Well.. long story long...
So, I can't state for a fact what they are, especially the actual Fugazi brand, but here's my understanding from a big industry guy...
For the sake of this post, I'm going to use CI's knockoff Cohiba since that was what he and I discussed. First, as it comes to brands with 2 different origins, do they mean the CC Cohiba, or NC Cohiba? And so there's that for the dual origin sticks, Cohiba, Monte, Partagas, Punch, etc.
Ok, so we know their knockoffs are aiming for the NC versions... but which NC version? Red Dot, Blue, Black, Connie, M, etc? Anyway, they're going for the Red Dot with theirs. Most core NC Cohiba are Dominican.. with the Dot being primarily Dom but with a Cam wrapper.
If I handed someone a CI Cohiba KO, unbanded, and said it was a Red Dot, most would think it was. General Cigar owns NC Cohiba, AND they own CI. You are getting a Cameroon wrapper.. same ones as the real Red Dot. That's where the similarities end pretty much.
The wrapper is a Red Dot reject.. typically for color uniformity issues. Other slight imperfections as well, water or sun spots, thickness, small tears, etc. The binder is almost way outside of the major tobacco-producing countries. But isn't a binder really just a wrapper that didn't make the cut?? Usually.. but it's also a great way to cut cost.. considering it comprises 1/3rd of the cigar components (wrapper, binder, filler).
Speaking of filler, do you know there's no real universal standards or best means and practices when it comes to filler? I believe the Cuban gov dictates, or at least defines, what a cigar's pack is by cut. Meaning, the end product can be a cigar with mostly short and/or chopped primings, BUT it has to be sold as such (but still 100% Cubano of course!).
There's no governing entity or established rules for any of that with NCs. For the KO Red Dot, the filler has about a 1/3rd of actual Dom long leaf.. but even that is low quality for a Big 3 country. The rest is wads of scrap, short fill, and overlap.. from who knows what or where.
With all the weights, pressure, and handling (i.e., a 500kg pilon of leaf fermenting, or vices used for box-pressing, or even just tractor/truck/forklift tires sometimes), you can get "overlap".. this is when chopped or short filler inadvertently overlap and then sort of fuse together by pressure/time and can resemble long leaf at a glance. These are the hot dogs of cigars.
Now again, I hand you a Knockoff RD.. and I tell you it's a RD.. you're gonna taste that Cam wrapper right away and get that familiar Dominican smoothness.. and that's what you think you're smoking. If you start sensing something off or different, you probably chalk it up to a quality issue..
That's a big reason I try to know as little about a cigar as possible when reviewing or trying the first time. I'm figuring with an Opus KO, they'll have to get pretty crafty. I'm also curious what you think. But I'm a guy who could easily pick out 5 other AF sticks I'd rather smoke over an Opus.
How many came in the bundle/mazo of those? If I Venmo you $3.. will you dissect one? Or just send me one to do? I'll pay for it and shipping.. I'm kinda curious to see what they do to try and mimic that Chateau Opus.. or any Opus!
