but I am convinced that, no, they aren't. Cubans are better. They smell better, they taste better. Hands down. My least favorite Cuban is still one I prefer to my favorite non-Cuban.
#2 I heard that some fakes are still made with Cuban tobacco so they are still Cubans, just not the authentic brand.

[drew_goring]

#2- What tobacco do they use when making counterfeit Cubans? Just wondering..

Thanks..

Fakes are made of just about anything. From decent tobacco which will smoke nicely, to banana leaves and shredded newspaper.

[FunkyCold5]

Nothing can every compare to a perfectly rolled ISOM. No matter how hard I try to smoke really good DRs..........it just doesn't have the same consistency and flavor and smell as any ISOM I've ever had.

[mauied1101]

Fakes are made of just about anything. From decent tobacco which will smoke nicely, to banana leaves and shredded newspaper.

Personally, I'm a fan of the banana leaves - leaves a nice nutty, full texture that has me craving banana bread. Once in a while you'll get lucky and have one wrapped with passion fruit skin... but those are hard to come by...

[Evillepaintball]

I have never had a cuban, but my brother tells me DR's are better than cubans. He got his when he went to germany, and they were the real thing. One question though, what is an ISOM?

[Stryprod]

I have never had a cuban, but my brother tells me DR's are better than cubans. He got his when he went to germany, and they were the real thing. One question though, what is an ISOM?

ISOM = Island South of Miami

[kubano]

cls515 is right. when i was in cuba last, i asked someone the difference between fake cuban cigars and real cuban cigars.

they told me that fake cuban cigars (generally) are just not authentic. They are not made in the factories with the factory labels. Most times they are the left over waste that local cubans sneak out of the factory (one of many ways to get the leaves) and they make it into cigars.

Sometimes, they go the extra step and get some of their friends to go and get the labels from workers in a factory and combine them.

The end result,... some pretty good fakes. Sometimes its just as good, sometimes the first puff tells you right away.

You really should trust your cigar dealer.

side point to remember (nothing to do with what kind of tobacco in cubans) ... if you work up a relationship with a cigar dealer, and every once in while he sells fakes (labels run when you smoke em) ... more than likely your supplier is selling good fakes and bad fakes and i would suggest finding a different supplier.


enjoy smoking...!

[TheSilentChamber]

It probably comes down to a matter of personal prefernece, I believe that many non cuban brands are just as good if not better than some of the cuban brands.

[stjohnroe]

IMHO cubans are better with a greater depth to the flavour. As with watches, there are good and bad quality fakes, but a good fake rolex is still a fake.

[Shelby07]

I haven't been smoking cigars for a long time (a little over a year) but I have found that this is one area that thrives on ignorance and inexperience. Since my SO is from Ireland and works for the airlines, I have had an opportunity to visit Europe several times on family visits. One of the things I love to do when I'm there is visit the local cigar shops. I probably have a bit more experience in this area than most newbies, although I will never claim to be an expert. I have learned that fakes are plentiful in Ireland and England, and understand they are just as plentiful elsewhere. In fact, the vast majority of ISOM's are not authentic, but that doesn't mean that they are bad. If you suspect that the cigar is not authentic it's easy to talk the price down on one or even get a free sampler to see if it's a decent cigar. The shops selling fakes know what they are selling, and I've found out that they are usually willing to lower the price once you point out that you know what you are looking at (it's actually kind of fun). Here's what I think.

If you pay 5 bucks for a fake and it's a good smoke, it's a bargain - get some more.

If you pay 5 bucks and it's lousy, it's a lesson.

If you pay full asking price without having an inkling of what you are looking at, (usually around 20 Euros,) you're an idiot.

Expect to pay a fairly standard price for an authentic ISOM. It's difficult, if not impossible for workers to get cigars out of the factories. If you get offered a box for an extremely low price because somebody's brother's cousin's uncle's mother works at a factory or the shop owner has an "in", you are buying fakes. And what that means is that they were not made at an officially sanctioned factory and they were not subject to the same strict standards as authentic sticks. Some fakes may have ben rolled by the same people that work in the official factories so they will be extremely hard to identify. Rolling fakes is a huge business and since the production of authentic cigars is limited, there is always a market for good fakes.
I have found that a good number of fakes were actually pretty good smokes. Don't get me wrong here, some were absolutely horrible. They were plugged, burned unevenly or just tasted like shit. The first ones were acquired due to ignorance and I used them as a reference to learn what to look for. Others were intentional because I liked the first one I sampled and the price was right. These turned out to be pretty good smokes.

The biggest give aways in my experience are inconsistant construction (hard or soft spots, inconsistant wrapper shade, length, ring size - a quick check for ring size is to try to exchange a couple of cigar bands,) aroma, incorrect caps, shabby workmanship (look closely at how the bands are put on and the caps are constructed) and veins runnning through the filler and noticable at the foot of the cigar (usually the first thing I look for and have found in alot of the fakes I've run across.) Taking a good look at the foot can tell you alot. Also, don't just look at a single stick. Look at the entire contents of the box to compare each stick to the others. I don't put much creedence in the boxes themselves, since most shops that sell counterfeits just keep refilling authentic boxes. When smoking, the ash should be firm and have a darker slate color. The cap should not unravel. And the taste is very unique. There are lots of individual characteristics to look at. My rule is that unless everything is perfect, it's a fake.

The one thing I would say is always be suspicious. And if you do get shilled, be willing to admit it and learn from the experience.

Being the practical type, I figure if I enjoy the smoke, it's worth it. If you get a good fake they smoke pretty much the same as the authentics. And keep in mind that even if you know what to look for, some fakes are extremely well done and hard to identify.

Remember, I am still relatively new at this. If anyone has comments on the above, feel free to enlighten me.

[Desert Rat]

#1 Cubans are different than non-cubans, not better or worse. My tastes have gravitated towards Cuban cigars, but I still enjoy plenty of other cigars as well.

#2- What tobacco do they use when making counterfeit Cubans? Just wondering..

Are you asking what kind of methods, materials, and procedures counterfeiters use when they are illegally producing cigars?

To my knowledge, I have not sampled many counterfeits. My commen sense tells me, someone unscrupulous enough to "counterfeit" a product would use the most inexpensive means available to produce a counterfeit and make the greatest profit-i.e. the cheapest chit around.

"Farm Rolled Cigars" referrred to above are another story and not sold as counterfeits.

[Roham]

Well, chances are if you buy a cuban somewhere other then cuba and not from a reputable shop it is fake and probably not even cuban tobbacco. Don't bother. But if you are in Cuba and buy some cigars on the street, they are fake also, but chances are they are rolled with cuban tobbacco. My two cents...

[ggiese]

cls515 is right. when i was in cuba last, i asked someone the difference between fake cuban cigars and real cuban cigars.

they told me that fake cuban cigars (generally) are just not authentic. They are not made in the factories with the factory labels. Most times they are the left over waste that local cubans sneak out of the factory (one of many ways to get the leaves) and they make it into cigars.

Sometimes, they go the extra step and get some of their friends to go and get the labels from workers in a factory and combine them.

The end result,... some pretty good fakes. Sometimes its just as good, sometimes the first puff tells you right away.

You really should trust your cigar dealer.

side point to remember (nothing to do with what kind of tobacco in cubans) ... if you work up a relationship with a cigar dealer, and every once in while he sells fakes (labels run when you smoke em) ... more than likely your supplier is selling good fakes and bad fakes and i would suggest finding a different supplier.


enjoy smoking...!

I don't think so, Sparky...

The chances of you finding a fake Cuban cigar rolled by a Cuban with Cuban tobacco outside of Cuba is like finding a needle in a haystack. MOST fake Cuban cigars outside of the US are poorly rolled, cheap fakes. Smoke and taste terrible. MOST of the fake Cuban cigars produced in the US are not bad, overpriced DECENT smokes, but definitely not Cuban in any way shape or form.

Because you really don't know what you're getting, I say steer clear of the fakes - PERIOD!

Not what is that ad in your signature - you trying to steal customers away from Hex???

[cuban_vol74]

I have a friend that's going to Europe day after tomorrow and he'll be there three weeks. I know for sure he's going to England, Switzerland, and Italy (not sure what exact cities except for London). Are there any reputable cigar shops I can tell him about in certain cities to score authentic Cubans? I am trying to get him to stop in and grab me a handful or two.

[WOXOF]

Tell him to go here - La Casa Del Habano

They are the retail outlet for Habanos S.A. You'll be taking a big risk of getting fakes anywhere else.

The website has a store directory so you can look and see if there will be one in the area.