Pictorial: Authentic CoRo v Fake CoRo

[SilverStreak]

Not sure if this comes up often, but in my circle of friends, telling apart real ISOMs from counterfeits does. I thought that by creating this thread, it might be of some use to anyone who needed some insight. I recently received a gift of "authentic" Cuban cigars from a friend. I had my suspicions of them being fakes which were later confirmed courtesy of another website. The suspect CoRo is presented here next to an authentic CoRo. While I'm hardly a cigar expert and a complete Habano rookie, I'm curious to learn more about my hobby. Having no idea what I'd find inside and only a general idea of cigar construction, I hope this sheds some light on the topic of fakes. For your viewing pleasure, here's a side by side comparison.

Observe, the fake pictured below does not come even close to the actual CoRo format. I measured over a 1/4" difference in length between the two. You can also see the very obvious difference in wrapper and workmanship. Fingerprints of glue covered fingers are obvious as are the poorly wrapped seams.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/FAUX001_zpsf00a5240.jpg

Next, we have a closer looks at the bands. The authentic CoRo's band is carefully applied and fits snugly on the cigar. The fake is unevenly applied with excessive amounts of glue. The band of the fake also sports a glossier finish compared to the authentic one. You can also see a very apparent difference in the sheen and oil levels between the two.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/FAUX004_zps49731fc4.jpg

Looking at the caps, the level of quality becomes painstakingly clear. The double cap which looks like it was applied with elmers glue pales in comparison to the neat triple cap of the real CoRo. The cap on our Faux-hiba is uneven and lacks a uniform shape.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/FAUX007_zps8d26d99f.jpg

The foot of each cigar also draws attention to workmanship. The authentic CoRo displays a nice even pack and a slight squeeze confirms even construction throughout the entire stick. Our fake CoRo has a spongy foot but also a rock hard spot near the top of the stick. You can see the difference in the filler already. A whif of each also reveals a difference with a sweet tobacco smell versus almost no scent at all which leads me to believe that our fake has had plenty of time to dry out.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/FAUX002_zps212c79d2.jpg

The fake was soaked in water for about an hour to help with the dissection process. While waiting for the cigar to soak, I snapped a picture of the fake band against a real band. IMHO, this band isn't the worst fake in the world. Without the cigars, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell you which one is authentic. Of course any experts are welcome to point out the differences.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/DSC_0012_zpsc628c203.jpg

[SilverStreak]

Here is our fake ready to be dismantled. The cap and wrapper are ready to peel right off.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/DSC_0014_zps9a9ecf3a.jpg

Right when the cap comes off, the cigar reveals itself to be only single capped and sloppily put together.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/DSC_0015_zps2e159e4e.jpg

Wrapper and cap are now off, now to pull the binder. The wrapper is heavily veined.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/DSC_0018_zps838063d0.jpg

The binder comes off in 3 pieces, each of them a different size and shape. The leaves don't look like they were cut in the same method, each has several holes, and one of the pieces actually has a hefty stem running down it.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/DSC_0022_zpscac4b422.jpg

Without the binder holding what's left of the cigar together, the thing disintegrates into a mess of short filler. Bits, pieces, shards, you name it, it's in there. Going through the mess, I find more stems attached to some medium filler sized leafs.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/DSC_0024-1_zps480d62ba.jpg

[SilverStreak]

The full autopsy below. In the upper left hand, the wrapper and cap. On the far right, the binder that came off in several odd pieces, and in the corner, a mountain of spare parts of tobacco leaf.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SilverStreak112/DSC_0025-1_zpsa929f4eb.jpg

Overall, I was half expecting to find grass inside of this thing. I have yet to dissect a premium cigar so I have no other point of reference to compare this to. With that in mind, my findings were that this "CoRo" is a far far cry from anything I'd want to smoke. My understanding is that both the binder and filler in premium cigars is cut uniformly from high quality leaf and rolled together; not folded together like this one. I think the evidence speaks for itself. I hope that this post is in someway informative or helpful to anyone who's wondered or had questions about fakes. Hope you enjoyed the show!

[CigarNut]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[theonlybear4CORT]

Neat!

[AdamJoshua]

A lot of fake colas also have 2 or 4 dots on the band above the gold border on the Cohiba box, they also lack the raised lettering, that's a dead give away, if the band is just printed and no relief on it... you been had.

[Big Maduro]

Very educational. Thanks

[icehog3]

A lot of fake colas also have 2 or 4 dots on the band above the gold border on the Cohiba box, they also lack the raised lettering, that's a dead give away, if the band is just printed and no relief on it... you been had.

Those are CoRos, not CoLas, Adam. ;)

[stearns]

thanks for sharing, you can never have too much information out there about fake ccs :tu

[gbum]

thanks for the information

[pnoon]

A lot of fake colas also have 2 or 4 dots on the band above the gold border on the Cohiba box, they also lack the raised lettering, that's a dead give away, if the band is just printed and no relief on it... you been had.

Careful with the generalizations, Grasshopper.
Cohiba bands have had many changes over the years. I've had some wonderfully aged and authentic Cohibas with a printed band with no relief.

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

[stearns]

Careful with the generalizations, Grasshopper.
Cohiba bands have had many changes over the years. I've had some wonderfully aged and authentic Cohibas with a printed band with no relief.

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

the good ones look like the band had been printed in someones basement (except are brown on the back instead of white) :dr

[bdgile]

Nice work. Thanks for that!

[DivineRight]

Just watch a video on how a cigar in Cuba is rolled and you can see what the leaves look like instead of disecting a perfectly good cigar.

[SpanishForTatoo]

Thanks!

[RobR1205]

Careful with the generalizations, Grasshopper.
Cohiba bands have had many changes over the years. I've had some wonderfully aged and authentic Cohibas with a printed band with no relief.


Likewise, I have also seen fakes with gold embossed letters.

[44stampede]

Good stuff. Thanks

[jjirons69]

Good job, Will. Thanks!

[STEVE S]

Good job, thanks for the info.

[Blak Smyth]

Now disect the CoRo so we can compare :r

[The Poet]

Now disect the CoRo so we can compare :r

Yeah, my thinking was about the same, except reverse. I was going to ask how the "smoke" compared, but I'm not sure the fake is gonna burn too well. :r

[neoflex]

The filler and Binder don't look too bad IMHO. I pulled apart a certain highly respected NC manufacturers stick a couple weeks ago and it looked a lot worse than what I am seeing in your pics. Definitely a fake but not nearly as bad as I would have expected.

[Josemyname]

Yea i't looked pretty good to me. I would have smoked it instead of dissecting it.

[NCRadioMan]

Yea i't looked pretty good to me. I would have smoked it instead of dissecting it.

Not if you have seen the crap found in fakes that many of us have. :pu

[Porch Dweller]

Not if you have seen the crap found in fakes that many of us have. :pu

Seconded. I smoked a fake one back in October - well, more like took one puff of it before throwing it in the ashtray in disgust - and never again. The flavor can best be described as dried leaves and rotten wood shavings being burned in a hobo's underwear.

[Sadden]

Not if you have seen the crap found in fakes that many of us have. :pu

Cow dung comes to mind....:pu

[hotreds]

very interesting!

[ysr_racer]

Seconded. I smoked a fake one back in October - well, more like took one puff of it before throwing it in the ashtray in disgust - and never again. The flavor can best be described as dried leaves and rotten wood shavings being burned in a hobo's underwear.

You just don't see enough references to "hobos" anymore.

Well played :)

[Boomer]

You just don't see enough references to "hobos" anymore.

Well played :)

That's because Hobo is offensive to hobos.:tu

[Porch Dweller]

You just don't see enough references to "hobos" anymore.

Well played :)

Scientific studies show that "hobo" is 4x funnier than "bum" and 125x funnier than "homeless person".
:D

[BHalbrooks]

Those are CoRos, not CoLas, Adam. ;)

What are those, and what's the difference?

[pnoon]

What are those, and what's the difference?

CoRo = Cohiba Robusto
CoLa = Cohiba Lancero

[AdamJoshua]

EDIT: S.O.B. by a min+

[smokinglampislit]

Nice write up! I recently cruised thru the Caribbean, with fake Cohiba's waved in my face in every port. We took no chances and hit the LCDH in Aruba. Pricey, but excellent!

Disclaimer: All purchased Cuban cigars were smoked while at sea, and not brought back into the US, of course.:tu

[BHalbrooks]

CoRo = Cohiba Robusto
CoLa = Cohiba Lancero

Appreciate it

[pnoon]

Disclaimer: All purchased Cuban cigars were smoked while at sea, and not brought back into the US, of course.:tu

Well, thank goodness for that. :rolleyes:

[688sonarmen]

Nice write up! I recently cruised thru the Caribbean, with fake Cohiba's waved in my face in every port. We took no chances and hit the LCDH in Aruba. Pricey, but excellent!

Disclaimer: All purchased Cuban cigars were smoked while at sea, and not brought back into the US, of course.:tu

Well, thank goodness for that. :rolleyes:

Always has to be a Navy guy;)

[icehog3]

Disclaimer: All purchased Cuban cigars were smoked while at sea, and not brought back into the US, of course.:tu

Good thing, Cuban cigars spontaneously combust upon reaching American soil.

[smokinglampislit]

Always has to be a Navy guy;)

:chr

[Jbailey]

Good thing, Cuban cigars spontaneously combust upon reaching American soil.

Or a few half smoked.

[688sonarmen]

Good thing, Cuban cigars spontaneously combust upon reaching American soil.

I'm calling bee eshh on that.