So I was down in Jamaica last week on vacation, and I stopped by a shop in Ocho Rios that I suspected might have genuine cigars. Of course we all know that 99% of the "Cuban" cigars in Jamaica are fake, but it was at least worth checking out. One of the things that always intrigues me about these shops selling fakes is that alot of them are not just selling popular cigars like Cohiba, Montecristo, Partagas and RyJ. Many are selling lesser known or less popular cigars as well, such as boxes of Hoyo Epicures on the shelves, or even boxes of Guantanameras. Why would someone go through the trouble of counterfeiting a mediocre machine made cigar like the Guatanameras? Or the Fonseca line? Don't get me wrong, I actually love the Fonseca lineup, and especially for the price think they're fantastic, but is it worth the trouble to create a fake of a $4 cigar?
Anyways, while at this shop (Cigar Planet at the Taj Mahal center in Ocho Rios) I was checking out the inventory and talking with the proprietor and picked up several boxes and noticed there were no box codes. There was some other stamp on them that I didn't get a good look at, but not a single box code/date. When I asked about this he told me that he sends the empty boxes back to Cuba to be refilled, and he showed me a stack of about 50 empty boxes. This reminds me a little of why some stores won't let you have the empty Opus boxes, because they get refilled by Fuente (at least that's what they say).
Of course the other big red flag was the box of Montecristo "C" EL 2006's sitting on the shelf. As far as I know that cigar does not exist. The Monte C EL was released in 03.
Does anyone know anything about boxes being refilled and missing box codes? Or more specifically, has anyone else heard that excuse? I'm almost certain it's BS (but I hate to rush to judgment) and this guy, like everyone else in Jamaica is selling fakes, but I thought I'd see what everyone else thought. The cigars themselves actually didn't look bad. Triple caps when appropriate, decent looking wrappers and filler, and didn't smell way off. It's always hard when you don't have a "control" specimen to compare the suspect cigars to.
Anyways, while at this shop (Cigar Planet at the Taj Mahal center in Ocho Rios) I was checking out the inventory and talking with the proprietor and picked up several boxes and noticed there were no box codes. There was some other stamp on them that I didn't get a good look at, but not a single box code/date. When I asked about this he told me that he sends the empty boxes back to Cuba to be refilled, and he showed me a stack of about 50 empty boxes. This reminds me a little of why some stores won't let you have the empty Opus boxes, because they get refilled by Fuente (at least that's what they say).
Of course the other big red flag was the box of Montecristo "C" EL 2006's sitting on the shelf. As far as I know that cigar does not exist. The Monte C EL was released in 03.
Does anyone know anything about boxes being refilled and missing box codes? Or more specifically, has anyone else heard that excuse? I'm almost certain it's BS (but I hate to rush to judgment) and this guy, like everyone else in Jamaica is selling fakes, but I thought I'd see what everyone else thought. The cigars themselves actually didn't look bad. Triple caps when appropriate, decent looking wrappers and filler, and didn't smell way off. It's always hard when you don't have a "control" specimen to compare the suspect cigars to.
). I asked for the box to keep 'em safe for the long trip home. No way Jose, not on my life could I talk them out of ANY empty box, and I emptied several by buying 5ers and such. There was no explaination, no reason, just a flat-out plain 
