New 08 limited cigars

[james]

anyone tried any of the new cuban 08 limited edition yet?

[Deano]

Nah wouldn't mind getting some but bloody broke since Dubai, and now Christmas.

[Montesmoke]

Yea tried the new Partagas Serie D No5 EL 2008, & the Montecristo Sublimes EL 2008.
Both Great smokes

[Deano]

Bast

[Drewmidorn]

Gonna pop into the Casa Del Habano for a couple of afternoons in the week after next and check out the 08s. I've still got a single Por Larranaga Magnifico in the Humi from last year, a great cigar... not sure exactly what I'm saving it for, but I expect an exciting celebration which requires a treat will turn up at some point in the next ten years! lol

I'll certainly be buying a couple of the Gloria Cubana Gloriosos regionals, the Monte Sublimes, Cuaba Piramides and Partagas D no 5s...one each to smoke and one to save...if anything really impresses i'll invest in a box.... Very excited about the Gloria Cubana and Cuaba.

[james]

was in Casa Del Habano last friday, great night. They had the ltd edition in there naerly bought the monte, wanted a few smokes so had some 98 vintages instead the monte looks amazing, just cost 23 quid in there

[cohibaIV]

Got sent this article by a friend!!!!

November 28, 2008

EDICION LIMITADA 2008 are barely launched and already counterfeited !

One of our customers sent us 2 boxes of EL 2008 for inspection: Montecristo Sublime and Partagas Serie D No.5 EL 2008. The boxes were acquired from an online website.

• The cigar boxes look perfect with Habanos sticker, Republica de Cuba and all stamps are 100% genuine.
• The cigars look great and are perfectly aligned in the box.
• The Montecristo rings are the new embossed rings that are expensive to counterfeit.

Even with all these positive aspects, these boxes were fakes ! Here's our diagnosis:

1. The box code attracted our attention: it was made with an old stamp of ECA and PEL factory which were used for Limitadas in 2001 up to 2003. An absence of code is more acceptable than an out-of-date code.
2. The cigar wrappers was too good looking and perfectly homogeneous. The color of both the Sublime and the D5 was identical which is not normal. The D5 should be more on the reddish side or at least not the same color as the Montecristo Sublimes.
3. The Cuban smell was absent and replaced by licorice aroma, this is simply impossible unless the cigars have been stored with another heavy smell product.
4. Some of the cigars do not have a straight sharp cut, this could be possible for a genuine item but it's another detail of inconsistency.
5. The cigars are on average heavier than the real ones.
6. The body is not round as it should be, it's more on the squared shape.
7. The ultimate test was lighting up: The cigars are simply not Cuban. We would say Honduras or something else with a dry harsh aftertaste that has nothing to do with the creamy spicy taste of the real ones.

Fake-Cuban-Cigars-1.jpg

The 3 cigars on the left are the Fakes although they look darker and more oily. Notice the flat head of the fake D5 (the one on the left) compared to the real one.

Conclusion: These cigars are part of a massive fake production probably in Costa Rica or Panama and are being sent to the world market through different channels. Unfortunately they have reached the European and Asian market because they are very difficult to spot by inexperienced vendors or consumers. The boxes, rings and stickers have probably been brought out from Cuba and are 100% genuine. The cigars are not. The homogenous dark oily wrappers seem to be Ecuadorian and make this product easy to sell especially that it's new and hard to get.

Fake-Cuban-Cigars-2.jpg


The 3 cigars on the left are the Fakes although they look darker and more oily. Notice the weird cuts and ring gauges of the 3 fake cigars (on the left of each picture) compared to the real ones.



Counterfeit Cuban cigars are becoming very sophisticated and difficult to spot even by experts like customs officers. The only way to stop them is to stop buying their products. Here are the most important commandments:

• Be very careful with the choice of your Cuban cigar vendor
• Be aware of anything suspicious concerning your cigar box
• Trust your taste buds and develop your smoking knowledge, it's the only and ultimate barrier to counterfeited products.

Fake-Cuban-Cigars-3.jpg

The wrappers color and shine for the Partagas Serie D no.5 and the Montecristo Sublime are the same for both which is very unsual.

[Drewmidorn]

Had one of the Cuaba Piramides today in the Casa Del Habano. Whilst I'm not in the habit of writing reviews as I'm not convinced I have either the vocabulary or the most sophisticated pallet (even after 15-16 years of smoking) however its certainly a good cigar.

A slightly dull start followed by a nutty middle and an awesome finish... packs a punch too. Gorgeous maduro wrapper... looked great. However at ?21 a stick I still prefer the distinguidos. I did buy another for posterity though. lol

Back tomorrow... probably to try the Monte and a Patargas to take home.

Apparently the Gloria Cubana regional edition won't be in till January.

D

[Gary]

B*****ds, they should be strung up and whiped, anyway if I had my way there should be a global site naming and shaming online vendors who are caught selling fake cigars so everyone know's the ones to avoid, but you probably can't do that for various legal reasons or whatever, I know of a very well know online vendors based in Costa Rica who is notorious for selling bloody fakes.

Anyway, is there any chance that you could send a private email of the online vendors name who was selling these fakes so I know to avoid in the future? I hope it wasn't a UK based one!

[Deano]

Just put a name and shame thread on here, I don't care.

[Pantomimehorse]

this thread insipred me while in the Covent Garden cigar store on Christmas Eve, a fe of us from work stayed behind for a drink so I went to pick up a cuban and thought I would try the Monte ltd 08 and while it was a good smoke it wasnt a patch on the Monte 2003 which Is the best smoke I've ever had. Price was ?22 which I thought was ok, but I wont be getting another.

[Robusto]

I adore the Partagas Serie D4, so I presume I would adore the Partagas Serie D No5 EL 2008.

This may seem stupid... but what exactly is a limited or special edition cigar? Is it special because of bonus taste, or special because of a rarity factor?

Do special editions come out every year?
In general are they great? Or disappointing?
Are they over-priced?

[Robusto]

Hello Panto Horse, by the way. Welcome!

[james]

My wife has just got me a selection of each in portugal, so looking forward to trying them, person in shop said next year they are not allowed to sell them as singles, not sure why. Got a couple of each and much cheaper then England even with the s..t exchange rates, at airport was 99 cents for one pound!!!

[cohibaIV]

B*****ds, they should be strung up and whiped, anyway if I had my way there should be a global site naming and shaming online vendors who are caught selling fake cigars so everyone know's the ones to avoid, but you probably can't do that for various legal reasons or whatever, I know of a very well know online vendors based in Costa Rica who is notorious for selling bloody fakes.

Anyway, is there any chance that you could send a private email of the online vendors name who was selling these fakes so I know to avoid in the future? I hope it wasn't a UK based one!

Gary

Sorry for the late reply, but no is the short answer as they don't say who sold the Cigars??