Cohiba 40th Anniversary barberpoles?

[moki]

I hesitate to post this, because my instincts know the answer already, but perhaps someone can offer up some specific knowledge. Someone I know is rather insistent that these things are real (yeah, you know the drill), and I'm highly skeptical, but here we go...

I'm aware that the upcoming Habanos festival will be celebrating, among other things, the 40th Anniversary of the Cohiba brand, and that 2001EL Piramide is supposedly going to be reintroduced there, perhaps with a special 40th Anniversary band.

Someone I know acquired a box of some supposedly 40th Anniversary Cohiba cigars... and they are barber poles. What I know is this: the cigars we in theory released in January 2006, the box passed the black light test, the cigars came from a "government store" in Cuba, and I quote:

The green & white seal # AE557064, the middle hologram covering the nail reads AQUL, SuGarantia Habanos Unicos desde 1492 the hologram on the yellow section of the lid is #F034240, The bottom of the box reads, LIN ENE 05, Habanos s.a. HECHO EN CUBA Totalmente a mano, VENDIDO EN CUBA TIENDAS INTUR COMINTUR enclosed in a blue ink circle with two stars...

From the research I've done, no such cigar was released in January 2006, though there will be a Cohiba 40th Piramide released in a few weeks at the Habanos festival. Scammers taking advantage of that window? I can't imagine a barber pole from Cuba?

Here are the pictures:

 

[marcsheldon]

well, let us know what you find out nancy drew.

 

[jus10]

I'm personally going to go with "No way". The only Havana to be triple fermented and what some... (most) would would call the flagship of Cuban cigars donning a Barber poll wrapper....I don't think so. With that being said I am regularly incorrect. so we'll have to see...

Those do look cool though

 

[Ludwig]

send me one and i will let you know

 

[MarkF150]

I'm going to say NO WAY also. Look at them, some of them are standard "barber pole" and some are reverse "barber pole". Just about everything that comes out of Cuba is exactly the same and uniform in everyway. There is no waythat they would put some regular and some reverse in the same box.

 

[headstrong]

Similiar thread with some additional info here.

 

[kro77]

I had a guy try to sell me reserva Cohiba barber poles a a year or so back, I bought one for grins and giggles but did not go for the whole box. So all i know is that there have been fakes of that color, but you guys know way better then i.

 

[Rush]

The deal killer is the serial number of the warranty seal. The two starting letters closely correlate to the box date. The freshest stock I have is JUL05 and the two letter code is HDXXXXX. Conversely, the oldest I have (with the new seal) is JUN00 and the two letter code is AKXXXXX. So, a 2006 box code should be around IA to IZ (just a guess, but somewhere around there).

Edited to add: I see your code is ENE05 - so, the warranty seal serial number should be around the middle 'G's (like GL to GS). . .

 

[moki]

Just to make it clear, I've never smoked any of these cigars, nor have I see them in person.

It was my assumption going into it that these are fake -- I guess I am looking for a bulleted list of reasons why that I can point out to him. The cardboard boxed Esplendidos are a slam dunk... I'm just not familiar with what the 40th Anniversary Cohibas will look like to compare them to anything (other than the rather unlikely event of Cuba coming out with barber pole Cohibas heh).

 

[Strayvector]

I don't think I've ever seen any Cohibas that came in a cardboard/dressed box. Obviously, like you mentioned Moki, the Esplendidos are fakes because of the box and I would assume that the 40th are also fakes because of the dressed box. All recent released Cohibas in 25 count boxes that I've seen, have been presented in plain varnished cedar boxes and never dressed. I doubt that Habanos S.A. would depart from this tradition, especially with a flag ship/special release like a 40th anniversary cigar.

Taking the picture in context, it seems that the 40th anniversary cigars and the Esplendidos boxes are decorated/dressed very similarly and probably came from the same source. Given that the Espledidos are obvious fakes because authentic releases only come in plain varnished boxes, then by association, the 40th Anniversary cigars are, in most likelyhood, also fakes.

 

[KayakinBoy]

send me one and i will let you know

[snapback]287737[/snapback]​

That's the only true way to find out... Either way I'd like to have a couple as a gag gift!

 

[The Master]

Anything with the Comintur stamp on it means fake cigars,end of story.

 

[Pyre]

They look awesome. Too bad. How come there are no cuban maduro cigars?

 

[Hurricane Ditka]

I was given one that was the same size as an esplendido back about 2 months ago... I came to the conclusion that it was fake, but honestly, it was a well made, and pretty decent tasting cigar.

 

[Sillyrib]

They look awesome. Too bad. How come there are no cuban maduro cigars?

[snapback]287996[/snapback]​

Try the El's

 

[seadub]

I'm going to say NO WAY also. Look at them, some of them are standard "barber pole" and some are reverse "barber pole". Just about everything that comes out of Cuba is exactly the same and uniform in everyway. There is no waythat they would put some regular and some reverse in the same box.

[snapback]287738[/snapback]​

I want to agree with Mark, but his avatar ( :love: ) has got me hypnotized... I can feel myself slipping away into a land where I only say, 'yes, dear.'

 

[AVB]

I'm just looking to expand my knowledge base so I'd like to know why you say this? Is this just a first quality fake stamp that nobody has changed or........?

Anything with the Comintur stamp on it means fake cigars,end of story.

[snapback]287988[/snapback]​

 

[Ginseng]

I'm just looking to expand my knowledge base so I'd like to know why you say this? Is this just a first quality fake stamp that nobody has changed or........?

Anything with the Comintur stamp on it means fake cigars,end of story.

[snapback]287988[/snapback]​

[snapback]288449[/snapback]​

AVB,

Here are several links pertaining to this particular detail.

CigarWeekly Thread 1

CigarWeekly Thread 2

CigarWeekly Thread 3

CigarWeekly Thread 4

CigarWeekly Thread 5

In essence, this stamp is found on boxes of cigars intended to be sold in hotels in Cuba. The appearance of this box outside the country is not a good sign. Also, there is a history of known fakes with this identification.

Wilkey

 

[The Master]

Cigars sold to hotels and restaurants in Cuba do not have the Comintur stamp on them. The Comintur stamp means fake cigars. That stamp has been around since 1997. We were discussing this issue back then. A guy named Bodank who is a friend of mine has been going to Cuba( he is Canadien) on a regular basis( 3-5 times a year) and knows all there is to know about real and fake Cubans. He warned us of this stamp back in 97.

 

[BkCloud114]

Look at the wrap on the cigars.... very inconsistant.... Sherpa Mystic Dos Capas have a more consistant wrap than those.....