Recognising Cohiba Esplendidos fakes

Cohiba Esplendidos Fakes recognise, this is an ongoing topic. Two readers have provided me with photos. Thank you for that.

Note: This article was updated on 22/02/2020 and 25/04/2021.

If your Esplendidos cigar box looks like this, the cigars are fakes

The green seal on the right and the sticker on the right are never in the box. Tip: Take a look at this too: Characteristics of Cuban cigar boxes

How to recognise Cohiba Esplendidos fakes

Note: These are Anillas that were manufactured until 2003. They have since been modified once again.

Photo below, 1) The narrow rim above the anilla indicates that it could probably be a forgery. However, this is somewhat unclear in this example. I have also had genuine Cohibas where the edge of the anilla at the top was not 100% perfectly cut, but they were genuine Cohibas. However, the line „Habana, Cuba“ is wrong; the font should be „bold“. Therefore it is clear: fake.

Photo below, 2) This edge really shouldn't be there. The probability of a forgery here is almost 100%. The margin below the lettering „Habana, Cuba“ is cut off far too tightly. Here, too, the line „Habana, Cuba“ should be written in bold. Therefore clear: 100% fake.

Both points) The black background, the white squares and the name Cohiba: it may be the photo, so it's a bit unclear. They must be squares; here it looks as if they are squares with rounded corners, or circles. The black background must be black and not grey. The lettering Cohiba must be embossed, here it looks rather flat. Therefore: 100% fake.

Overall impression of the wrapper, purely from the outside: The wrapper is very uneven and rough. BUT I would also like to mention here: I already had a Cohiba Maduro 5 Genios with such a bad wrapper that this criterion alone pointed to a fake; but it wasn't, because all the other criteria were right.

Thanks to Toni, he provided me with the photos of the fake Cohiba.

Observations of the Esplendidos from the inside

The inside shows here too: It is a fake. The tobacco is „chopped up“. However, this should not be the case with a long-filler cigar. 

Here is a comparison

Brazen attempt: real seal stolen and affixed to another box

The following photos are from another ZigarrenZone reader. Important stamps are missing on the back of the box > factory stamp, box date (Characteristics of Cuban cigar boxes). The seal (top left) was removed from a box of genuine Romeo Y Julieta Churchill and stuck on here - but upside down. The verification of the barcode you can do online here. 

Note on verification at Habanos.Com: This service is not always available.

Note: According to Thomas Portmann this verification is not always 100% accurate. The Cubans do not list their products very carefully. It can therefore happen that you have an original product, but the barcode on its website is not verified.

In such a case, please proceed as follows: You must be sure that your product was purchased from an authorised dealer. If this is the case, contact them and ask them to check your product for authenticity. Your dealer will arrange this for you with the official importer.

Here are the two photos:

This is the inner workings of these cigars

The following 2 photos: Fake or real?

Photo below: Genuine. A genuine Cohiba, although the rim of the Anilla is not beyond reproach. Why is it a genuine Cohiba? All the other criteria were correct (all the features of the box, the sticker and the seal were correct and the box was bought from a professional dealer).

Photo below: Genuine. The cover sheet is terrible and it could be a fake. But all the other criteria were beyond reproach.