Cigar Aficionado

Counterfeit Cuban cigars are a persistent and annoying problem for cigar lovers. Save your money (and your palates) by following these eight key tips to avoid getting burned by a fake.

There Are No Cheap Cohibas

There are only expensive Cohibas, and very expensive Cohibas. With the it’s a fake Cohiba. 

A Lesson In Limitadas

an occasional appearance as an EL. Know which dates are on which brands to protect yourself. 

No—That Guy Doesn’t Have A Cousin Who Works In The Factory.

The oldest cigar scam in the book is the person you meet on the street who claims to have an insider in a factory getting him the real stuff for a fraction of the retail price. Avoid. You’re likely to be buying a fake. 

Labels Go On The Box, Not In The Box

A lot of counterfeit cigars we’ve seen lately have the appropriate labels, but not on the box. They’re all inside for you to stick on yourself. Habanos takes stickers, labels and seals very seriously—this isn’t a do-it-yourself process. Stay away from this very lazy counterfeit. 

On Glass

We’ve said it for years, but people still buy them, and that means they’re getting burned. There are no glass-top (or clear plastic) boxes that contain genuine Cuban cigars. Habanos S.A. does not produce anything with a clear lid. We’ve seen fakes like this in the Caribbean, Mexico and elsewhere, sold under such creative names as Cohiba Crystal and others. Glass-top boxes are always going to be counterfeit. 

Beware The Bogus Behike

Cohiba Behikes are two elaborate holograms. A proper band isn’t a certain sign of a real cigar, but mistakes in the band guarantee you have a fake. 

Avoid The Barber Pole

Barber-pole cigars, made with intertwined wrappers of different colors, are items from the non-Cuban cigar world. Real Cuban cigars don’t come with barber-pole wrappers. 

Trust, But

Think you might have a fake? Habanos puts a barcode on every box of Cuban cigars (see barcode photo above). It’s located on the edge of the Cuban guarantee seal. You can use the code to the box’s authenticity via Habanos.com. You can either scan the barcode with your smartphone, or type in the numbers manually. If the description doesn’t match the cigars you have, then your product is inauthentic.