AboutJames Yee Expertise My main area of expertise is Cuban cigars but I can also assist you with cigar etiquette, humidor maintenance and troubleshooting. Unsure of a certain cigar brand? Wondering what a certain cigar tastes like? Have any questions about Cuban cigars? Just let me know! I have smoked every brand of Cuban cigars and most reputable non-Cuban cigar brands on a regular basis so I know a fair bit about taste profiles, cigar etiquette and other fine nuances to cigar smoking. (NOTE: My main focus is on premium, hand-rolled cigars and not cheap, machine made, convenience store cigars.) IMPORTANT: PLEASE NOTE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE CIGAR OR CIGAR-RELATED APPRAISALS. If you have a vintage cigar item and you want to know if it's worth something, please contact an antique dealer that specializes in "TOBACCIANA".
Experience I currently have 15 dedicated years of cigar smoking (an average 4 cigars a day) and counting. I have smoked every brand of Cuban cigars and most reputable non-Cuban cigar brands on a regular basis so I know a fair bit about taste profiles, cigar etiquette and other fine nuances to cigar smoking. For 5 years, I studied with Cuban torcedores (rollers), catadores (taste testers) and revisadores (inspectors) on every aspect involving the production of the Cuban cigar and I am currently writing a book that will help beginners understand everything they need to know about cigars and cigar smoking.
Question Hello James. I friend bought me back a box of "Cohiba Esplendido" from Nicaragua. They were in a glass topped box. I suspected they weren't cuban, but I liked them none the less. When I went to Playa del Carmen a few years ago a salesman on the beach tried to sell be a box of 5 for $75.
It looked to be the same cigar, with a glass lid on the box. I told him they were fake and offered him $15. He walked off and came back a hour later. I purchased and liked them also. Do you have any idea what these fake cigars are?
Thanks,
Frank
Answer Hi Frank,
Were the cigars you purchased in Playa del Carmen also glass top Cohibas? Did they also have the Cohiba markings on the box/cigar bands? Glass-top Cohibas are indeed fake but it's not known for sure where exactly these fake cigars are manufactured. The cigars are reported to be produced in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and use local, low-grade tobacco hand-rolled by counterfeit cigar makers. Also, in many cases, counterfeit cigars are simply inexpensive "peso" cigars that have fake Cuban cigar bands applied to them and the price marked up.
With counterfeit Cuban cigars, it's very hard to pinpoint the type or origin of tobacco that is used in the cigars. The cigars you purchased while at Playa del Carmen were most likely produced by counterfeit cigar rollers and contained low grade tobacco grown by independent tobacco farmers strictly to be used in counterfeit cigars. Vendors selling these cigars on the beach or on the street have also been known to roll the cigars themselves using low grade tobacco grown by themselves or scrap tobacco taken/recycled from cigar factories and/or peso cigars.
Hopes this answers your question. If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.
