help a newbee

[Knuck42]

[quote]Thanks again I'll post some more picks of the rest of the collection.  I may need to send one out to one of the more knowlegable posters to have them take a look at the fakes. Any takers?[/quote]

This is a great idea, but as you are brand new to the boards and the hobby in general how would you know who to send to?  I'm not trying to play devil's advocate here, but I feel it's important to point out that for the assessment to have credability the person doing the assessment needs to be a well respected member of the online cigar community AND have an extensive enough history and knowledge of Habanos for his/her assessment to be deemed credible.  Other wise it all becomes a moot point.  Now there are plenty of guys who fit the bill, but asking for "takers" leaves you wide open for neophytes, posers, and the like to come along and jump on free "Habanos".  And Lord knows there's no shortage of those types!

Just my .02 fwiw. 

[canadianbeaver]

Agree... take a few to a dealer in your town and save the shipping. Learn on the spot and in person - that's what I do.

When they see a customer/student in the making, maybe he/she will comp you a stick or two!

CB

[Knuck42]

[quote]Agree... [color=red][b]take a few to a dealer in your town [/b] [/color] and save the shipping. Learn on the spot and in person - that's what I do.

When they see a customer/student in the making, maybe he/she will comp you a stick or two!

CB[/quote]
I'm not certain that this is such a good idea for a few reasons. 

First, if naturallt is in the US then an unknown bringing illegal contraband into their store may be the last thing the retailer wants. 

Second, as there are as many or more fake Cubans as there are real, unless they know their retailer really well, (and I'm assuming that they do not as they claim to just be getting into the hobby), they may be walking into an entire store of fakes.  In such a case the retailer would have an interest in counseling that the sticks are real when in fact they aren't. 

Third, and to me most important, many retailers here in the US don't know squat about their products let alone Cubans!  I've seen far too many retailers claim that mold is plume.  I've seen rediculous RH settings in store humidors to the point of causing swelling and in some cases splitting of wrappers.  And I've seen way too many fake Cubans being smoked by B&M owners, managers and staff who were prancing around acting like they were smoking gold sprinkled with fairy dust that tasted like mom's apple pie just because the band said Cuba on it!   

I still believe the best way to ascertain whether the cigars in question are the real thing or not is to approach easond Habanos smokers and have them discet one or two and smoke one or two.  Remember, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting!

[canadianbeaver]

Of course... better advice.

Forgot where I was.

Here in snowville we can take anything anywhere.

Cheers, CB

:bigup:

[Knuck42]

Snowville!  LOL  Sounds chilly!!