Fake or real?

[finecigar]

I've seen just as dark, but the cap looks iffy to me... And the label color seems a bit off

[Fosgate]

Almost dark enough to be a Dominican Cohiba Black, almost. Maybe one of their XV550's but what would be the point at the cost difference?

[Franko]

Looks like some I got from <moderated>. Completely fakes dude.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Fuzz
No mentioning sources

[ajgagnon]

Looks ok to me, but I am no expert. My father has some Genios that are quite dark and don't taste much like a conventional Cuban. They taste maduro, and largely lacking the typical Cuban signature twang. Like them or hate them, once in a while they can be a change of pace.

[JHands]

Maybe I've been lucky, but I've yet to experience veins that big in any of my legit CC

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[Smalls]

I have some of the secretos that I got from a reliable source. The wrappers are really dark on those, and they seem to have a slightly reddish appearance.

The wrappers on mine look a little better/smoother than yours. However, that could just be the smaller size.

Maybe you just got a dud?

[zathan]

The first thing I noticed was the cap that looks funny but the rest I can't tell, I'm on my phone. That being said the Maduro 5 tastes nothing like other CCs. I was also offered a Maduro Genios in Mtl recently from a regular here that was definately fake.

[vitruvius]

Hi all, someone just sent me what I believe to be a fake Cohiba Maduro 5. This thing is darker than most nc maduros and doesn't even taste cuban. I'm not very experienced with this marca and any opinions or input about this cigar would be appreciated. Thanks!

it looks a lot like fake cubans I bought two years ago. They were made in Costa Rica if I recall. Took me forever to get a refund. I just might have kept one or two in my humidor cabinet. Will try and dig one out to photograph and compare.

Vitruvius

[KoreanCowboy]

I bought an HQ box of Magicos and they are amazing. I love them but they still taste like a Cuban and have that lovely Cuban ash. The wrappers are not at all like NC Maduros so you can't compare them. Here's a pic of 2 NC Maduros to compare

[vitruvius]

it looks a lot like fake cubans I bought two years ago. They were made in Costa Rica if I recall. Took me forever to get a refund. I just might have kept one or two in my humidor cabinet. Will try and dig one out to photograph and compare.

Vitruvius

Found the fake I was talking about. See what I mean ? It looks like they were taken from the same box !!

[Armaniac]

Found the fake I was talking about. See what I mean ? It looks like they were taken from the same box !!

Pm sent

[rcarlson]

No way, Jose. Like them or not, no triple cap and the wrapper looks like veiny ****. I've never seen an authentic that looked that rough.

[stargazer14]

No way, Jose. Like them or not, no triple cap and the wrapper looks like veiny ****. I've never seen an authentic that looked that rough.

Cohiba maduros DO look like "veiny ****". This is the one perfect example of a Cuban cigar, especially a Cohiba,

that is made to appeal to the Dominican smoker.

It is hard to see the caps on mine AND they look like dog turds.

Just one of the reasons they are still in the box.

[rcarlson]

Cohiba maduros DO look like "veiny ****". This is the one perfect example of a Cuban cigar, especially a Cohiba,

that is made to appeal to the Dominican smoker.

It is hard to see the caps on mine AND they look like dog turds.

Just one of the reason's they are still in the box.

We clearly have had different experiences with these. I've had plenty of good ones, and plenty of crappy. But never have I seen one that bad.

[Smallclub]

This is the one perfect example of a Cuban cigar, especially a Cohiba,

that is made to appeal to the Dominican smoker.

err... no. The wrapper on this picture is not cuban. And btw, I've never seen a "toothy" wrapper on a habano. I didn't even know about the word "toothy" until I started reading US cigar forums!

[SaintLuis]

Cohiba maduros DO look like "veiny ****". This is the one perfect example of a Cuban cigar, especially a Cohiba,

that is made to appeal to the Dominican smoker.

It is hard to see the caps on mine AND they look like dog turds.

Just one of the reason's they are still in the box.

Wrapper quality notwithstanding, that cap in the OP is suspect at best, and non-cuban at worst.

[TheGipper]

I hope this doesn't sound condescending, but I hate threads like this. New things l learned here:

- Cuba never, ever, ever rolls a cigar without a perfect triple cap.

- Wrapper color never, ever varies from box to box.

- The color of the band printing is perfectly reproduced by a cell phone camera with poor lighting inside a car.

- Cuban tobacco has no veins. And is never rough or toothy.

Bottom line, none of us can tell much of anything with pictures. The most convincing evidence is actually at the very bottom of the third photo. The one thing near impossible to fake with non-cuban tobacco.

[KoreanCowboy]

I hope this doesn't sound condescending, but I hate threads like this.

Bottom line, none of us can tell much of anything with pictures. The most convincing evidence is actually at the very bottom of the third photo. The one thing near impossible to fake with non-cuban tobacco.

The ash may be unique to Cuban tobacco but that doesn't mean there aren't fake Cohibas rolled in Cuba. There are so many "custom" cigars from Cuba popping up these days that I'm starting to believe they are just a front by the government to sell more product.

[thebigk]

The ash may be unique to Cuban tobacco but that doesn't mean there aren't fake Cohibas rolled in Cuba. There are so many "custom" cigars from Cuba popping up these days that I'm starting to believe they are just a front by the government to sell more product.

Not sure on how the ash is different then any other cigar no matter what it's still burnt tobacco in the end

[mncz]

Is the foot as ugly as the one pictured in vitruvius' post?

[rcarlson]

TheGipper, on 30 Apr 2014 - 1:34 PM, said:

I hope this doesn't sound condescending, but I hate threads like this. New things l learned here:

- Cuba never, ever, ever rolls a cigar without a perfect triple cap.

- Wrapper color never, ever varies from box to box.

- The color of the band printing is perfectly reproduced by a cell phone camera with poor lighting inside a car.

- Cuban tobacco has no veins. And is never rough or toothy.

Bottom line, none of us can tell much of anything with pictures. The most convincing evidence is actually at the very bottom of the third photo. The one thing near impossible to fake with non-cuban tobacco.

I hate responses like this.

It is condescending. That is hardly what anyone said here.

[TheGipper]

I hate responses like this.

I'm sorry, I really didn't want to poke at anybody here. I just think people need to be careful about issuing unqualified, definitive assessments of authenticity of a single cigar based upon photographs only and on criteria that do frequently vary in real Cuban cigars.

Sometimes a cigar can be declared obvious fake by photograph only (glass top box, 60 ring gauge Cohiba, etc). But this guy's cigar has nothing that I haven't seen in plenty of authentic Maduro 5 Genios before. But that's just my experience and opinion. Doesn't mean it *is* authentic, but I disagree that there's anything in those photos that makes it a slam dunk fake.

[Bclass1]

I'm sorry, I really didn't want to poke at anybody here. I just think people need to be careful about issuing unqualified, definitive assessments of authenticity of a single cigar based upon photographs only and on criteria that do frequently vary in real Cuban cigars.

Sometimes a cigar can be declared obvious fake by photograph only (glass top box, 60 ring gauge Cohiba, etc). But this guy's cigar has nothing that I haven't seen in plenty of authentic Maduro 5 Genios before. But that's just my experience and opinion. Doesn't mean it *is* authentic, but I disagree that there's anything in those photos that makes it a slam dunk fake.

I agree, and even if you did come off condescending it was only because of the nature of a few of the responses claiming it's a sure fake; without even giving it a second guess.

I'm not saying it's real. But I too have seen authentic Genios that had similar quality traits to the one depicted here. Genios are not like this across the board, but they definitely have their inconsistencies and this one may fall into that category. There's no one tell tale sign that it's an obvious fake.

Rob has probably seen an inspected more of these than we all could shake a stick at... I bet you'd be surprised to know some of the quality that gets by in a Cuban factory, including Cohiba.

At this point, just smoke the damn thing and enjoy it (if you havn't already)... And if not, ask our host to find you a stellar box. Then there will be no doubt of fakes.

[Bclass1]

err... no. The wrapper on this picture is not cuban. And btw, I've never seen a "toothy" wrapper on a habano. I didn't even know about the word "toothy" until I started reading US cigar forums!

Sorry Smallclub, as I respect a lot of your posts on this site as well as your demeanor to a point, it is utterly impossible to tell someone that "the wrapper in the picture is not cuban" solely based on that picture alone..

My statement just follows up with my opinion in the previous post..

[aes8]

I hate responses like this.

It is condescending. That is hardly what anyone said here.

Its pretty close. If not in this thread then plenty others. My personal favorite is when someone calls fakes based on wrapper color.