Expert: James Yee - 3/8/2009

Question
QUESTION: A friend of mine bought a box of the subject cigars when on a cruise.  He didn't bring the cigars into the country, but gave me the box :-(
The box has a serialized national warranty seal on it and looks and the labels are embossed, nice box, etc.  
My question is this.... the box has a cedar stick in it that's about the same size as the height of the box.  The stick is stamped La Habana Cuba and has a about a 2 inch slot in it.  There's a vial in the hole that contains a liquid.  At first, I thought that it might be a humidifier or sorts, but the liquid seems to be less viscous than water.  It's more like the thickness of oil.  What is it?
Thanks!  --Tom

ANSWER: Hi Tom,

Does the Cohiba Esplendido box have a clear acrylic or glass top lid?  If yes, this box is counterfeit and the purpose of the liquid vial inside the wooden block is unknown.  Many people believe it's meant to function as a carpenter's level while other people think it's purely aesthetic.  Only counterfeit Cohiba cigars have this particular block with a liquid vial inside it.  

The wooden block itself is actually a filler for cigar boxes.  Cigar boxes are usually packaged with 25 cigars so there would be 13 cigars on the top row and 12 cigars and the wooden block in the bottom row.  However, genuine Cuban cigar boxes only use a plain cedar block.  The "liquid vial block" is only found in counterfeit Cohiba cigars; specifically glass-top Cohiba Esplendidos.

Hopes this answers your question.  If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: James, the box has a glass lid.  I knew that the block was a filler, but not that it's a tipoff that the cigars were counterfeit.  My friend will be sorry to hear that.  He left the cigars with the staff on the boat as he didn't want to get into trouble.  I don't think that he spent a lot on them... I think on the order of $100 or so.  That should have been a tipoff as well.  Interesting that they would spend so much effort on the vial/block.  I wonder if all of the "seals" are numbered 8195....  
Well thanks for the info.  I'll be sure to send a great rating for the great service.  Thanks, again.  

PS- is a photo of the box of any  use to you?   --Tom

Answer
Hi Tom,

A photo isn't necessary.  I had a feeling that the box would have a glass-top lid.  "Glass-top" Cohibas are actually very well known among Cuban cigar smokers because Cohiba has never produced a cigar box with a clear glass-top or plexi-glas lid.  Genuine Cuban Cohiba boxes have always been solid varnished cedar boxes with either a slide-lid (ie: Robusto or Siglo series) or a hinged lid (ie: Esplendido).  A glass-top box of Cohiba cigars is a clear sign that the cigars are fake.  

Glass-top Cohiba Esplendidos are probably the most famous, well-known Cuban counterfeit cigar in the world.  In fact, many Cuban cigar collectors purposely buy glass-top Cohibas just for the sake of owning the box.  Usually a single box of glass-top Cohibas will sell between $50-$100.

Your friend only paid $100 which is lucky.  There's been many times where people have be swindled into paying $250 or more for these cigars because they believed the cigars were genuine.  Your friend will be disappointed that the cigars were fake but I'm sure he feels lucky that he only paid $100 for the cigars and not more.

Hopes this helps.  As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James