benjamin831

I bought this humidor off Amazon and apparently it's a copy of the Colibri pyramid style humidors. The overall build quality is very good for the price. I took some sandpaper to it to smooth out some of the rough edges and joints. I also took apart the humidor to polish up the hinges and screws. The seal was strong out of the box but I improved it even more with some 1/8" masking tape on the sides.

I think that's somewhat unfair. The first box of cigars I ever bought was a box of RyJ Tubos No. 3 from the HSA at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok back in 2002, so I've smoked Cuban cigars on and off for more years than I would like to know. My college graduation cigar was a Davidoff Dom Perignon from the Cigar Divan at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. Just because I'm an old fart and not familiar with the dangers of online shopping shouldn't mean I get ridiculed for making a rookie mistake. That makes it more difficult for others to come forward and bust these unscrupulous dealers. Maybe you're all too Western- or American-centric. Maybe I'm too naive. In Asia, we don't call them Cuban cigars, we just call them cigars. All cigars are Cuban to us and we just get them from our local PCC store/lounge down the street. The only time I had non-Cubans in Asia was when Davidoff had an event at the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong (before they moved to Kowloon) and they brought a couple of rollers to roll custom Millennium blend cigars for the attendees. Those were the good ol' days. I'm still very new too the world fake cigars and honestly, didn't know how pervasive the issue is until now. But I'm glad I joined this forum to learn more, not just about counterfeits but Cuban cigars in general; they've grown their product lines and changed their branding so much over the past decade, my head finds it difficult to keep up.

Not sure but that's how RyJ printed all their tubos up until they switched it to the modern red and white (ghastly) design haha 😆

Yes, sorry meant to say double claro. Yep, US based collection, all vintage cigars are claro or double claro or marked AMS. Probably the most interesting piece. I'm unable to remove the glass tube from the box unfortunately.

Without saying too much... Sadly the collector isn't with us anymore, so much of it is still up in the air. But here are some photos of a box of RyJ Churchills that had been opened already. Based on the markings, it seems to be mid to late 60s, so definitely post-embargo. The sticks are in pretty good condition, all things considered. The wrapper is mid to dark olive in color (claro) and have an interesting but unfamiliar vegetal aroma, tho some of them have a slight dusting of mold (last pic).

Excellent insight, thank you. Just, just based on my preliminary research before posting, they seem to be released during a very narrow range of time. Interestingly, it is the most common type of cigar in the collection with more than 10 boxes of it. No, they are not my person acquisition, as they belong to a larger collection from a collector. I hope to get more pictures soon.

I think opening it will destroy the value of it but then again, who can know the value without seeing the inside? No idea, anyways not my call to make haha

It came from a larger collection of both modern and vintage cigars from a collector here. The collection was properly humidified but not cared for and unfortunately suffered from pretty significant beetle damage in quite a few boxes, which was heartbreaking. Boxes of vintage Monti 2 and RyJs had to be thrown out.

Interesting find. Early 1960s. Internal condition unknown but it has been properly humidified as far as I know.

What's the MF affair?

The vendor got back to me and no bueno. They said they should've been notified of the dissatisfaction within 7 days of receipt so I'm SOOL

Good idea! I'm unsettled by how sophisticated fakes have become and it really pays to be vigilant. But I'm also relieved that how easy it is still to spot a fake, it just takes some quick research online. That being said, I'm sure tons of people are being scammed by these online stores and are none the wiser. Such as this poor fella. The band is 100% a carbon copy of my dodgy bands. I won't be surprised if he got it from the same source as I did: https://www.casasfumando.com/hoyo-de-monterrey-epicure-no-2-cuban/ Lesson learnt.

I'm not sure if that's really an option. If they can fake this at this level, and not seem to admit it. Then it's probably safe to assume all their inventory is fake? I might be wrong. I'm still pushing for a refund but have to say it's not looking too optimistic. Thankfully it wasn't outrageously expensive, but still money down the drain. Will definitely reach out to @Cigar Salute with the information about this vendor.

OK, I reached out to the company and they dismissed the microcodes matching being a real issue, saying that they don't have to necessarily match. However, they have nothing to say about the dodgy bands, which I thought was weird. Nonetheless, they said they would allow me to return for a refund, however, because it has a been several months since I purchased it, their system cannot process a refund anymore. I'm not sure how true that is. I did leave it in my humidor for a few months since I bought it before I became suspicious. I stupidly just assumed all was well when the barcode checked out on Habano SA's website, datecode notwithstanding.

Thanks for the date code reference, that's invaluable. I haven't yet done the blacklight test yet, as I don't have a UV light on hand. But I read something about the microcode in the warranty seal matching the main barcode and unfortunately none of the microcodes match. I think between the datecode, microcodes, and sketchy band, there's enough doubt to confirm what we probably knew from the start that these are fake Cubans. Thanks guys! I think the question now is what to do about them. Should I toss them or do you think they're safe to smoke? They seem really well made so I suppose they might be just rebanded non-Cubans? It's real shame indeed.

Long time Cuban smoker but went on a 10 yr hiatus, but now I'm back!

No FEB 2019. Factory ABO Also, how do you tell the date from the barcode? I plugged it into Habanos' websited but I'm not sure how to arrive at a date code from it. If you look at the red and gold line, I believe they're meant to be touching on the legit bands. Ok, will do!

Bought these from an online source that easily comes up when you Google Cuban cigars. These were on sale for a good price and now I'm starting to have some buyer's remorse. The barcode checks out on Habanos SA's website but the band looks off to me. I've reached out to the vendor and they're adamant they're real (of course they are) and will not take them back.