R&J LE 2007 Escudos "Misprint Band"?

[stephenbj]

Hi guys,

I would like to say one thing before I continue posting on this forum.

I am not an expert and will not pretend to be one. I would call myself a beginner, so please don't get discourage about the integrity of the cigar trade because I am posting a lot on the suspect cigars forum. Maybe I have my suspicion because I am a beginner. I just thought these posts will answer a lot of people's questions.

So this is a box of R&J 2007 that I purchased from an on-line vendor.

As you can see in the photos, the cigar band is not centered vertically. I bought this into my trusted cigar shop and compared side by side with one of their boxes. Everything looked fine, except for the band. The smell of the cigar is nothing outstanding, but definitely Cuban. I smoked one and not that found of the taste. The draw was also below average. So with all that put together, I labeled it a fake.

Question:

I've heard that the print on the cigar band is sometimes inconsistent, anyone seen that in authentic Cubans?

Do any of you own these cigars? Are your bands also like this?

[Tarks]

I see nothing in the pictures that tells me those are fakes. Misprinted bands can happen. Like I said to you via PM, I have seen misprinted bands on cigars in the factories in Havana. It is Cuba. I have learned over the years that anything is possible.

FYI, The Escudos have not received great reviews and this is why there are a large number of them still on the market.

[Colt45]

As Tarks relayed, printing errors happen. This looks like a die cutting issue (if that's actually how they cut the bands). I imagine that if a large number

were produced this way, they would not throw them away, but use them.

[cigcars]

*Actually, those cigars look doggone delicious

[jjeng]

Here's a picture that might be helpful. I purchased a Cohiba Robusto at an LCDH awhile ago. Didn't really pay attention to the band, but the cigar itself looked and smelled fine. When I smoked it, it had the typical Cohiba Robusto flavors.

But if you will notice, the third row of white boxes are cut off and there is an extra space between Habana and the comma.

So based on the band, did I have a fake cigar on my hand? Maybe. But given where it came from, how it looked, smelled, and tasted, I'm going to say it's just another example of Cuban quality control.

[Bluesmokes52]

I personally think these are great cigars. similar looking stick, ring is off and thats just human error in my opinion....

Burn perfectly, smelled wonderful and tasted great. One of my new favorites, I cant wait for more to come.