Hand made?

[wingman01]

After receiving some Cohiba Siglo 3's froma unconfirmed source I noticed that the cigars have a straight line running down the side of the cigar in 2 spots like it was machine made... I am not a true AFICIONADO. so I was hoping someone can tell me if there is a sure way to see if it was hand rolled or machine made?

[HabanoSy]

Is it possible to post up some pics wingman...?

Cheers, HabanoSy

[wingman01]

Is it possible to post up some pics wingman...?

Cheers, HabanoSy
I will post some pictures when later when I get home from work. Decided to light one and got about a third of it smoked and decided to toss it. Luckily only bought a box of 5.

[monkey66]

Pictures please (cigars, packaging, bands etc).

[wingman01]

Okay here ar some pictures, trying to point out poor job on bands, crease down side of stick,etc. Not showing packaging because as far as I can tell the packaging is legit. Seal has UV mark proper box,etc. Look close at thefirst picture as I drew 2 tiny arrow to point out line that I believe is showing it was machine made. Look at how the band looks tamperedithhttp://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6101.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6099.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6100.jpg

[wingman01]

Sorry, the arrows are small in the first picture but they are there:cool:

[El Greco]

They look like Cohibas. The bands are ok.
The line you refer to is not a result of "machine made" but rather produced because of the wooden press in some cases.

Rolling is not the best I've dealt with. Cohiba workers are humans and mistakes are likely to happen. BTW not all of them are the best rollers in Cuba. Remember that cigars are hand made and as such they are ALL different from one another.

Unfortunately cuban cigars are not perfect.

Enjoy them.

[jdawg]

I will post some pictures when later when I get home from work. Decided to light one and got about a third of it smoked and decided to toss it. Luckily only bought a box of 5.

Well, smoking one is the best test to determine whether they are legit or not. It seems they have failed that test.

What was wrong with it when you smoked it?

[El Catador]

They look like Cohibas. The bands are ok.


I'm not sure I'd necessarily agree with that.
On first glace the bands seemed OK to me too, however, the font 'Habana, Cuba' looks a little 'heavy' in comparison to the majority of genuine Cohibas I've encountered, but ... that by itself isn't necessarily conclusive of much.
The 'odd' aspect about these cigars (to me anyhow) is the overlapping of the band at the back. i.e. on the middle cigar, it wraps all the way round the width and encroaches on part of the central 'Cohiba' logo*.

If I were you I'd be tempted to sacrifice this one to the 'blade', run a knife along the length and open it up.
I suspect your going to find its filled with shredded tobacco. I may be wrong (it happens ..occasionally), but the look of it raises enough doubts to risk sacrificing it. Post up a picture of the innards if you do go down this route, as it's a useful piece of evidence for us all.

Sorry a) if I'm wrong, or b) if I'm not (nobody likes getting taken), if it's any consolation, and it probably isn't, but sooner or later it happens to all of us.

Regards
El Cat
P.S. Even if they don't turn out as the real thing, doesn't mean to say you can't enjoy 'em. Sometimes theyre pretty reasonable.
P.P.S. Don't mix them with your other cigars, they're almost certainly untreated for the dreaded 'evil weevil' and not worth risking an infection for.

EDIT: *It's been a while since I last had a Siglo 3, so maybe the bands do wrap around that far on this vitola. Can't remember for sure, but thought they used slightly smaller ones (these look more like 'Eplendido sized').
But, if anyone who has one in their humi might be able to chime in and confirm it, I'd be most grateful.

[tippexx]

[QUOTE=El Catador;66050]
The 'odd' aspect about these cigars (to me anyhow) is the overlapping of the band at the back. i.e. on the middle cigar, it wraps all the way round the width and encroaches on part of the central 'Cohiba' logo*.

I agree, in fact the bands appear to be different lengths with one in particular overlapping far more than others. I've looked at my Siglos and the overlaps are not wrapped round to that extent. Also, all my bands are dead aligned and squared, which given the premium of cost these cigars is no more than might be expected.

I'm not sure if I'd want to dissect the cigars though .... better just to smoke them .... but deep-freeze first as a beetle precaution.

[joeray]

I am no expert, and I might be wrong, but the bands don't look legit to me.

I agree with El Catador that the lettering is too thick and the overlapping band is not right.

[rollzst]

They don't look that legit to me either for the reasons other people have said. I think the best think to do would be to cut one open and post pics up for us to judge.

[Kdot]

as said before the bands look suspect, it also appears that the distance between the gold line and the white dots is not consistant. on two of the cigars it looks like there is no space between the white dots and gold...

[monkey66]

Some pics of the packaging will help as well.

[wingman01]

I will indeed cut one open and take some pictures. The one I smoked seemed very stiff and tightlypacked. It had a very hard draw and was not very pleasant to smoke. Ended up tossing it about a third of the way done. Iknow I did the obvious mistake of trying it first day of receiving it. I didn't think that wouldmake it horrible though. Will post pictures after cutting one open.
Superbowl time fornow though!
Thanks for the replies.







[QUOTE=El Catador;66050]
The 'odd' aspect about these cigars (to me anyhow) is the overlapping of the band at the back. i.e. on the middle cigar, it wraps all the way round the width and encroaches on part of the central 'Cohiba' logo*.

I agree, in fact the bands appear to be different lengths with one in particular overlapping far more than others. I've looked at my Siglos and the overlaps are not wrapped round to that extent. Also, all my bands are dead aligned and squared, which given the premium of cost these cigars is no more than might be expected.

I'm not sure if I'd want to dissect the cigars though .... better just to smoke them .... but deep-freeze first as a beetle precaution.

[wingman01]

Okay here we go. The first thing I noticed was the wrapper was paper thin. Lets just say if it is real I still won't buy from this vendor again. There was some greenish blue mold on it as well.
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6118.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6104.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6105.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6107.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6110.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6112.jpg

[wingman01]

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6117.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn180/wingman01_photos/IMG_6114.jpg

[J Cano]

Looks real to me.They probably taste bad because they are in shock.Give em a month in the humi and theyll be bearable. Give em 6 and it will be worth it.

[wingman01]

Looks real to me.They probably taste bad because they are in shock.Give em a month in the humi and theyll be bearable. Give em 6 and it will be worth it.
I've had others right of the plane that weren't this bad. I will give them another shot in a few weeks. My first CC ever was a Cohiba siglo and It was great. Notice how the edges of the band don't overlap straight ?
One of the bands seemed crumbled on the lower edge. Has cuban QC gotten that bad? Maybe it has something to do with altidas owning half of habano sa and ramping up production. :der:

[El Catador]

Well I'll be jiggered!

I'm still not entirely convinced, one way, or t'other.
The pictures (good job by the way, thanks for posting 'em up), aren't as conclusive as I'd expected them to be.
The general construction doesn't seem to be great, but, .. it isn't that bad that its clearly 'screaming' fake either.

The last two shots show a fair bit of 'flakiness', but maybe: the roller was having an off day, the tobacco broke up over time, during the process of opening it up, due to it being a little too dry etc, etc.

I'm an idiot (no, really) not to have asked about the packaging earlier (good call monkey), because I should have expected to see a cardboard pack. That maybe partly accountable for the 'lines' on the cigars, as they don't offer much protection from being squashed or pressed.
Incidentally, far as I can tell the box is the 'real deal', but, as it's the easiest thing in the world to switch real for fake in these packets, I'm still none the wiser.

Maybe, .. just maybe .. we might have winner!


I may be wrong (it happens ..occasionally).

Let you into a little secret, first ever Cohiba I smoked was a Siglo III. Bought it from a fabulous little LCDH in Berlin and smoked it that very night in a nearby lounge bar (back in the 'good old days' - pre smoking ban!). One of the main reasons I fell in love with this brand (although I sometimes wish I'd fallen for a cheaper one ... then I could afford to smoke more!).

To hear that you 'tossed' one of these due to its taste (even without a humi rest it shouldn't have been that bad ... an uneven burn? maybe, ... but a bad taste?), makes me still think they're 'more' likely than 'not' to be suspect.

However, due to your dedication, and for 'flagging up' this issue for the benefit and enlightenment of others (not to mention the excellent images you provided) and for sacrificing one of you stogies to the knife in the name of scientific research, ... I have decided to award you a free pass into the 'stick a stick in it' jamboree... congratulations! You've drawn .. me ... no need to look so sad!
I don't have any Siglo III's sadly (times is 'ard, what can I say), but I'm sure I can lay my hands on a little sumthin with a 'genuine' Cuban flavour.

pm your addy (you'll need to get your post count up to 25) and the details of where you sourced these from, and I would be more than delighted to enrole you into our little game.

N.B./Caveat Emptor. This offer is only available to people or persons over the age of 18, and who have the permission of the bill payer to receive tobacco related products via the postal service. It is in no way an admission of any guilt in the unlikely event of a misdiagnosis as to the veracity of certain Cohiban cigars. P.S. There is no cash equivalent, so please don't ask if you value the shape of your nose!

[Boss Hog]

What we need is Stevieboy on the case. he'd know within 10 secs if it was dodgy or not. havent seen him post much lately though. He's probably hiding out in the basement with everyone else pretending that he's gone away.


Gotta go, I've just seen a rat run across the deck and straight into the water

[wingman01]

First of all thanks for the replies:smoke:
Your input was greatly appreciated. Maybe it's the real deal CCbut just suffered from lack of Quality, bad storage conditions, and like a idiot I smoked it right off the bus.
Some of this might account for the tight draw,unevenburn,taste,etc.
But for now I'll let them sit awhile, It was a learning experience to say the least and along the way I've find a great community full of knowledgeable members:hail:
P.S. El Catador I will PM the source when I have the requirements of posts.
Thanks
Tom

[daverave999]

Would be interested to hear the source myself!

I try to leave all my Cubans at least three months from them going in my humi before I smoke them, because they generally need it. I think only my Trini Reyes were smokeable straight away.

[Stevieboy]

What we need is Stevieboy on the case. he'd know within 10 secs if it was dodgy or not. havent seen him post much lately though. He's probably hiding out in the basement with everyone else pretending that he's gone away.


Hahaha!! Still here matey-boy!! :tongue:

I'm not sure I like the look of those bands though...I doubt Cohiba would put larger bands on a smaller smoke ie I don't think they'd mistakenly allow a Siglo VI band to go on a Siglo III....too much overlap plus they're not lined up at all....:(

I've seen the 'line' down the middle a few times before and the smokes were fine :smile:

Construction looks fine, packaging is fine, long-filler etc......probably they're the real McCoy and the QA guy was hungover that day :biggrin1:

[tippexx]

Construction looks fine, packaging is fine, long-filler etc......probably they're the real McCoy and the QA guy was hungover that day :biggrin1:


I've never had a pack of Cohiba Siglos. But arn't they supposed to be packed each cigar in an individual card pack then x5 to the carrier pack?

[Boss Hog]

I'm not sure I like the look of those bands though...I doubt Cohiba would put larger bands on a smaller smoke ie I don't think they'd mistakenly allow a Siglo VI band to go on a Siglo III....too much overlap plus they're not lined up at all....:(


See what I tell Ya!!! :biggrin1:

[wingman01]

I've never had a pack of Cohiba Siglos. But arn't they supposed to be packed each cigar in an individual card pack then x5 to the carrier pack?
They were indeed in individual card packs, ran out of film:tongue:
I feel the same as othersthat it is not that hard to use original legit packaging and seals but sub par sticks.

[tippexx]

.....it is not that hard to use original legit packaging and seals but sub par sticks.


Only, if it can be obtained. I not sure it could legitematly ..... and used packaging, no matter how well kept, would still appear used.

[El Greco]

Maybe it's the real deal CCbut just suffered from lack of Quality, bad storage conditions, and like a idiot I smoked it right off the bus.


QC in cuban production is not a even a joke nowdays. They are not aware of the terms:der:

I know very little about fakes. But I do know that your cigars were long fillers because of their wrapper being smooth and straight. Short fillers cannot shape up in a way to produce smooth soft wrappers or let's just say it is unlikely to happen. Short fillers end up with a more harsh appearance.

I have looked at the bands many times-good photos BTW-and they still look ok to me. Maybe not well placed, glued or lined or overlaping. I certainly blame the production for that.

As other members said, let' em sleep. You will be pleasantly surprised and the nightmare of sacrificing your cigar will go away.:cheers: