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Esplendidos, real or fake?

O

Omskakas

New Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2009
Messages
63
I know, I know, you guys hate these topics. But I can't have a peace of mind if I don't know for sure.

Photobucket:
http://pbckt.com/sm.dCTY

As far as I know, everything else looks good except there's something odd with bands. I have a Siglo II (bought from LCDH) for comparison. Text in "Habana" seems bolder on Siglo and white squares are slightly larger on Esplendidos. Is this normal variation or are they F...S? ???

They are bought from a source I think many of you use.

Edit: typos
 
Trust your source. If you say they are bought from a source that most use, then there you go. But it looks good to be, smoke and see.
 
First pic is the Esplendido, yours on the left which looks fine compared to one I just smoked on the right. However, the second pic is your Siglo 1 that compared with one of mine seems to have smaller squares.

Really, unless the bands have true tell tale signs of being fake such as wrong font or no embossing, it's just not possible to know until smoked. Someone with a good bit of experience with Cohiba flavor should be able to tell. I've smoked some that even a novice smoker would immediately know were fake (bland, cardboard taste). Smoke one and let us know.

Esplendidos (yours on left, mine on right)
EsplendidoComparison.jpg


Siglo I (yours on left, mine on right)
Siglo1Comparison.jpg
 
I'll smoke one once I think they've settled down. Odor of the cigars seem cuban-like, but on the light side of odor scale. If they are fakes they are very well made fakes.

Thanks Kingantz for the comparison.
 
Greg, What about the black border between the gold band and the first row of white squares? It sure looks marginal in the first photo of the cigar on the left. How much can that vary?
 
LarryH said:
Greg, What about the black border between the gold band and the first row of white squares? It sure looks marginal in the first photo of the cigar on the left. How much can that vary?
Click to expand...

Good observation Larry and good question. Really no idea on slight variations like that. I compared the 05 Esplendido I just smoked with the 07 Esplendidos we just got in our GB and the white squares on the sticks just received are at the very top of the band (on mine) with no black space between. Could very well be just a slight variation in how the bands were cut, plan to smoke one today or tomorrow and will review.
 
No expert, but I am a little bit familiar with the printing process---and with as many steps as it takes to produce an embossed, gilded, multi-color band, tiny variations are to be expected. Glaring ones, quality control would catch.

I will say that the wrapper looks a bit more "rustic" on his than Greg's.

~Boar
 
It appears that the name Habana, Cuba is thicker on one than the other. The one on the right has a bolder/thicker curl on bottom and top of the "H". When you look at the "a", he very small lines are also thicker that the other one.
 
tejanoloco said:
It appears that the name Habana, Cuba is thicker on one than the other. The one on the right has a bolder/thicker curl on bottom and top of the "H". When you look at the "a", he very small lines are also thicker that the other one.
Click to expand...

It's probably just parallax.
 
The wrappers look rough for Cohibas in the close up pics, that's my biggest concern. But in your pic of the open box, the wrappers seem pretty normal.

Also, I see what you mean by then seeming just... a little off. Now I am not making a claim based on the band, but I have to agree with KingAntz that, unless glaring, it is sometimes difficult to judge by band alone. Heck, check this out:

SNC00051a.jpg


These were pulled out of the same open box at the Melia Habana Cigar Store in Havana in January, so I know they are legit. Imagine.

So the lack of printing quality in Cuba, coupled with the fact that counterfeiters are making some near perfect bands and boxes now, make ID'ing fakes on bands alone very difficult. Remember that alot of the "how to tell fakes by bands" stuff and examples posted on CA and Cigar Nexus was posted before 1998. Alot has changed since then.
 
For the topic: I just made an odor test for several different cigars and I'm pretty sure my Cohibas are made of Cuban tobacco. I'll wait for couple of weeks to smoke one. If it isn't fake, it'll be waste of money to smoke one now.


I have similar experience with Ninja. I bought a 5er from LCDH in ******** and got these:

Just look at the band! Even the gold paint is different shade on the ugly one. Can that bastard be real? :0 I don't think so. Somehow they got fake(s). However, I've smoked many other cigars bought from there and I'm sure those were real.

Another pic from my first purchases just for teh lulz. Can you spot the fake? :whistling:


NSFW pop-ups again! Sorry photobucket doesn't host pics of this size.


Edit: Removed the city behind LCDH just to be sure
 
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