Box o cigars...can someone price these?

These guys in Spain think they are worth $693.

http://www.cigarsclub.com/Cohiba-Esplendidos.htm

Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

John

 

there are no real glass top esplindidos

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Daily/CA_Hot_Tip/0,2347,121,00.html

I lost all my bookmarks a while back but I am trying to find tha page that gives detailed write-ups on fake cubans.

Scroll down close to the bottom and you will see your box: http://www.cigarnexus.com/counsel/counterfeit/

 

you are allowed to bring in a certain amount for personal usage. u can order cuban cigars all day long and them ship them via fedex.

 

i have no clue what the number limitations are, but my understanding is that you can bring cuban cigars into the country - just not too many at a time.

doody.

 

yea don't bring 100+ like my dad did 5 years ago.

 

You can bring a few across anytime you go out of the states where they are sold..

The easiest way to get a good number of them across the border is to have the shop switch the box and labels.

I have gotten many boxes across that way.

But yeah fed-ex can ship them too. If you know someone in Canada it is probably easiest.

 

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but I should set the record straight so you don't accidentally declare a box of Cuban smokes the next time you are coming through customs. The look on the Custom Agent's face would be hilarious!!!

[size=+6]YOU CAN'T[/size] bring into the U.S. ANY number of Cuban cigars for personal consumption. It is illegal to do so. Will you be fined? Nope(even though its on the books). Customs will simply confiscate your cigars and send them off to be incinerated(no joke).

Anyone telling you otherwise has simply heard rumor(a very common rumor at that!).


Now, there is only one way to legally bring Cuban cigars into the U.S.

How? You have to be coming back to the U.S. on a legally sancitoned trip to Cuba. You can get permission to visit Cuba legally by having family there(must be approved), pursuing academics, or for media purposes.

And even under these circumstances you are only allowed to bring back $100 worth of Cuban Cigars. Here is the kicker though, they roughly estimate each cigar's value at $2, meaning you can bring 50 cigars back(2 standard boxes). This, I am afraid, is the only legal way.

Of note is this though, it is NOT illegal to posses Cuban cigars in the U.S. And I am not kidding!!! You just can't bring them in(unless you satisfy the legal requirements for visiting Cuba in the first place). Funny eh?

Oh, and just so you know, the morning before Kennedy enacted the Embargo he sent his aide to Cuba to purchase several boxes of H. Upmans(if I recall correctly) for his personal consumption.


As for the glass-top Cohibas, lol, these are the epitome of fake Cuban Cigars. The oldest scam in the Cuban cigar trade.

They sell them to you in this 'special' box trying to catch the unitiated off guard. It happens all too often. In fact, many of those boxes have built in humidifying devices(they don't even work actually) in order to further dupe those willing to take the bait.


Shipping Cuban Cigars into the States:

Also illegal(don't ask). BUT, if you are going to do it, there are many other better places than Canada to have it shipped from. Canada's extraordinarily high tobacco taxes mean that they have some of the most expensive list prices for Cuban cigars in the world, bar none.

Spain, the leading importer of Cuban cigars at 50% of Cuba's annual production, offers the lowest prices for Cuban cigars outside of Cuba. I think they are only 5% more than what the gov't stores in Cuba sell them for. Now, if you are really intent of getting them in, you can do some research online as to where to go.

98% of the websites on the internet that advertise that they ship Cuban cigars to the U.S. are bogus. I have spent considerable amount of time researching this(don't ask), just trust me on this. The best thing you can do is to get in touch with someone you know in Spain, Switzerland(low low prices), and the like, have them go into a HABANOS AUTHORIZED(crucial crucial crucial) tobacconist, purchase what you want, take the bands off, and ship them to you in a box that was made for cigars of the exact same shape, but of a different country of origin(dominican repub., Canary Islands, Honduras, etc...).

This is one of the few ways you will actually know what you are getting. Keep in mind though, this is all illegal.

Also, don't bother buying 'cuban' cigars from any Joe Blow who says he can get them for you. Over 95% of the 'cuban' cigars floating around Miami are knockoffs. Fakes. Garbage.


Tyler, care to chime in on this? I know I am leaving some things out, just tired at the moment...

 

I believe I can hang with y'all for a while!

 

Whisky!!!!! ALL YOU WANT!

Yall will probably have me arrested...why would we do that? We're the ones who bailed you out!

 

These dudes is ***s, right?

 

Then what's my next move?
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You gotta lotta soul my brotha!

 

Several years ago I was coming back from somewhere with a colleague who is South African. When we got to U.S. customs, he declared our Cuban cigars that he was carrying. At first the customs agent started to confiscate the cigars but my buddy pointed out that he was not a U.S. citizen and there was no law against him bringing Cubans into the States.

I don't know whether that is true or not, but he was able to keep the cigars.

John

 

Guys,

John is absolutely correct in everything he said about cigars. Basically, any Cuban cigar in the USA is fake unless you yourself bought them in Canada (bad choice) or Europe. The best way to get them (besides going to Cuba or Europe is to find a reputable dealer that will fedex them to you after he removes the bands (have him post separately) and ships them in a "legal" box.

Bob

 

True. If you are NOT a U.S. citizen you can legally bring a limited number(not sure on the exact amount) of Cuban cigars into the country for personal use. I don't know what the limit is, but I've had some non-U.S. friends bring two boxes accross with no fuss.

Excellent post John!

As it has been stated, there is no question that the pictured cigars are fake.

There's not much to add after John's thorough post.



The reality is that making and selling fakes is a more profitable and bigger business than making and selling the real thing. The best of the best fakes are now so very good that if you cannot differentiate between tobacco leaves visually you will not know until you smoke it. The picture in the first post is one of the classic fake boxes. The best of the new ones will have the date codes right, the boxes right and the labels, stamps and seals will all be correct.

Also, in the old days it was only the "names" that were faked with Cohiba leading the pack. Today, even many of the "lesser" named cigars are being faked.

What I have been preaching for years is that with few a few exceptions more fantastic cigars are coming out of Central America than are coming out of Cuba. It's quite unlikely you'll find anyone faking most of the CA cigars.

As an example of some of the better fakes available I've included these pics of a box of FAKE Cohiba Piramides. The picture of the five cigars in the box represents the most obvious of the fakes. The rest had extremely good construction, were rolled exactly as they should be and actually smoked very nicely. They were produced in Costa Rica, shipped to Miami and packaged and distributed from there. MOST people would not be able to tell the good fakes from the real thing. Funny thing...many of fakes are even better construction than some of real ones...LOL. The people selling these are consistantly getting $300-$400 a box. Trust me, fleecing ignorant consumers is the biggest business going in the cigar trade right now. The real shame here is the waste of talent and quality tobacco on a fraud.
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Phew! I have been so rusty with my cigar knowledge as of late that I wasn't sure if I was pulling stuff out of nowhere or if it was all how I remembered

And hey, I got back to New Orleans and was able to resurrect my humidor. The gars went about 3 weeks with 60% humidity and are now on the mend! I've been lucky enough though recently to nad some great smokes from my Cousin's humidor for the time being!

So true! I have actually smoked some pretty decent 'farm' cigars that were slated as the real thing

 

Most people had a probelm with TOO MUCH moisture in the greater Nawlins area.

 

Great news on the humidor John! Though I'm certain it's been the least of your concerns it's still refreshing to have one less thing to worry about.

 

I don't know Tyler, I have some pretty whack priorities! Now, if only I can pry one of those Gold Medals from you(your avatar is killing me!), you know, for, uh...hurricane RELIEF!!!

 

LMAO!

Buddy, if I had even one right now I'd send it to you. Sad thing is they're all gone and have been for a while now. I'm constantly on the look out for them but they are extremely difficult to find at any price. I've found a few very reputable retailers in Europe that have a box or two in stock but when you start digging, the history is questionable. As you know, when it comes to something that can be ruined simply by incorrect storage the history of ownership becomes extremely important. In addition, the people who have them, simply don't want to sell them, at any price. I know that a couple hundred boxes are being held by two prominent Asian collectors but the chances of them ever trading hands are nil. One of my greatest fears is that I'll never obtain more of them.

If I'm lucky enough to snag a box or even a couple singles you'll be the first to know.

 

Heh, I know how difficult these particular smokes are to come by(all too difficult!). It seems like you have to wait for someone's collection to come to auction. And once up, they go for a surefire premium! With good reason I might add!