calling all cigar smokers

Well, I guess it could be a counterfeit....I'm not sure I could tell without experience, It was a fairly well known tobacconist, so I hope not, although you never know with Poland. It was significantly more expensive than the private stock one despite being about 1 third of the size.
I'm thinking of ordering a few assorted brands once I return to the UK, just to try, that is however if I can find a place to smoke them, what with the smoking ban coming in to play in 4 weeks time.
Does the US have a similar problem with public smoking or not?
Never understood the Cuba problem really, as mentioned, nobody seems bothered about other communist countries, and I guess it just encourages black market trade(and counterfeiting)

Nick,

If you are curious about counterfeits, check out www.cigaraficionado.com, they have a counterfeit page that shows real cigars/cigar bands and some fakes. A good way to just "check" a box of cigars for authenticity (this is not scientific) is to look at the cigars sitting together: are they roughly the same color/shade, same size? Do the wrappers look smooth, well put together? Do the cigar bands have rich colors, gold embossment, raised lettering or do they look like a color copy?

Like I mentioned this is not scientific but a way to tip you off for possible fakes. I have been to a number of tobacconists in Mexico where there are a lot of fakes and can tell you first hand that if the cigars just don't look right they are most likely fakes.

Just my 2 cents.

It certainly looks kosher. The band is embossed with gold and is good quality. It was well wrapped, and kept in a humidor with others that looked identical. I guess that I will just have to hope until I know better!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nickyspaghetti

It was well wrapped . . .

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Do you mean it was well rolled? It wasn't in a cellophane sleeve, was it?

Well, both. Is the cellophane a dead giveaway?

The band is exactly the same as shown on www.cigaraficionado.com and definately not one of the counterfeits shown so far.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nickyspaghetti

Is the cellophane a dead giveaway?

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I'm sorry to say, but yes. No Cuban Cohibas come in cellophane.

While sites Cigar Aficionado's are helpful, it can be very hard to spot fakes. The best bet is to deal only with vendors which you know to be reliable. The one I posted is one such vendor.

Oh well, I will try from a more reputable company next time! I will see if it is a terrible experience when I smoke it.
Live and learn I guess

Heh... miss a couple days on this forum and you miss a lot!

I'm more of a pipe smoker, but I've had good luck with my Tupperdore. I use the cap from a milk jug to keep it humid. Fill said cap with salt, and keep that salt moist, and it will maintain a humidity of 75% inside. (This is also a good way to test/tune hygrometers -- digital ones typically have a potentiometer that you can adjust to make sure it's reading correctly.)

- Scott