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? :-)
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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.
:-)
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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.
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Those wrappers look 101% fake to me. :-)
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Welcome to CA.
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The wrappers look awful.

I agree with what pnoon said.
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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.
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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.
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I have never seen a two toned wrapper like that one on the right on any legit Cuban, ever.
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Seņor 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.
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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! :-)
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Throwing my :-) 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 :-)
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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.
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I am with you on the fake.

How much were these two cigars purchased for?
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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.
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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).
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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. :-) 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.
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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!
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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.
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A B&M owner who is not a cigar smoker? That's a little strange in and of itself....
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