Fake or no fake? (Cohiba siglo IV)

[Jay Hemingway]

mmmm, well let's see.......FAKE. even before seeing the picture i knew it must be fake, you stated it was purchased off the streets of havana.

but anywho, the boxes above the word cohiba are wrong. there should be exactly 3 boxes, exactly. this seems to be poorly chopped or hacked. looks like 2 and a half boxes. amongst many other flaws in the band.

but it is a cigar,so if it tastes good = smoke it.

(if you would like to see exactly what a real cohiba band should look like, click the CubanCigarWebsite link in my sig. than go to photos and view the cohibas.)

[Tampa1257]

Well, I am going to have to disagree with Jay on this one. I have seen and smoked Cohibas that were real that had poorly cut bands. The cigar itself looks alright. Without smoking it, I would not be able to say for certain that it was fake. rafa did not say for a fact that the cigar was purchased off the street, only that he "Supposed" that it did. I do not believe any of us have enough information at this time to declair it a fake.

Smoke it and let us know what flavors you tasted and we shall see.;-)

[habanohal]

» Well, I am going to have to disagree with Jay on this one. I have seen and

» smoked Cohibas that were real that had poorly cut bands. The cigar itself

» looks alright. Without smoking it, I would not be able to say for certain

» that it was fake. rafa did not say for a fact that the cigar was purchased

» off the street, only that he "Supposed" that it did. I do not believe any

» of us have enough information at this time to declair it a fake.

»

» Smoke it and let us know what flavors you tasted and we shall see.;-)

Same here and they are from Czar, so unless I got a few of Kens boxes then that is not a sign at all.

[havanaclub7]

I've never had the pleasure of going to Cuba. But if it was bought off the street, it's almost a certain fake. From what I've read, nothing is authentic unless you get an official receipt.

[Ken Gargett]

agree that you'd need to smoke it - certainly doesn't look too bad. worth remembring that often, even if the cigar itself is fake, the boxes and bands are not. they seem to get moved out of the factory at will at times and then are used for fakes.

the guys selling the fakes on my last trip seemed especially thick on the ground around the r and J factory. i think they do that as they can swoop on tourists who want to buy a few souvenirs and are prepared to take the risk (and also morons like one canadian on a previous trip who walked uninvited into hamlet's vip backroom - vip simply stands for hamlet's mates - and wanted to know what was going on and then declared the prices prices in the store outrageous and said he was better off buying on the street as much cheaper. hamlet tried to tell him that he was buying fakes but this sealbasher knew better and stormed off to waste his money but o doubt told all his mates how clever he was).

if they get too thick and hassle too much, if you simply say 'amigo hamlet', the response is extraordinary. endless apologies and the back off like they walk into a snake pit. i even had one bowing as he backed off.

[smokum]

'amigo hamlet'

Very cool that they know to back off.

[Miami101]

I got the same box from a SA shop in Greece........well it looks the same....

[GoSteelers]

Hope Im not being stupid but

who is Hamlet?

[Ken Gargett]

» Hope Im not being stupid but

»

» who is Hamlet?

friend of ours in havana who is, amongst other things probably best left unwritten, one of the very top rollers in cuba. i suspect if you do the search thing, he'll appear regularly in various posts.

[El Presidente]

Rafa I stay as far away from Fake discussions as the Jewish Meat society stays away from discussions on pork.

If purchased from the street it has a 10% likelihood it is genuine (stolen from Partagas/Upmann/El Laguito).

It may be indeed a Cuban Puro but unlikely to be Cohiba Siglo IV. If it is then it was stolen from the aforementioned factories (as many cigars are).

Smoke it and let us know ;-)

[Jay Hemingway]

» Rafa I stay as far away from Fake discussions as the Jewish Meat society

you know rob, that is very wise advice. advice i will use from this day forward.

but as for those labels, if i were a betting man.........

:-P

[Claudius]

» This was a gift of a job colleague. I supposed It was bought in the streets

» of Habana few days ago, but i didn't ask many questions how. It looks fine,

» smell good and acceptable construction. The taste will give me the answer ,

» but some opinions will be grateful

Hola Rafael

IMO this cigar is fake. The foot looks like it was cut with a pocket knife, the band looks like one rejected by quality control of the band manufacturer. The carton box I have no idea but would guess it's also one that was rejected or stolen. THe cigar is certainly Cuban, as I doubt the Cuban have anything but Cuban tobacco. It may even be a habano, but probably not a SigloIV. They just put the Cohiba packaging on it to make more money from it than if it were another brand. Like they always do. Smoke it and tell us what it's like :-)

[cliff]

I've got some cohiba's in my humidor and all of the bands are perfect, so I have to go with jay on this one (all bought in official shops in Belgium)

once a friend of mine brought "cohiba's" from the streets of havana and they tasted like piedra conservas, not much different flavours and it was even even a TC (tripa corta), however the band looked good...

ah well, at least it was a genuine cuban cigar right?:-D

@rob, I'll remember your advice of the 10% being genuine.

( and when the embargo does fall, I'll be one of the first to try the "el presidentes churchill" :-D )

[El Presidente]

Thanks for the follow up Rafa!

[rafa]

This was a gift of a job colleague. I supposed It was bought in the streets of Habana few days ago, but i didn't ask many questions how. It looks fine, smell good and acceptable construction. The taste will give me the answer , but some opinions will be grateful

later, i will post other cohiba siglo II photos

[rafa]

And the verdict is ...FAKE.

First puffs are very smooth, sweet, with honey,leather and vegetals. And 5 minutes later (after smokin 1 Cm) nothing, insipid, bland to the end.I have never smoked a Siglo IV, but definitely this is not a Cohiba. And i have doubts if this is an Habano.It's closer Dominican or Canarian islands cigars.

Appearance was good, and combustion was perfect ,but dismantle the cigar and there isn't triple cap here.The last leave seems to be short filler.This is not the Cohiba quality.

Strangely there is a number 39 written inside the vitola ¿¿¿¿

[yossie]

»

This is sometime seen and rumored as what you can get the number of the cigar from Habanos. :-D