Victory Cigars get calls (almost) daily from people wanting to know if the cigars they bought in Cuba are real. And more often than not, the news we give them is not good. Approximately 90% of the Cuban cigars tourists ask us to examine are fake. Not only is this a shame from a financial standpoint, counterfeit cigars can be downright dangerous to one’s health. With this in mind, we have decided to write down some pointers about what to look for when buying Cuban cigars.
Many people are amazed that we can often diagnose their cigars sight unseen! However, when the conversation contains certain phrases that we’ve heard over and over, we know the truth. The following statements are dead giveaways:
“I bought them on the beach / in the cab / from the gardener”
The probability that these cigars are fake is almost 100%. Why? The only place to get authentic Cuban cigars is from a Habanos (government) store or the airport stores in Cuba (occasionally you find authentic cigars in resort shops.) Remember this truth: selling fake cigars to tourists is Cuba’s National sport. If the seller is not wearing an official government uniform (which in Habanos stores is military-like dress for both men and women) then the cigars are fake.
“I only paid $50 for a box of Cohiba Esplendidos”
Before we get into the economics of this, let’s pause to consider the logic. Esplendidos are approximately 7” long and 2/3 of an inch in diameter; in other words, they are very big. We constantly ask ourselves, “What possesses people who don’t smoke cigars to suddenly buy enormous cigars by the box load?” Invariably, these folks ask us to buy the cigars (sorry!), then start trying to sell them to their friends or the general public via Craigslist (and FYI – selling cigars on Craigslist or Kijiji is illegal in Canada.) Folks – if you are not a cigar smoker then do not buy Esplendidos! Buy smaller cigars; you’ll be more likely to enjoy them.
OK, onto the economics of the $60 box of Esplendidos. Most Cuban cigars in Canada range from $10 to over $100 per cigar; as such, boxes of 25 range from $250 – $2500. Typically, the discount you get buying cigars in Cuba is around 60% … so that means the cigars range from $100 to $1000. And Esplendidos would be in the upper end of this range. There are no $50 boxes of cigars in Cuba (discounting puritos and Guantanameras); there are only tourists eager to get something for nothing. (We have a theory about why all boxes of cigars seem to cost $50 on the beach in Cuba; could it be because that’s the amount most tourists set aside for souvenirs?)
“I know the person who sold them to me”
This is a delicate situation, because we wouldn’t want to insult your friend. But these cigars are fakes, too. There is almost no hard currency in Cuba and the people are extremely desperate; they will do anything to survive, including selling fake cigars to people who consider them friends.
“The box has a beautiful glass top”
We are not aware of any Cuban cigars that come in a box with a glass or plexiglass lid, even in special editions.
Awareness of these 4 issues alone can negate a great deal of heartache when purchasing cigars. Next we’ll examine the issues with packaging; how can we tell the real from the fake?
Authenticating Cigar Boxes
Be aware: if you are shopping for Cigars in Cuba you must insist on a box where all seals are intact. There is a thriving cottage industry in taking discarded packaging from the garbage in Cuban hotel rooms. If you smoke a box of Cuban cigars while on vacation, mind how you dispose of the garbage. Maids and cleaners are rewarded for obtaining empty boxes and tubes; if you want to do your fellow travellers a favour, step on any boxes or aluminum tubes before you put them in the garbage. This will prevent their reuse in the illicit cigar market.
The following are the visual clues we look for when determining if the cigar box is authentic:
Labels – there must be three different labels, and they should be applied so that they cross the edge of the lid and cause the box to be sealed. They are the Habanos label; the Habanos hologram; and the Government of Cuba seal, with hologram and barcode.
The bottom of the box is also a critical feature. There should be at least two elements: “Hecho a Mano” should be burned into the bottom of the box, not stamped. Run your finger over the words; they should be intaglio (the opposite of a cameo, which is a raised image). As well, there will be a production date stamped on the bottom. If either of these items is missing, or if Hecho a Mano has just been applied with a stamp, then the box is likely fake.
The barcode can be used to verify the authenticity of the box. Go to www.habanos.com and select “Authenticity Check” on the top center of the home page. You can enter the barcode number and learn if your box is authentic. (This process falls apart if you buy an open box of cigars, because the box could have been retrieved from someone’s trash)
Authenticating Cigar Bands
This is another easy way to tell fake cigars. All bands must be identical, facing up in the box. And all the bands in a properly produced box will be at the same position on the cigar (i.e. the same distance from the head). Lastly, look for sloppy gluing where the ends of the band join; they should be perfectly aligned.
Since Cohibas is the most counterfeited brand their bands merit additional consideration. The image here is of an authentic Cohiba band. Note that the colour scheme is the same for all Cuban varieties of Cohiba cigars. Also, the band of white checkers (squares) above the word “Cohiba” is always 3 squares high; it never varies. Lastly, the word “Cohiba” itself is cameo (raised print). And the ink in the word “Cohiba” will be a perfect, shiny gold. Watch for ink runs, or for the “O” in Cohiba to be solid instead of white in the middle; these are sure signs of fakes.
Authenticating Cigars
Checking the authenticity of the actual cigars involves looking for more subtle clues. The best fakes are almost impossible to tell from the real product, but most fakes stumble in one of the following areas:
Shading – when cigars are packaged they are sorted according to shade. The cigars will all be close in shade but if you look closely, you can see a subtle darkening from left to right (i.e. leftmost cigar in the box will be darkest, rightmost lightest). If the pattern is not a gradient or some cigars are markedly darker then suspect that you are dealing with fakes.
Rolling – poor quality fakes are poorly rolled; sighting along the line of the cigar will show that there are some parts of the cigar where the diameter narrows or is uneven. This would never be allowed in the Cuban factories; diameters are measured to the sixty-fourth of an inch and no deviation is tolerated.
Filler – sometimes “surgery” is the only way to tell if a cigar is fake; this is necessary when somebody has packaged a decent fake in a box discarded by a tourist. This involves sacrificing a cigar to an Exacto knife and cutting it down its length. Invariably, the outer (wrapper) leaf looks fine. The binder leaf inside (it wraps around the three filler leaves) will also be correct, that is, a whole leaf. But when you get to the filler, instead of finding three long leaves you find a whole bunch of smaller bits of chopped up tobacco; this is called short filler. None of the top cigars are short filler!
Odour – we have seen fake cigars from the Dominican that had a slight odour of ammonia and petroleum. No kidding. This was the worst box of fakes we ever saw; the buyer spent $75 US on them. We advised him to throw them in the garbage without delay.
Conclusion
Is this list of methods exhaustive? Pretty much, but no method is fallible. If all else fails, use your gut. If it feels like it’s too good to be true then it is! Most folks who come to us already know the answer. Nobody likes to get duped, but better to be safe than sorry … because there can be consequences from buying fake cigars:
Seizure – customs inspectors in Cuba will randomly inspect luggage that is leaving the country. If they find boxes of cigars they will ask to see the receipt. If you can’t produce one (because you bought them on the beach) then your cigars will be confiscated.
Health risks – What are you smoking? Authentic Cuban cigars contain proper Cuban tobacco that is rolled to stringent standards. Fakes contain anything that will make the item look like a cigar, including bits of twine, other plant parts, or materials that were discarded as garbage.
Contamination – cigars produced in Cuban factories are flash frozen for 24h in order to kill any tobacco beetles; fakes do not get this treatment. Bringing home fakes laden with larvae can put your whole collection at risk if things suddenly start to hatch.
Do your homework, pay a reasonable price and shop at a Habanos store … you’ll be glad you did. In closing, here are some of the wackiest lines we’ve heard people use to justify why they disobeyed their instincts and bought fake cigars:
“I know that these are authentic; the guy put the stickers on right in front of me”
“They left off the stickers so I could open the box and make sure they were real cigars”