Expert: James Yee - 10/30/2008

Question
Hi James, I recently got a box of cigars from a friend. His dad brought them back from I think Cuba. I am pretty much positive they are black market cigars. They are in a wood box with a glass lid the Republic of Cuba sticker is the wrong color and it has no other labels or stickers on it, also the stamp on the bottom is of poor quality. They are supposed to be Cohiba's there is a Churchill stamp on the side of the box. Also the cigars are all wrapped in cellophane. He said he has had them for about 3 or 4 months, they are pretty dry. I found one cigar with holes in the side of it and fine powdery stuff around it.Ionly found it on 1 cigar, what I am wondering is do you think any of the other cigars could be infested, and if they are can they get out of the cello wrapper? Thanks again for your time James

Answer
Hi Grant,

It definitely sounds like you have a box of counterfeit Cohibas.  Cohiba doesn't package any of their cigars in "glass top" boxes.

As for tobacco beetles, even though one of your cigars is infected, if there are no holes on the other cigars, those cigars can still be saved.  What you need to do is take all the other cigars (that do not have holes) and place them in a plastic, sealable container (ie: tupperware containers) and freeze the cigars for at least 48 hours.  This will kill any beetle eggs that are potentially incubating inside the cigar(s) right now.  This will also kill off any tobacco beetles that have already hatched but have not chewed through the cigars yet.  After 48 hours, the beetles/beetle eggs will be dead and you can safely return the cigars to your humidor.

It's also possible for tobacco beetles to chew through the paper cigar rings and even cellophane wrappers but that is rare.  What you should do is remove the cellophane from all the cigars and thoroughly inspect them for any tobacco beetle holes.  Cigars that do have these holes must be thrown away.  Technically, it's still possible to smoke the cigar but I would not recommend it as the hole(s) will create uneven burns and the powdery residue is a respiratory irritant.  (The fine powder is also a combination of chewed up tobacco and beetle waste.)

Hope this helps!

Regards,
James