"Are these Cuban Cigars fake?" is the first question that comes to every aficionado's mind when shopping for cigars. As the counterfeit market producing fake Cuban smokes becomes increasingly bigger, cigar enthusiasts run the risk of getting duped into buying fake Cubans more and more. But there's a simple way out of this mess. Instead of trying to memorise a whole lot of information about Cuban Cigars Online, although it comes in handy, you can simply follow a number of steps that will help you determine the originality of your Cuban sticks. Check out our guide below where we provide you with some easy, useful, and straightforward tips to avoid getting tricked into buying imitation Cuban cigars.
“CIGAR BANDS CAN TELL A LOT ABOUT ORIGINALITY”
SYMMETRY – It all comes down to proportions and the right dimensions. The symmetry between the cigars of a box is a clear indicator of whether these smokes are real or fake. All you have to do is take a closer look at your smokes. If your sticks are all the same size, or incredibly close, the colours are similar cigar to cigar, and all of the cigars’ band are aligned from one stick to the next, then you can rest assure that your Cuban sticks are original. Whether it’s a box of Por Larranaga Montecarlo cigars or a bundle of the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2 Cigar, fake ones fail substantially when it comes to quality control.
PACKAGING – Cigar boxes can also help you distinguish real Cuban sticks from counterfeit Cuban cigars. All cigars produced in Cuba carry a number of characteristics which are hard to duplicate or copy, making them truly one of a kind. Start with examining your cigar box for the Habanos S.A. emblem on the top right corner as well as the official Cuba guarantee seal on the left. Most dupes incorporate the labels in the box instead of having them attached to it. Cigar bands can tell you a lot about the originality of your smokes to. Fake bands lack the intensity of the brand’s emblem, the vibrancy of the colours, or, in some cases, the right details found in the original ones. So next time you are about to purchase your favourite Cohiba Robusto Cigar make sure that its packaging follows the above guidelines.
The box of the Quai d'Orsay Capitolio (Ex. Francia 2018) Cigar has all the official stamps that verify its authenticity and Cuban production.
“REAL CUBAN CIGARS BURN WITH A GREY ASH”
ASHES MATTER – One thing that you can always rely on telling you the truth is the ashes of your smoke. The colour, texture and fall of the ashes of your cigar is the best way to spot a dupe from a real Cuban cigar. Let’s say that after having smoked the Partagas Serie D No. 4 Cigar you noticed that its ashes are bright and very bright in colour. That works as a good sign that your smokes have been made using non-Cuban tobacco leaves. Instead, if, say, your Vintage Cigars tend to burn with a grey ash that has left an, overall, salt and pepper look, then you can rest assure that you purchase real Cuban smokes.
EDICION LIMITADA – There’s no room for doubt that Limited Edition Cigars are the ones duped the most. With many aficionados looking for a chance to smoke a rare Edicion Limitada puro, cigar factories outside Cuba seek to take advantage of such need and create fake Limited Edition cigars. However, there is a very easy way to distinguish whether a limited edition smoke is actually Cuban or just a counterfeit. Habanos S.A releases three limited Edition smokes per year. Therefore, if you are ever offered to smoke a 2015 or 2016 Edicion Limitada by Cohiba Cigars, you are about to puff on a fake Cuban as Cohiba wasn’t part of the Limited Edition releases in those years.
Left: Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2 Cigar, Right: Partagas Serie D No. 4 Cigar
These are the easiest and most simple ways to help you distinguish a fake Cuban smoke from a real one. Home to premium real Cuban Cigars, visit our Cuban Cigar Shop and find the best smoke to your taste buds. Dive into the exciting world of habanos; read more from our daily updated Cuban Cigar Blog and find out all there is to know about Cuban cigars.