Expert: James Yee - 4/27/2010

Question
I purchased 4 boxes of Cohiba Cigars in Cuba. I purchased it in La Casa del Habana Club and paid three hundred something for 2 boxes  and two hundred something for the other two (2 Esplendidos and 2 Robustos). How do I know if the cigars are not fake? I red in the internet that you can find counterfaith Cohibas even in the store, is that true? Can I send you directly a picture of the boxes?

Answer
Hi Sergio,

If you purchased your cigars at a La Casa del Habano shop, you have nothing to worry about.  La Casa del Habano (LCDH) is a very reputable Cuban cigar retailer.  It is a franchise officially recognized by Habanos SA and the Cuban cigar industry and there are many LCDH shops around the world (except the United States).  All La Casa del Habano shops are supplied by Habanos SA's official, regional-appointed distributor so the cigars are guaranteed to be genuine.

Also, if your boxes have the newer warranty seal with the hologram and serial code, you can check the serial code at Habanos' official website to verify authenticity.  The webpage for checking authenticity is: http://www.habanos.com/sellos?lang=en

To answer your other question, it is possible to find counterfeit Cuban cigars at unauthorized Cuban cigar stores.  I always recommend that people only buy Cuban cigars from Habanos SA-approved retailers to ensure that their cigars are genuine.  Authorized retailers will have a Habanos retailer sticker on their store/humidor window plus their cigars will be supplied by the Habanos SA-approved distributor for that country.  If a certain store does not correctly know the name of their regional-appointed Habanos distributor (there is only one distributor per country/region) or they claim to receive their cigars from another country or distributor to "save money and pass the savings to their customers", be suspicious.  

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

Regards,
James