Cuban with less/no risk of counterfeit?

[Uwiik]

I live in an Asian country where genuine high end Cohiba are just practically non existent from any vendor in the country, I have searched high and low spending in excess of $7000 buying fake Behike, Siglo VI and non Cohiba Upmann 50,  and I came to a conclusion that all Cohiba are 100% fakes out here, even from a very reputable dealer.

I have decided that I will never ever buy Cohiba locally but I still need my replenishment/variety. I had a good luck with Partagas Serie D No.4 from only one specific vendor, the flavor, band, box and most importantly smoking experience matches all the reviews I could find and my taste palate always dance in happiness when smoking this Partagas from this specific vendor. However, yesterday I just paid $2000 for Behike 54 (after spending $3000++ on two previous fake Behike from other vendors) to this specific vendor who supplied me Partagas and now I have my doubt due to the box factory/date code and the band, as a newbie (2 weeks on cigar) I never smoked confirmed genuine Behike 54, mine which I bought yesterday smoked nice but not that nice compared to my Partagas Serie D No.4 bought from same vendor (my suss BHK54 is too smooth bordering on bland and no overwhelming mix of flavor like what the internet reviews described) 

I will be going to Dubai in December, there will be 5 of us (wife and kids) and I am going to get my cold hard revenge by stuffing our suitcases with Cuban from LCDH in Dubai, I don’t care if I have to spend $100K plus and tax when re entering my country on that revenge shopping spree but I will definitely go nuts on that Dubai trip because I am so fed up spending my hard earned money on counterfeits locally. 

Meanwhile, I need suggestions from nice folks in this forum. December cannot come soon enough and I need to survive until the trip. What nice Cuban which have lowest risk of fakes or have no known fakes being produced? I am 99% sure my Partagas Serie D No.4 is legit but I can’t be smoking Partagas only until December… 

I am waiting for my microscope today and will post my yesterday’s purchase of my third box of fake BHK54. Hopefully you folks can help shine a light through…

Thank you very much in advance for any assistance!! 

[Uwiik]

Still waiting for my microscope to arrive, but I’ll send some pics based on what I have now.

- code checks out ok as BHK54 on Habanos website (when it’s working)

 

At this point I am actually 99.99999999% it’s just another fake I wasted $2000 on…. 
 

The main questions remains though:

- What nice/decent Cuban are known for not having any counterfeit or least likely to be counterfeited? I am dying to know

This is how the Siglo VI from this vendor burns, 99% sure it’s a fake too. Got it as freebie yesterday 

This is how the BHK56 (bought a single) from the vendor burns. Taste decent but I am 99.99999% sure this is also fake. 

[nKostyan]

If you want to spend 100k without risk, write to Rob, he will come up with something

[Uwiik]

Rob is in Australia, there is no way I can import legally via DHL/Fedex/UPS even if I am willing to pay import tax. Tobacco is heavily regulated here because Indonesia is a major Tobacco producer. Carry on as passenger is different matter, limit is 250 pcs cigar per person and as long as it is carry on item 99% chance I don’t need to pay tax or very very little if unlucky (sometimes custom say 200 sometimes 250/person law is always vague here). There will be 5 of us to Dubai on December and December is not that far away from today

2 hours ago, Uwiik said:

The main questions remains though:

- What nice/decent Cuban are known for not having any counterfeit or least likely to be counterfeited? I am dying to know

Can anyone help with this information? This is the actual main topic of this post, the rest are just me ranting 😂

[Arabian]

Hard to tell. There's no point to fake Quintero or any other entry level affordable cigars, fakers received the memo and targeting other brands (not just Cohiba). From what I can tell...genuine boxes, genuine labels but the cigars are fakes.

[JohnS]

3 hours ago, Uwiik said:

The main questions remains though:

- What nice/decent Cuban are known for not having any counterfeit or least likely to be counterfeited? I am dying to know

 

49 minutes ago, Uwiik said:

Can anyone help with this information? This is the actual main topic of this post, the rest are just me ranting 😂

The short answer to this question is to look for brands that aren't necessarily popular with casual consumers of Habanos cigars but are with cigar enthusiasts, as in the type of people that are members here. You are less likely to find fake H.Upmann Connoisseur No.1 and Rafael Gonzalez Perlas and Petit Coronas, for example.

Now, know that we are a charitable, amenable and polite group here from all parts of the world. At the time you've posted this, the usual members who would be happy to assist you with this query are asleep in the US, or they are just waking up in Europe. Therefore, I advise you to exercise patience and wait for a reply/ies and cease bumping this thread. Furthermore, demonstrate that you are reputable by not replying to this thread yourself until someone else has. The reason for this is because we rightly tend to view members who join our community and post threads like this as not 'buying into our culture'. By that I mean, our community stands on the notion of giving and enriching others. Members who post about suspect cigars in their first 5 posts are less likely to do that from experience.

Judging by how well you write, I have every confidence that you well-educated and thus not ignorant. I also have every confidence our members will add to this thread in the next day or two and they will assuage your concerns.

[Uwiik]

7 hours ago, JohnS said:

The short answer to this question is to look for brands that aren't necessarily popular with casual consumers of Habanos cigars but are with cigar enthusiasts, as in the type of people that are members here. You are less likely to find fake H.Upmann Connoisseur No.1 and Rafael Gonzalez Perlas and Petit Coronas, for example.

Now, know that we are a charitable, amenable and polite group here from all parts of the world. At the time you've posted this, the usual members who would be happy to assist you with this query are asleep in the US, or they are just waking up in Europe. Therefore, I advise you to exercise patience and wait for a reply/ies and cease bumping this thread. Furthermore, demonstrate that you are reputable by not replying to this thread yourself until someone else has. The reason for this is because we rightly tend to view members who join our community and post threads like this as not 'buying into our culture'. By that I mean, our community stands on the notion of giving and enriching others. Members who post about suspect cigars in their first 5 posts are less likely to do that from experience.

Judging by how well you write, I have every confidence that you well-educated and thus not ignorant. I also have every confidence our members will add to this thread in the next day or two and they will assuage your concerns.

My sincere apology if my first few posts looked like I was trying to constantly bump my thread. I can assure you that wasn’t my intention at all and I was merely trying to remind the reader/s not to turn this thread into just another fake Cuban thread or how/where to get authentic Cuban which are aplenty here.

English is not my mother’s tongue so I tend to overemphasize my points when trying to get my message across in English language forums, in this case I over emphasized my frustration from spending loads of money on fake Cohiba. Upon realizing this, I was worried that the audience might miss my intended question. Again, point taken and my apology 🙏

[nKostyan]

Rob is in Australia

People like Rob have a network of reliable colleagues in all corners of the world and can find a rare, guaranteed original box and a convenient way to get it in the country where it is convenient for you.

[Uwiik]

4 hours ago, nKostyan said:

People like Rob have a network of reliable colleagues in all corners of the world and can find a rare, guaranteed original box and a convenient way to get it in the country where it is convenient for you.

This is a super information. What is the best way to reach Rob? Email or PM? What is his handle if it’s PM? Thanks so much. 

[JohnS]

5 hours ago, Uwiik said:

My sincere apology if my first few posts looked like I was trying to constantly bump my thread. I can assure you that wasn’t my intention at all and I was merely trying to remind the reader/s not to turn this thread into just another fake Cuban thread or how/where to get authentic Cuban which are aplenty here.

English is not my mother’s tongue so I tend to overemphasize my points when trying to get my message across in English language forums, in this case I over emphasized my frustration from spending loads of money on fake Cohiba. Upon realizing this, I was worried that the audience might miss my intended question. Again, point taken and my apology 🙏

Thank you for your detailed response, I appreciate it. I do hope we can assist you with this query and indeed for your adventure into the world of Habanos cigars, which as we know as many 'peaks' and 'troughs' for all of us along the way.

[gormag38]

First and foremost, I would suggest trying your luck at the 24:24 postings that take place here every M-W at 8:30PM (USA EST) and Thursday at 6:30PM (USA EST). These are great prices in the CC world today and you will find many 'daily smokes' to get you by until your trip to Dubai. There are instructions on how to 'buy' on 24:24 here.

If you're looking for something a bit more on the rare side, try bondroberts.com. It's an auction site that has some good gems on there and is updated with new listings every couple days. This would be your best bet to buy vintage, discontinued boxes as well as rare highly regarded boxes (eg BHK, Siglo VI,V Espy etc). 

If that still doesn't work for you, I would go about trying some of the other commonly used, well regarded grey market vendors. We'll refrain from using any names here (as it is against forum policy), but if you poke around on the Cuban Cigar sub-reddit you'll get some resources there. 

Hope this helps in your search. Look forward to you joining the community here. 

[Uwiik]

Thanks a million, took me a while to figure out 24:24 but I get it now….now I just need to figure out the importing part. It wouldn’t be easy but possible I suppose. 
 

It just crossed my mind that perhaps a decent non Cuban should be plenty for my daily before Dubai trip. I just approached a vendor who only sells non Cuban, he said with non Cuban I am pretty much guaranteed because non Cuban are not being counterfeited like the Cuban. His price for Padron and My Father are in line with the norm = way more expensive than US/EU price, unlike the various Cohibas sold by countless other vendor which are cheaper than US/EU price. Normally any luxury items will always be way more expensive here than in US/EU/OZ.

I am considering My Father My Father, My Father La Opulencia or Padron 1926 because I like full bodied heavy hitter. Is there any guidance on identifying fakes on these brands? Is the dealer telling the truth regarding non Cuban being safe from fakes? I searched the internet and couldn’t find a definitive answer.