Yet another fake Cohiba story

J

Jazzmunkee

Newbie in the jungle
So as the typical story goes (and I've seen the pics on this site) my cousin's girlfriend went to Mexico and decides to surprise him by bringing home some cubans she bought for 60 bucks- that's a box of 5. They have a special "Ediciones Limitada" band and came in the glass top box. Pretty obvious fakes. :pu This wouldn't be too bad if my cousin knew anything about cigars, but he's happy! He's "graciously" left 2 in my humidor to smoke on a special occasion. (I promised not to smoke them before he comes over) So you see I'm in a predicament. The question is what do I do? :confused:

A) Tell him the truth and throw the sticks away?
B) Get really drunk before he comes over so I won't taste them?
C) Switch the labels with another stick that's not made from banana leaves?
D) Accidentally let my humidor get infested with beetles?

HAHA Well at least it's funny. Hope the pic's decent enough. Thanks guys...
 
1. Don't let your humi get infested with beetles!!
2. Be honest.... He's your cousin right? :tu
 
I have to give a 2 pronged answer.

First if he is wanting to be a cigar enthusiaist I would educate him and show him why they are fake so he knows and will be able to spot fakes. But thenI'd still smoke em and see how they are. I mean sometimes some cigars will surprise ya, fake or not.

If he is not an enthusiast, and just smokes cigars once in a blue moon and on special occasions, then just smoke them and mirror his reaction. If he loves em then lie and tell him they're great and thank him graciously. If he doesn't care for the stick then just say "yeah sometimes even the best cigars just aren't to our flavor profiles". It'll make him feel good.:tu
 
Thanks- I'm trying to push him down the slope. He's been an occasional smoker for a few years, but never had an interest in taking it seriously. Maybe a little education will help.
 
If you don't educate him, he may gift you with even more of these "choice" cigars from other trips south of the border, honestly believing that he's doing you a favor. Best to stop it now, even if his feelings get a little bruised. Introduce him to a really nice stick and all will be forgotten - and I'll bet that he will be grateful that you took the time to teach him.
 
I have always gone by the honesty is the best policy my whole life approach to everything. (except some questions the wife might ask) :D
You all know the ones I am talking about. The ones that will get you :bnfrom the bedroom.
 
Just tell him mexico is commonly flooded with fakes so you hope these are real.... thats all...
 
JPH said:
Just tell him mexico is commonly flooded with fakes...
Click to expand...

Thats an understatment. The ratio for authentic vs. fake is something like 1 in 10,000 in Mexico (and thats a conservative estimate IMHO)
 
Jazzmunkee said:
A) Tell him the truth and throw the sticks away?
B) Get really drunk before he comes over so I won't taste them?
C) Switch the labels with another stick that's not made from banana leaves?
D) Accidentally let my humidor get infested with beetles?
Click to expand...


Freeze em to kill the possible beetles and then I would just smoke one. They are not real cohiba's, but fake doesn't have to mean that they are bad. I have some cohibo's that are actually a very decent smoke.
 
I had one of these conversations just last night with a friend. Let him have a cc and he mentioned about some he got on a cruise ship that a guy in mexico sealed up in a glass top box for him. Said they were authentic. I told him 100% fake. He asked how could I know, the guy said they were real, and it's mexico which is closer to Cuba that most places.

I again said 100% fake, no cc comes in a glass top box. He shrugged it off still not believing me. :hn Only can do so much.
 
Jazzmunkee said:
So ... my cousin's girlfriend went to Mexico and ... brings home some cubans ... Pretty obvious fakes. ...He's "graciously" left 2 in my humidor to smoke on a special occasion. ... So you see I'm in a predicament. The question is what do I do? :confused:

D) Accidentally let my humidor get infested with beetles?

HAHA Well at least it's funny.
Click to expand...

So heres my suggestion on what to do with them. Take them out of your humidor and if you really want to keep them put them in some tupperware or something separate from the rest of your sticks. If these are really made of tobacco, you have no clue how they have been stored or kept in mexico and on travel back to the states. Beetles once hatched can take some time to burrow out of the cigars. I wouldn't take any chance of letting these cigars ruin the rest of your stogies. Also you can follow Dons suggestion of freezing them.

-Mike
 
JE3146 said:
I had one of these conversations just last night with a friend. Let him have a cc and he mentioned about some he got on a cruise ship that a guy in mexico sealed up in a glass top box for him. Said they were authentic. I told him 100% fake. He asked how could I know, the guy said they were real, and it's mexico which is closer to Cuba that most places.

I again said 100% fake, no cc comes in a glass top box. He shrugged it off still not believing me. :hn Only can do so much.
Click to expand...

similar to that, my dad got two "cohiba sig IV's" in spain, he said they were in a plexiglass humi in a store. he said it was harsh, but thats just because it was dry. i told him it was fake, and he said 'no, it was just dry, it looked real.' he wont admit that a very nice cigar purchased cheap in a random store that tasted like crap allowed to dry out is fake, ah well

on topic, i say educate

stearns
 
I actually just got back from mexico and couldnt believe the money people where paying for fakes on the beach.. upmans, cohiba's, r y j... all in the same glass top boxes... ridiculous i saw a guy pay 125 for a 10 pack "glass box" of romeo's i ended up myself getting a 3 pack of montecristo #3 habanas from the duty free shop in the airport... thats the only way id trust buying them in mex.
 
JerseyStepUp said:
I actually just got back from mexico and couldnt believe the money people where paying for fakes on the beach.. upmans, cohiba's, r y j... all in the same glass top boxes... ridiculous i saw a guy pay 125 for a 10 pack "glass box" of romeo's i ended up myself getting a 3 pack of montecristo #3 habanas from the duty free shop in the airport... thats the only way id trust buying them in mex.
Click to expand...

As to the original question I see a general trend that I agree with:

1). Tell him the truth - by educating you may spark a stronger interest in this passion of ours, pass it forwards as we say

2). Light them up - I have smoked lots of fake Cohibas that actually came from Cuba - some of them are okay smokes, they are not Cohibas but then again they are better than many others I have smoked

As for Cubans in Mexico -

As everyone here says, most Cubans in Mexico are fake - I have lived in places where the sticks were rolled in the back of the shop with Mexican tobacco and the Cuban stickers were applied. I have smoked some and not a one of them is worth a dime - literally! So since they got them down here they are probably just a really bad Mexican cigar!

There are several places where you can buy legitimate Cubans in Mexico but they are outnumbered as Poker said by a very large margin.

Caveat emptor...
:ss
 
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