Cubanitos Especiales?

[Tampa1257]

Chuck,

First, Welcome to FOH, may I suggest that you take the time to make an Introduction post letting the membership know a little more about you and your smoking habits.

The Cubanitos Especiales is a cigar from the D.R. in which a bundle of 25 can be found for less than $30 including shipping from most of the discount on-line cigar locations. May I suggest that you do a simple Google search and you can find out all you need to know about these cigars.

Tampa

[a1phoneguy]

Tampa, thank you very much for your reply. I did state that " I cannot find a thing on-line about them." I could not find any results that I was satisfied with. I did check the name Cubanitos Especiales & just Cubanitos several times on Google, and only found a CE brand but not with the same Band. If you can direct me to a site or suggest a link with more information on this particular Band & brand(a manufacturer perhaps?), I would greatly appreciate it. Until I get more info & certainty I would welcome more replies to my post.

Any suggestions are welcome.

[El Presidente]

I have no idea outside the fiact that I have never seen them before :-)

If you have smoked one give us your impressions.

[Miami101]

Cubanitos Especiales: I will ask some of the old timers in Miami...

I have seen the DR make, but never a Cuban version. Please could you take a photo of the label..................

[a1phoneguy]

» I have no idea outside the fiact that I have never seen them before :-)

»

» If you have smoked one give us your impressions.

El Pres, I was only given one. And, if it is really worth as much as the giver told me, it would probably sit in my humidor for quite some time until I had a special occasion to smoke it. But if & when I do I will lay down a paragraph to let everyone know.

Miami, Can you not see the pic I posted or are you asking me to remove the Band before I smoke it & photograph it by itself? I usually leave the Band on till its time to take it off as I smoke it.(The Cigar that is, not the Band):-D

[El Presidente]

I am no authority on vintage cigars or bands or boxes or as I recently found out....Siglo VI tube caps.

However I sincerely doubt that the terminology "100% Tobaco" .....as is on the band...would be used on a quality cigar.

I could be wrong ;-)

I am not sure if the cigar was wrapped in cellophane (as it appears to be in the first photo) If so the Cello is in pristine condition. With some age it should be at least slightly yellowed/stained from the oils of the leaf.

Pity Ken is not around as then you would get some really usefull information.

Only kidding :-D

[Miami101]

Don't feel bad......I live in Miami & I see lot's of Cigar fakes......I even pick some up to see how they smoke sometimes. I once paid $250 for a fake box...which looks to be real......

That is what I like about this site good information...........a1phoneguy were do you live?

[a1phoneguy]

» Don't feel bad......I live in Miami & I see lot's of Cigar fakes......I

» even pick some up to see how they smoke sometimes. I once paid $250 for a

» fake box...which looks to be real......

»

» That is what I like about this site good information...........a1phoneguy

» were do you live?

El Pres, The cigar in question was given to me in a Ziplock bag in which it was scanned. I assume that, because I was told it was originally in a box, that it never had a cello wrap.

I had a thought about the 100% Tabaco on the Band. I had never seen that on a good cigar either, but, I am not well versed on Cubans at all. I have not seen that many to know what they would print on their Bands. I also assumed that is the Hispanic spelling of tabacco.

Miami, I live in N.J. 30 miles outside of Alantic City. I wish to keep my hometown anon.

[Shelby07]

I am certainly no expert, but I thought Cuban cigars alway had "Cuba" or "Habano" on the band.

Take a close up of the cap (from the side) and the foot (directly into it) of the cigar. That might help the folks here narrow some things down.

[cigarros]

Hi Chuck! Look here:

http://www.esmokes.com/template1.asp?pagei...os%20Especiales

[a1phoneguy]

Thank You all for your replies. Although I don't know if I should tell my friend the bad news. Maybe his grandfather wanted to make him think he was getting something special or maybe the story got watered down on the way. Who knows? I think we have come to the conclusion that this is not a Cuban. (To my dismay:-( ) I will still, when I smoke it, add to this thread & let you all know about it. Thank You again for all of your help regarding the mystery of the Cubanitos Especiales! ;-)

[a1phoneguy]

A friend gave me this cigar as a gift. He inherited 15 of them. He had no box. They were in a Humidor. Supposedly confiscated by Customs as Cuban Cigars. I cannot find a thing on-line about them. Can anyone shed any light? It is 5" long with a ring guage of of 50. I did the best I could with the image. By the way, he said it was worth $150.00. Could this be true? Thank you for your help.

[mkz]

Looks like these dominican bundles... Atleast the crest looks the same.

Or is it just another crappy dominican rip-off?

[a1phoneguy]

» Looks like these dominican bundles... Atleast the crest looks the same.

»

» Or is it just another crappy dominican rip-off?

»

Wow, it sure does look the same. For research purposes I removed the band from the cigar. It appears below. The differences that I can make out are;

1. The Name on Bundle....Cubano, The Name on Band....Cubanitos.

2. The Bundle wrap has 3 coins either side of crest. The Band has 4.

3. Bundle has background pic. Band has none.

I can't make out what the pic is on the crest or band, but my impression is that it may be a tobacco plant or flower.

The Band pictured looks as if it has black on its edges/borders, its actually gold embossed with dots. The coins are gold as well. I hope this helps. I didn't think it'd be as big a mystery as it is.

[Tampa1257]

Chuck,

From the photo you have supplied, the cigar does not have a triple cap, the wrapper is extremely veiny and it does not appear to be older than 50 years old, which would exclude that cigar from being of Cuban Origin. Having checked with Perelman's Cigarcyclopedia for discontinued Habanos (Both Hand Rolled and Machine Made), I could find no reference to a "Cubanitos Especiales" of Cuban Origin.

As mentioned above, there is a inexpensive bundle brand of Cubanitos Especiales that has the exact same shield in the middle of its current packaging. While the medals may currently be differenct as well as the exterior name of Cubano vs Cubanitos, the shield is the factor that leads me to believe that the cigar in question is in fact a cigar from the Dominican Republic. The cigar is certainly not worth the $150, but only what someone would pay for it, and a seasoned cigar smoker would IMHO not pay that kind of money for a Dominican Republic cigar. I am not an expert in any means, just someone that has been smoking cigars for nearly 30 years and has a passion for them.

Tampa