Need help in Cohiba Limited Edition 2005

[gonzof14]

Okay, did Cohiba come out with Limited Editions 2005? According to the Habanos.com website, there were only three Limited Editions that year, Cohibas not being one of them. So, do they not update their site, do they choose Limteds more than once a year?

The reason the bug up my wazoo over this is simple - i have been getting my authentic cubans from a cuban family for two decades. Heck they have shown me the various ways to spot a fake cuban cigars - from Cohibas to Trinidads. Anyways, some guys at work BEGGED me to get them a box. Reluctantly i did. Then, they tell me i gave them a fake Limited Edition 2005 Cohiba box of cigars because Habanos.com shows ONLY 3 Limiteds from that year, etc.

If anyone can shed some light on this, I WOULD BE THRILLED! I know the box is real - again it passes all the obvious tests - i just want some facts to shove down their throats.

Yes, little bitter....

Thank you in advance.

peace,

g

[Mel]

Weren't the Sublimes from 05??

[BigSlick]

No, 04. Looking at Trevors website, there was not an 05 Cohiba EL.

[BigSlick]

http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/index.htm

[pnutbutrsangwich]

Sorry, man. Not looking good :-|

[Claudius]

» i have been getting my authentic cubans from a cuban family for two decades.

Lemme guess.... from Florida? :-D

Anyway, no Cohiba EL in 2005, therefore any Cohiba with EL 2005 bands is necessarily fake. Got pictures?

[Mel]

» No, 04. Looking at Trevors website, there was not an 05 Cohiba EL.

Holy Cow Batman what year is it now???:-D I remember dates like Rob does his aniversary.;-)

[anacostiakat]

» Weren't the Sublimes from 05??

Sublimes were from '04. No LE in '05.

[Trevor2118]

» Okay, did Cohiba come out with Limited Editions 2005? According to the

» Habanos.com website, there were only three Limited Editions that year,

» Cohibas not being one of them. So, do they not update their site.......

Well they don't update the production cigar part of their website....it has been static since about 2003, but in this case...they are correct.

No Cohiba LE 2005, sorry.

The LE details can be seen here:

[link]http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/2-releases.htm#Edition_Limitada_Series[/link]

Regards

[Ken Gargett]

anyone who visits cuba knows just how many fakes are available (glass-topped box of esplendidos, anyone?). most are crap but some are actually pretty decent cigars, just not what they purport to be. i'm sure that rob will agree with one occasion that i remember when we knowingly bought some fakes, despite assurances that they were not, in a bar (rob, the one opposite monserrat) and they were quite enjoyable. then there are the ones that are little more than old copies of granma wrapped in banana leaves.

if, and no disrespect meant here, they have sold you one set of fakes, i'd be having a close look at whatever else they have sold you. hard to beleive that they didn't know they were selling you fakes. also be interesting to know their response to this.

unless you have a gold-plated contact that you know first hand is involved, the only sure way to buy in havana is the authorised stores (and this includes avoiding waiters in restuarants attached to authorised stores etc etc).

i have had blokes swear on their kids' lives that what they had was made by their roller brother etc. one, i finally asked if he'd mind if i had a mate of mine, hamlet, check out the stores. 'you know hamlet?' and they never bothered me again.

can't blame them for trying.

[Jimmy2]

A lot of the counterfeiters come to these web sites to get info.

So all members beware to give this info out.

They come here to post like they dont know and play stupid so we give them info.

Not saying this gent is one them but you never know.

How many times have we seen a one post just to see them never again.

[Trevor2118]

» A lot of the counterfeiters come to these web sites to get info.

» So all members beware to give this info out.

Jimmy, I don't think the non-existence of a 2005LE Cohiba is a big secret.....

Maybe they don't come back because they don't like what they hear....

[gonzof14]

To all the funnies, thanks for the reality check(s). I'll be back regardless, there is so much info out there, the ones who threw me the direct resources, double thank you. Not afraid to hear the truth, so put that in your cigar and smoke it :-D

To Mr. Garrett (hope i spelled correctly) i'll definately will give you the fin, on what happens.

Yes, i'm truly bummed because i've known this family since '89 - my peeps if you will. The boxes have always had ALL the proper markings - matching clasps/nails, proper stickers, gold embossed cohibas on the cigars; i mean i'm crushed. It will be interesting to "see" what the outcome is to say the least.

Thank you again for the info, i love folks with style. Hope i'm allowed back.

peace,

g

» » A lot of the counterfeiters come to these web sites to get info.

» » So all members beware to give this info out.

»

» Jimmy, I don't think the non-existence of a 2005LE Cohiba is a big

» secret.....

»

» Maybe they don't come back because they don't like what they hear....

[Tampa1257]

» » A lot of the counterfeiters come to these web sites to get info.

» » So all members beware to give this info out.

»

» Jimmy, I don't think the non-existence of a 2005LE Cohiba is a big

» secret.....

»

» Maybe they don't come back because they don't like what they hear....

I tend to agree with Trevor here, the sharing of accurate information will assist those that are searching for the truth. FOH is a home to those that will not settle for less than the truth.

[Jimmy2]

gonzof14 i can tell you one thing don't ever buy from them again even if you know them or not most likely they always had fake's.

Best way to tell is the seal 2 letters that are before the #'s and matching it with the date and box code.

This is where i have found 99.9 % of the fake's that people bring to me in the lounge when needing a little help.

[gyosa]

jimmy ,

huh ?

'splain please ...

-bk

» Best way to tell is the the seal 2 letters and matching it with the date

» and box code.

[El Presidente]

» that rob will agree with one occasion that i remember when we knowingly

» bought some fakes, despite assurances that they were not, in a bar (rob,

» the one opposite monserrat) and they were quite enjoyable.

I remember Ken. We purchased two Partagas Piramides LE 2000 knowing they were fake but we were out of cigars at the time and the seller was a decent guy with a sense of humour

Turned out they were Partagas P2's with fake bands.

Trevor, Habanos s.a will launch a new website in 2008 ;-)

[gonzof14]

all apologies gargett, mr. ken gargett

» To all the funnies, thanks for the reality check(s). I'll be back

» regardless, there is so much info out there, the ones who threw me the

» direct resources, double thank you. Not afraid to hear the truth, so put

» that in your cigar and smoke it :-D

» To Mr. Garrett (hope i spelled correctly) i'll definately will give you

» the fin, on what happens.

»

» Yes, i'm truly bummed because i've known this family since '89 - my peeps

» if you will. The boxes have always had ALL the proper markings - matching

» clasps/nails, proper stickers, gold embossed cohibas on the cigars; i mean

» i'm crushed. It will be interesting to "see" what the outcome is to say

» the least.

»

» Thank you again for the info, i love folks with style. Hope i'm allowed

» back.

»

» peace,

» g

»

»

»

» » » A lot of the counterfeiters come to these web sites to get info.

» » » So all members beware to give this info out.

» »

» » Jimmy, I don't think the non-existence of a 2005LE Cohiba is a big

» » secret.....

» »

» » Maybe they don't come back because they don't like what they

» hear....

[Ken Gargett]

» all apologies gargett, mr. ken gargett

no problem. i get called far worse.

[JMH]

» no problem. i get called far worse.

What's worse than being called a relative of peter garrett?

[Michael]

Cohiba Sublime is 2004 EL, after that is Cohiba Piramides 06.

Not aware of an 05 EL, by Cohiba orther than the 40ann merch.

[SonGoku]

After having been on vacation in Cuba I'm sorry to say that I would never ever trust a cuban to sell or send me cigars. They can be very friendly and all but when it comes to money I just don't trust them when it comes to money. I don't blame them though. if I had a hard time getting food on the table for my family I would probably also try to scam unknowing tourists.

The stories they make up are very believable and even though you can clearly see it's a very bad copy they will insist on their mothers grave that they are real. And it's not only the jineteros (street hustlers) that tries to scam you. Workers at Don Alejandro's farm sold me fakes (when Alejandro wasnt' looking mind you!!! I can't say one bad thing about this guy or members of his family I meet). I had the guard standing right outside the LCDH store at the Partagas factory try to hook me up. Even inside the store I heard the store manager telling some russians that Cuaba Salomones was very hard to come by and very very rare. I told him in spanish that that was bullshit and he grinned. Also I told the women working in the store that I was gonna tape her while she sold me the boxes I bought so that in case I later found out they were fakes I would have her picture to send with my complaint. After I told her that she acted kind of strange wanted me to repeat the order several times and she even put some boxes back on the shelves and took down some others. Not saying that they were trying to scam me in the store but some of their behaviour seemed very strange to me.

I knowingly too bought fake cigars. But more as a token of thank you for the services that person provided me with. didn't wanna argue with them about the cigars being fake. For instance I boght a box of Cohiba's from the guy who set up the meeting with Don Alejandro and also some Vegas Robaina from his contact at Alejandro's farm. The sizes of the cigar wasn't even a match with the real ones. But by all means they are not bad cigars at all. Got in a huge argument with the guy when I only wanted to buy one box of Cohiba's and not 4. Mind you the price was still very high. Jinetero's can provide you with great experiences that you otherwise wouldn't have experienced and many of them speak english. Always keep in mind that no matter how friendly they seem and they tell you they don't want your money ect. ect., that when they start talking about selling you cigars you can be pretty sure that they are trying to scam you. My thoughts was that if I bought one box of fakes then that was my way of saying thank you for your services without handing him the money directly. Even gave him a couple of t-shirts as well.

I kind of feel bad that it had to end that way. Because he promised me to give me the address for Alejandro's grand son who was very interested in bodybuilding. He had a bite of my protein bar and liked it so I promised him that I would send him a box of them. He seemed very interested and asked me a lot of questions about working out and how to eat correctly. After the argument he just left in anger without giving me the address.

Unfortunately they are getting better and better at making the fakes looking a lot like the real ones. Saw a lot of boxes on the streets of Havana with stamps on the bottom of the box, the correct stickers on the box and everything. Didn't come across the famous glass top Cohiba one time.

You get pretty feed up with people trying to scam you after a couple of days. It's not just the cigars. For instance always agree on a price before you get in a cap or they will charge you 4-5 times more than correct price. I don't mind giving a good tip but I take it really personal when people try to scam me. All this being said my trip to Cuba was probably one of my best and most memorable vacations ever :-)

[El Presidente]

Great read SonGoku

Your adventures mirror my own particularly in the first few visits. The best decription of Cuba is that it is an onion that sheds layers every time you visit. Just when you think you have truly worked the place out....another layer reveals itself.

The following is not pointed at yourself but for those considering visiting.

The core psychological state of the average Cuban is desperation. Understand this and every aspect of their behaviour becomes clear. It also leads to a tolerance amongst seasoned Cuba travelers which is essential. At the same time you need to be firm and clear in your dealings. Some confuse firmess with arrogance. Bad mistake.

As you know you need to keep your wits and a good sense of humour about you.

I have pointed out in other threads that I have often bought fakes in Pinar or Giron or Havana as a gesture of thanks for great service. Generally the purchase has been from guides who would prefer as a matter of pride to make money through an exchange of goods than to receive a cash payment. I knew they were fakes...he swore they were authentic....I never raise the point. I always gift the cigars to my housekeeper or cook or house owner in Havana when I leave.

As you pointed out....still one of the greatest places on the planet to visit :-)

[Jimmy2]

still one of the greatest places on the planet to visit :-)

Your killing me Prez.:-D Its just not fare i tell you.

[jaylax5]

» jimmy ,

»

» huh ?

»

» 'splain please ...

»

» -bk

»

»

» » Best way to tell is the the seal 2 letters and matching it with the

» date

» » and box code.

I'm with you bk...

jimmy, can you explain the 2 letters and date/box code matching?

Thanks.