Mark Twain
Call me Ishmael.
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2006
- Messages
- 1,626
I was trying to find a celebratory smoke (more on this later), so I searched through my cooler and came across two mid-80s Esplendidos which were given to me as extras in a blind fiver at another board. Man I was excited. Then I remember why I had set these back, because they were almost certainly fake! 
I decided to hold off on the celebration and smoke it anyway to see if I could detect just how a fake cigar smokes compared to a real Cuban cigar. The cap cut nicely and there was even a small divet. The cigar smelled slightly good, but there was a chemical smell that was present when I took an unlit draw on the cigar. The foot also had a very loose look to it. It lit easily and drew well. It tasted flat from the start. There was also a very ‘clean’ tobacco taste that I describe this way because it had a chemical undertone to it that was not pleasant. The ash was whiter than any Cuban I can remember smoking.
I tried to find some complexity to the cigar, but it never really opened up into anything. There was an interesting woodsy flavor, but I couldn’t really get past the chemical taste.
With around three inches left I called it quits as the wrapper began to unravel and the chemical taste started to give me a headache. I gently took it apart and found that it had a core of short and nasty looking tobacco filler that I don’t dare call leaves. :0
It was fake. The celebration is on hold for the moment, but I’m glad I smoked it and got at least a sense of what a fake cigar tastes like. I still got one left and I’ll probably send it along to our resident expert for his files.
I decided to hold off on the celebration and smoke it anyway to see if I could detect just how a fake cigar smokes compared to a real Cuban cigar. The cap cut nicely and there was even a small divet. The cigar smelled slightly good, but there was a chemical smell that was present when I took an unlit draw on the cigar. The foot also had a very loose look to it. It lit easily and drew well. It tasted flat from the start. There was also a very ‘clean’ tobacco taste that I describe this way because it had a chemical undertone to it that was not pleasant. The ash was whiter than any Cuban I can remember smoking.
I tried to find some complexity to the cigar, but it never really opened up into anything. There was an interesting woodsy flavor, but I couldn’t really get past the chemical taste.
With around three inches left I called it quits as the wrapper began to unravel and the chemical taste started to give me a headache. I gently took it apart and found that it had a core of short and nasty looking tobacco filler that I don’t dare call leaves. :0
It was fake. The celebration is on hold for the moment, but I’m glad I smoked it and got at least a sense of what a fake cigar tastes like. I still got one left and I’ll probably send it along to our resident expert for his files.
