Montecristo #2 - fake? :(

[nydreamery]

Hi everyone....So I've been struggling with something for over a week now and I wanted some advice. I bought a couple of Montecristo #2's (supposedly Cuban), the band looks legit but the cigar itself looks to be of poor quality. I've never bought a cigar from this smoke shop, I only get my hookah flavors from him but he told me he got a box of #2 and I'm a sucker for Monte's so I bought a couple. I've showed it to a couple of other cigar aficionados and they too are torn between real or fake.

Is there any way to really tell? :confused:

[pnoon]

I wouldn't buy CCs from a B&M in the US unless I knew the seller really well and trusted their sources.

Hard to tell from the pics. One thing I did notice is that the wrappers look a bit rough. Which really doesn't mean much.
:2

[The Poet]

I'm no expert, but they do look a bit funky for a real Monte. I also question why any legitimate US smoke shop would be selling Cubans. Yeah, I know it happens, but it's pretty dodgy behavior which raises up warning flags for me.

[icehog3]

Those wrappers look 101% fake to me. :2

[Mr.Maduro]

Welcome to CA.

[borndead1]

The wrappers look awful.

I agree with what pnoon said.

[markem]

The wrappers and the roll are off, at least to me. Also, unless I am remembering, those bands have been gone from the No 2s for a while, so maybe ask the vendor the year.

[jrw]

Not to dispute with any of the wise botl's who have responded, but I just so happen to right this moment have in my hand (nothing up my sleeve) a delish (and yes I'm sure it's legit) 2012 Monte no. 2 that looks exactly like these two. I've known of a coupla shops that keep an under the counter box of cubanos for their best customers so that could be in play here. However, as is said, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" (yes, I know it's usually said "the proof is in the pudding" but tryna keep it real), so smoke one and see what you think: take the second one back and demand a refund as a fake or go back to the store and buy the rest of the box. Let us know, please.

[icehog3]

I have never seen a two toned wrapper like that one on the right on any legit Cuban, ever.

[jrw]

Señor Credo del Hielo, (Hog of the Ice), you're surely right, I looked more closely at the left hand seegar. But, howzit smoke, just sayin', is determinate.

[icehog3]

Agree that the proof can be in the smoking, jrw. Just sayng I've never seen a two toned warpper like that on a good one.

I like the nickname, though! :r

[AdamJoshua]

Throwing my :2 in with IceHog and others, I really can't see anyway in the world that that cigar on the right is a monte, as was also said I have heard of shops keeping boxes on hand but those are for their regular customers as a curtesy, don't really think they would be offering them up to people that THEY didn't know. Again just my :2

[hudd]

I'm no expert and have only had a few "real" ones but those look shady to me. I personally would have passed on them.

[mosesbotbol]

I have never seen a two toned wrapper like that one on the right on any legit Cuban, ever.

I am with you on the fake.

How much were these two cigars purchased for?

[macsauce13]

I think the most telling might be the variation in color, IF they came from the same box. I've never seen that much color differentiation in one box.

[Doctorossi]

I think the most telling might be the variation in color, IF they came from the same box. I've never seen that much color differentiation in one box.

I agree. The tooth and texture of the wrappers looks like Vuelta Abajo leaf, so these may be of 'under the table' manufacture (ie. counterfeits made with Cuban tobacco), but they don't meet Habanos production visual aesthetic standards. In practice, the genuine article doesn't always meet its own standard, but it usually does (and these sticks are pretty far off).

[Ashcan Bill]

I agree with what everyone else said.

I used to work with a guy in the Valley that bought "Cubans" from a local shop. They were fake as hell but I never wasted my time telling him or explaining why. He was too proud of them and wouldn't have believed me anyway. :rolleyes: The point is there are fakes all over the place and shops do sell them under the table. Either they don't know themselves or more likely, know their customers won't know the difference.

Those that you posted appear to have seriously funky wrappers, even for fakes.

[nydreamery]

Thanks everyone.....the wrapper fell off and it definitely was not a real monte. I have every intention of going back to that shop and letting the owner know. I can't really blame him....he's not a cigar smoker and he probably doesn't know it wasn't real. Lesson learned. Will not buy a "Cuban" from a b&m again. Trusted sources only!

[mosesbotbol]

I can't really blame him....he's not a cigar smoker and he probably doesn't know it wasn't real. Lesson learned. Will not buy a "Cuban" from a b&m again. Trusted sources only!

Oh really...

He is a merchant selling you an item. It his responsibility to represent it (or not). He alone is 100% to blame. To sell you something illegal and commit fraud is a one-two punch. The shop is pretty shady and not worth any consideration IMO.

[icehog3]

A B&M owner who is not a cigar smoker? That's a little strange in and of itself....

[Doctorossi]

A B&M owner who is not a cigar smoker? That's a little strange in and of itself....

It's a little strange, but there are definitely some pipe-only guys out there.

[AdamJoshua]

Just curious if you don't mind telling what they charged for the Mexicristos?

[Weelok]

Wrapper fell off? Well, you don't have to say much more on the topic then that but smoke them if possible and see how they taste. Why not.

[markem]

Wrapper fell off? Well, you don't have to say much more on the topic then that but smoke them if possible and see how they taste. Why not.

Have you ever dissected a fake? I'm guessing not.

[Doctorossi]

Have you ever dissected a fake? I'm guessing not.

That's my thinking as well. The "why not" is because there could be floor sweepings in there.

[AdamJoshua]

A washer, bits of string, fingernails (better than toenails?), all kinds of wonderful floor sweepings.

[croatan]

A washer, bits of string, fingernails (better than toenails?), all kinds of wonderful floor sweepings.

My favorite was the one posted years ago where someone found rolled up toilet paper inside :pu

[Weelok]

Hahaha I had no idea!!!M you all make the idea of smoking fakes so unappealing :) especially if the toilet paper was "used".

[markem]

My favorite was the one posted years ago where someone found rolled up toilet paper inside :pu

I've either done or been present at dissections that showed:

road tar
rubber (assumed from a shoe of some kind)
string unlike any used in cigar manufacture (think "women's products")
mold
strange substances that had a urine-like smell (could have been plant fiber)
rat or mouse droppings
charcoal
dirt
rocks
plenty that no one had a guess for although one person thought one was poison oak

So, by all means, smoke it. But don't blame me for the results.

[AdamJoshua]

I've either done or been present at dissections that showed:

road tar
rubber (assumed from a shoe of some kind)
string unlike any used in cigar manufacture (think "women's products")
mold
strange substances that had a urine-like smell (could have been plant fiber)
rat or mouse droppings
charcoal
dirt
rocks
plenty that no one had a guess for although one person thought one was poison oak

So, by all means, smoke it. But don't blame me for the results.

Hints of Oak, Leather, Quartz and Asphalt. :lr

[4WheelVFR]

I've either done or been present at dissections that showed:

road tar
rubber (assumed from a shoe of some kind)
string unlike any used in cigar manufacture (think "women's products")
mold
strange substances that had a urine-like smell (could have been plant fiber)
rat or mouse droppings
charcoal
dirt
rocks
plenty that no one had a guess for although one person thought one was poison oak

So, by all means, smoke it. But don't blame me for the results.

Yikes that is scary

[Weelok]

I've either done or been present at dissections that showed:

road tar
rubber (assumed from a shoe of some kind)
string unlike any used in cigar manufacture (think "women's products")
mold
strange substances that had a urine-like smell (could have been plant fiber)
rat or mouse droppings
charcoal
dirt
rocks
plenty that no one had a guess for although one person thought one was poison oak

So, by all means, smoke it. But don't blame me for the results.

That is some nasty mojo. Makes sense as since it's fake it's not like they have any stake in the brand or a reputation at stake and it's just about making the cigar cheap. Stuff anything in that can be hidden by just enough tobacco to fool the consumer.

Wow.

[markem]

Hints of Oak, Leather, Quartz and Asphalt. :lr

Most of the dissections were on NCs, btw.

[Doctorossi]

Most of the dissections were on NCs, btw.

You're talking NC-manufactured counterfeit CCs, yes?

[markem]

You're talking NC-manufactured counterfeit CCs, yes?

No, NC fakes of more expensive NCs.

[Doctorossi]

No, NC fakes of more expensive NCs.

Oh, wow. I'm not sure I've ever seen the likes of those.