NC's that could fool you into thinking it was a CC

[Wicky]

I've found that some of the REs and LEs can taste like the best Nicaraguan puros. Something about the darker wrapper adds an earthy flavor that I find similar to Nicaraguan tobacco.

i find this in some custom rolls as well.

good point.

[jedipastor]

There is certainly a shared commonality among cigars from a specific region. Most Cuban cigars have certain flavor similarities ... once you've smoked enough of them, you know that "this tobacco tastes Cuban." The same holds true with Nicaraguans, etc. I think it's pretty rare that you'll find a cigar that fools you, one way or another. It does happen, though. I've had a Nicaraguan or two that fooled me into thinking it was Dominican, and even a few that have fooled me into thinking they were Cubans.

The first few PSD4s and Monte #2s that I had tasted more or less like Nicaraguan cigars that I could find much cheaper (I've since had a couple better PSD4s ... have yet to have a "good" Monte #2), which made me pretty uninterested in them. I've had a number of Tatuajes that I really thought tasted like Cuban tobacco (not any particular cigar, just the tobacco in general).

I think it's silly to think you'll find an NC that is the same as any particular CC ... just as silly as it is to say you find another marca of CC that tastes just the same. All cigars are different, that's the beauty of it. An Cuban Partagas is different from a Tatuaje is different from a Cuban Bolivar is different from a Liga Privada, etc. All wonderful cigars, all very different.

Some people prefer the unique taste of Dominican tobacco, some Cuban, etc. That's great. What I personally find annoying is when someone says "The best Dominican (or wherever) cigars are better than anything else in the world." Well, TO YOU they are better, but that's kind of a matter of taste, isn't it?

To say "Cubans and non-Cubans are nothing alike" is also a very strange statement to me. If I were to give 5 different people two unbanded cigars to take notes on--one Cuban and one, say, Nicaraguan--it's possible that those tasting notes would be very similar ... i.e. they sound the same on paper. This means that those two cigars have certain similarities. However, if you ask the people "did those two cigars taste pretty much the same," they'd probably say "no." Someone familiar with both regions would probably be able to tell you that one was Cuban and one Nicaraguan, and that they were easy to distinguish. So it's possible to have certain flavor traits in common while still being quite different.

For example, I find the Illusione Epernay to be very "Cuban-like" in terms of how it smokes (the feel of the smoke, the quality, etc) and somewhat in terms of flavors as well (some nugat and citrus with earth). But I doubt I'd ever be "fooled" by it. Even so, I find it to be a better cigar than many Cubans I've smoked.

(sorry, this post got way too long, lol)

[Van55]

The cigar I smoked was a Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Belicoso. Again, I couldn't relate it to a specific CC but the feel and the draw were spot on.

It very well could be that I'm not as seasoned as many of you, I'm open to this statement. But I gotta tell you it could have fooled me if a trustworthy source said it was some custom hand rolled from a past visit. However it would not have passed for any of the belicoso's that I've smoked from lets say Bolivar or anything like that.

No way would any regular Cuban cigar smoker EVER mistake a Fuente for a Cuban. Never. Never. Never.

[mbrody]

The closest I can recall date back to years, actually decades ago.

Original release Nestor 747 (bandless) sold in 50 cabs were rich and powerfull. This was just before the cigar boom. My old boss and I bought out the local B&M. The next shipment, they had bands and were never the same.

Also, the original release of the Davidoff Millenium Blend Petit (half corona) was full flavored with nice strength. Again, after the first release at the tobacconist, it seemed that they lost their mystique.

Early Illusione was also very good, but would not fool you. I do recall enjoying AF Short Stories and some Oliva V's, but again, no real substitute.

I still have plenty of "top shelf" NC's that have years of age on them just sitting in my 'dor. They don't get much love though, however, I have a hard time parting with them!