Received some beauties today but...

[Funkilee]

Just received a lovely box of:

25 x Petit Coronas del Punch
3x Magnum 46
and 3x HdM Epicure No 1's.

Whilst receiving them in record timing (3 or 4 days) and great customer service i am somewhat unsure of their authenticity as;

a: the box seems to have had the number torn off to check on Habanos site, i read some dealers do this to avoid customs tracking where they were sent from,
b: the No 1's were 'covered' (although not near the lighting end) in plume/bloom do not think mold as it mostly brushed of without staining,
c: the No 1's and 46's are not 'really' strongly scented (maybe they will be after being in the humi a while)?

Any advice

I will put up some pictures later but i couldn't fathom out how to do it from my Galaxy S3 on my phone so will have to take some on my Canon later when i get time!

BTW, can't try one yet as family in (and i don't smoke in front of my children) (...will do later! ;-) )

[Sligub]

A) Removing the bar code is standard practice among a lot of suppliers because it stops Habanos tracking leaks in there distribution network.
B) its probably mold, I say this because plume is actually a pretty rare occurrence and tends to happen I older stock. It's ok though wipe them down and store at lower RH for a while and you should be ok.
C) this is probably because they've been shipped moist, mould, which tends to enhibbet aroma. Let them stabilise in your humi for a couple of weeks/months and they should be ok.

Using Tapatalk is the easiest way to post pictures and use forums on phones and was one of the most used apps on my phone.

Having said all this if your unsure of the source of these DONT use the vendor, there are plenty of Authorised authentic vendors that you don't need to use dodgy/grey market just my opinion.

[monkey66]

Silgub is spot on.

Please do not mention anything about non-UK sources. I have edited both your post slightly, as you can see the posts/thread still works fine.

The cigars are almost certainly legit. Something that can be verified once you have private message rights (a few posts to go). I wouldn't loose any sleep over it at this point. Ideally they should rest a few weeks before firing any up (I know that is easier said than done).

The covering is 100% mould. Brush it off, clean the box and should be ok. If you want to go further (or if it returns) you can wipe the cigars and inside the box lightly with a little Isopropol alcohol and this will kill it all with no detrimental effect.

Cutting off the bar codes is common from some suppliers.

Post some pics when you can.

[Sligub]

Thanks monkey, knew I was close to the line and just wanted to check.

[Funkilee]

okay, apologies! Thanks for info, will try to find tapatalk on apps and post pics later!

[Funkilee]

Cigars 001.jpgCigars 002.jpgCigars 003.jpgCigars 004.jpg

The first picture is the Epi's after a cleaning (have since cleaned them up so they are really good now using just a little water and a cloth) and some of the box that the PC del Punch came in , have to say just fired one up and all seems good so far!

[spirit_of_will]

Think I know your vendor from the labels. You are fine mate...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Stevieboy]

Think I know your vendor from the labels. You are fine mate...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ha ha...me too lol

[ChimpsInTies]

Just out of interest, what's the reasoning behind not mentioning non-UK sources? I was told off for asking the other day

[monkey66]

Just out of interest, what's the reasoning behind not mentioning non-UK sources? I was told off for asking the other day

IMHO it is perfectly reasonable to ask why the rule exists.

The basis of this rule is to ensure this forum is not used to aid and abet the purchase of cigars from any source without full UK duty being paid. The reason is very simply HMRC could charge us with consipricy to evade excise duty if they reasonably believed we were promoting or encouraging it.

There is no problem with discussing legitimate UK sourced, UK duty-free allowances, UK imports with full duty paid or non-dutied purchases from real trips.

If you do a forum search you will find lots of info including how to legitimately pay import duty on private purchases.

OK examples:
"I went to Cuba and these are the (upto) 50 sticks I brought back" kind of thing. 50 being an individual's personal allowance
"I went to the USA and these are the (upto) 50 sticks I brought back 50 being an individual's personal allowance
"I got these sticks from a trip to Paris". No actual personal limit within the EU but more than 200 is considered interesting.
"This stick was sent to me as a gift". not a purchase.

NOT OK:
"I got these sticks from xxxxxx.com" where xxxxx.com is a grey market supplier and full UK duty is not paid.
"I got these sticks from a great botl called xxxxxx in the USA" where xxxxx is selling/sending sticks without full UK duty being paid.
"I can't say where I got these sticks from" The implication being they are non-duty paid.

Now none of this precludes us from discussing cigars, just not sources where full UK duty is not paid.

We do not make the laws we just try to stay within them (and out of jail).

I hope this clears it up and common sense should prevail if not sure. If we just talk about cigars and not necessarily where they were purchased there should be no issues.

Slightly off question but worth mentioning here: A common myth is that a so-called private, closed or non-UK hosted forums would provide protection to UK nationals or residents from such issues, they simply don't (this of course applies to many other countries Nationals as well). The law is the law. It should be obvious to most that an agency such as HMRC has very far-reaching powers. Indeed one could suppose a closed-forum might draw more attention than an open one. IP spoofing provides no protection at this level either, another common myth. It should also be considered that a significant budget is allocated to investigating revenue avoidance of tobacco duty (a Google search will provide much evidence of this). Sometimes it is easy for one to forget that anything we post on-line is considered published in UK law, is recorded by ISPs and law enforcement. With this in mind does anyone really want to discuss non-duty paid tobacco products on the internet?

I think the above should be more than clear so without wanting to sound harsh this subject and rule is not up for debate.

Considering the seriousness of potential consequences we would ask understanding, not further discussion on this one subject

[ChimpsInTies]

Oh yeah, it's totally clear now. I just never considered it before asking that's all. I totally get it now.

I wasn't implying I got told off for asking about the rule. It's just that I'd totally innocently asked where some sticks came from in another thread (just making conversation) and was told they couldn't say which at the time I didn't understand why.

All cool now

[Smallclub]

? i am somewhat unsure of their authenticity as;

b: the No 1's were 'covered' (although not near the lighting end) in plume/bloom do not think mold as it mostly brushed of without staining,
c: the No 1's and 46's are not 'really' strongly scented (maybe they will be after being in the humi a while)?

What makes you think there's a relation between mold and anthenticity?

As for the "scent", don't forget that cigars, like wines, don't like traveling; they are not in their best form after a long journey from the other side the world?

[monkey66]

Just a lack of experience I suspect Frank. Just part if the learning curve we all went through.

Sent from happy, clappy, tappy.