Fake Montecristo no. 4's [Pics & such for everyone's information]


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Got some fake Montecristo no. 4's passed along to me (well my wife) this week. Got home this afternoon after breakfast and found the following sitting on top of my humidor:

http://i.imgur.com/weQyo.jpg

"What's this? I didn't order or purchase any new sticks lately" Picked up the bag and my heart lifted a touch "Oh awesome! I've never had a Montecristo no. 4, some one must have given these to my wife, score!"

Opened the box and my heart sank: http://i.imgur.com/DPN2Z.jpg

Fakes, without a doubt. When my wife returned to the room, "Hey, where did these come from?"

Her response "My coworker bought them in Cuba, but he smoked one and got sick, so did his friend, so they gave them to me... but I'm pretty sure their fake" (did I mention I love my wife? Even she can tell these are fakes)

The usual story "he bought them in Cuba at Christmas, can't remember from where" (eg: from the beach/street)

So anyways once the weather warms up these will be chucked into the fire pit, but I figured I'd share the pics with everyone.

For comparison sake here's one of the fakes next to a legit no. 2 I purchased from a LCDH in Havana: http://i.imgur.com/N85l3.jpg (note the colour on the band and the embossing on the letters, also just the general roll quality)

The full gallery is here: http://imgur.com/a/Pk9lD

cheers

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Not sure if the band is the problem. They look like the older band, but are loose, so they could be rebands. The cigar itself looks awful.

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Bands look fine. Cigars are on the rough side but I wouldn't be so quick to call them fake, IMO.

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Just wondering. Whats the aroma like?

Their pretty dry but honestly, they don't smell like much of anything. None of that sweet/twangy Cuban aroma from the rest of my stash, or of a dry/sawdust kinda sent.

May cut one open to examine, but I think these are destin for the fire pit.

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Not sure if the band is the problem. They look like the older band, but are loose, so they could be rebands. The cigar itself looks awful.

Yeah, it doesn't really show in the pics, but the one stick in the middle has a slightly lighter band than the other two.

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  • 5 months later...

The # 4's may not be fakes as people might be trying to smoke them like cigarettes! Sucking hard down into the lungs would make most people sick especially the inexperienced. I would say let them sit in the humidor to rehumidify and then fire one up to check it out.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bands are NOT an issue.

http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/brand.aspx?brand=Montecristo

But all the newer (standard band C) bands i've seen have a decent amount of embossing on them, which the older (standard band B) bands do not have.

It's one thing to have some slight variations in size, those are pretty dramatic.

BUT, the real reason I think they are fake...

The band. NOT because the band looks fake. The look of that band exists. But I don't know many vendors who have 2006 Monte #4s in stock. That band should be on cigars boxed in 2006 or earlier. That is an extremely popular cigar in a size you smoke every day.

Also, the wrappers are very dark. Starting in 08-09, you are seeing darker and darker wrappers across all Cubans. But in 05-06-07, not that dark. Not saying it can't be possible...

Put it all together, fake.

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  • 2 years later...

I just saw this post,although it's been A while. I dealt A poker tournament for A private party,first place was A box of Cohibas right from Cuba! Well the winner gave me five they looked fantastic Ltd. Edition 2003 they tasted great I gave one to A friend who is an expert at fakes and Cuban cigars. He said they are fakes, but made with good quality Cuban tobacco,to me not that experienced at the time with Cohibas especialy Ltd. Edit. he showed me exactly what was wrong! Although the Gold letters were raised they were just not the right shade!

I learned A lesson you can even buy fakes in Cuba!

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surprised.gif HOW can you guys be saying the bands look alright??? Did you see that photo of them from the back...the bands are all haphazardly stuck on together uneven and crooked. They weren't even TRYING. Although I do agree that at least one should be tried for a couple of puffs just to see how they smoke. Some of the fakes out there (forgive my heresy) aren't always that bad - in fact a few of them are downright delightful! lookaround.gif Thank you for sharing and for the telling pics

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surprised.gif HOW can you guys be saying the bands look alright??? Did you see that photo of them from the back...the bands are all haphazardly stuck on together uneven and crooked. They weren't even TRYING. Although I do agree that at least one should be tried for a couple of puffs just to see how they smoke. Some of the fakes out there (forgive my heresy) aren't always that bad - in fact a few of them are downright delightful! lookaround.gif Thank you for sharing and for the telling pics

Just because the band was put on crooked doesn't mean they are fake. Good grief. I'm pretty sure most of us who have been to island have seen far worse from a legit cigar. This is Cuba after all. The only way to say for sure if they are fake is to smoke the damn thing.

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Seeing what you paid for them, I would cut one open to see if any surprises are on the filler part. They look like some of the national (for locals) brands. Re-banded and they do not look like any of the 4's that I do have and had in the past. Again give it a whirl, you should be able to tell quickly.

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  • 4 months later...

Just because the band was put on crooked doesn't mean they are fake. Good grief. I'm pretty sure most of us who have been to island have seen far worse from a legit cigar. This is Cuba after all. The only way to say for sure if they are fake is to smoke the damn thing.

....AND the cigars are jacked looking too...

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I'm with Tarks on this one.

A very plausible explanation could be; guy goes to Cuba, walks into a LCDH bought a fiver of Monti 4 (which are cheap there), took it home, throw it in a kitchen shelf, tried smoking it like a cigarette, turned blue, let buddy smoke it, again like a cigarette, turn blue, left it on shelf, then gave it away.

Many people I know who have gone to Cuba have done exactly this. They knew enough NOT to buy from the street guy but don't give a flying hoot about proper storage once home. Cigarette smokers are generally not interested in learning how to smoke or store a cigar. After all he/she is tough, been smoking for years and cigarettes is fine in it's package.

I've done this myself before I got into cigars (never smoked anything until I got into cigars). My Siglo VI and Cohiba Robusto was bought by my friend as gift for me, sealed full SLB box, from the Partagas Factory. I know I was 4 feet away from him at the timeof purchase though admittedly happily drunk. Remember thinking he was an idiot for INSISTING on buying boxes of Cohibas from the Partagas Factory vs the many street vendors. After 3 month of not giving a damn to how they were stored it looked god awful. The bands was originally tight but easily fell off the shrunken cigar.

Take any cigar, leave it on a shelf to dry out, move it around a bit then see how good it looks.

Having said all of that, as with any and all suspect cigars, it's all about knowing and trusting the source. I've spent enough times in Cuba to know that open boxes, singles and 5 packs can and are substitued with fakes all the time. Even, IMO, in official stores.

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  • 2 months later...
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