My Uncle was down in the Republica Dominica last month visiting his wife's family. I knew he'd grab whatever caught his attention and I wasn't worried about which kind, how many, etc...Told him to grab whatever he saw that looked interesting and I'd be happy. Well, I suppose he found a deal that was too good to refuse (first mistake, haha...Second was the glass tops) and bought 3 boxes to split between a cousin and I.

Obviously not real, but whatever...only cost me a bowl of Crab Stew, an order of Buffalo Shrimp and a couple of Buds...

Here are the sticks that tickled his purchasing fancy:

Davidoff and Fuente:

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These are supposedly an everyday smoke from the DR, but once again I don't think they're real. Once again, I'm ok with that.

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I'm going to freeze the heck out of these and let them sit a little while. Maybe they'll be good yard gars, but I won't count on that. All in all I'm just happy that in his Presidente enthused state of mind he thought of me and brought back sticks.

Dadgum glass tops...:-)
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Then again, maybe the Arturo Fuentes and the Olor del Cibao are authentic... Both are made in the DR...
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Those "Davidoffs" look...interesting.
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I'm fairly confident that there are NCs in glass tops. As far as I know, the warning is only for sticks pretending to be Cuban. I can't recall if the NC Davis are DR or from some other place, but nothing there jumps out as fake to me right away. Do NC Davis come in cello? Were the Davis and Fuentes packed together or are they your split?

Anyway, I hope that they smoke well for you.
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I stayed in Punta Cana at the Iberostar Grand Bavero. Just down the beach was a bunch of shacks selling all kinds of tourist crap including cigars. The one I went into had nothing but fake Habanos and fake Fuente's stacked floor to ceiling. The guy have me a cigarillo sized cigar with a sweetened tip and a Cohiba ish band on it to sample. I let him give me his sales pitch before leaving with my free sample.
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For what its worth i think the Fuentes look authentic
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Looks like real cigars to me.
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I'll take better pics of the bands and close ups of the sticks themselves. They're pretty shoddy as far as construction quality. They could be seconds that they band but like I said, no big deal either way. The box split was something he did. The box itself is cheaply made.
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The bands on the AF's look horrendous and the cigar constructing is less than quality. I think you called it.
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One of the pieces of advice I've picked up here, one of many, doesn't matter real or fake, there are plenty of fake cigars that smoke and taste great, just because they aren't what they are advertised as doesn't mean they aren't enjoyable. :-)
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After what I've seen stuffed into fake cigars, I would never knowingly and willingly smoke one. CC or NC, it doesnt matter. Ive seen string, cardboard, grommets, and what appeared to be floor sweepings inside fakes. Are there non-authentic decent cigars out there? Sure. But why take chances?

:-)
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Exactly NEVER smoke fakes.

God knows what they have thrown into them. Would you take fake Tylenol or other medication? Who cares if the fake Tylenol tastes like prime rib, you don't know what's in it, same goes for fake smokes.
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So yah scratch that piece of advice. It made sense but then again I've never seen that side of cigars, silly noob that I am.

If there's one thing I've learned here, one of many, it's there can be a lot of sh!t stuffed into fake cigars and it's not worth the risk. lol @ grommets :-)
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THIS!!!

As someone who smoked a counterfeit CC, I can't say strongly enough that if it's fake you have no idea what's in it. And when I say I smoked the fake...well, a more accurate phrase is "Lit, puffed, gagged, and almost vomited".
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I don't think authentic Fuentes are supposed to be sold outside of the free trade zone in the DR, and supposedly there are no Fuente seconds in the market. They destroy any rejects, from what I'm told.
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I was in the DR recently myself, and noticed tons of fake sticks for sale. I visited Punta Cana, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations. While I was there, I only found one cigar shop/small cigar factory that was selling a variety of legit CCs and NCs for reasonable prices (in that market).
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I decided to take these stinky things out of my cooler and cut one open. After a little surgery on a "Davidoff" I took a picture for all to see. Be glad this isn't smellivision. Smelled wet and/or infused. No twigs, just short filler, green leaves, etc...think I will go ahead and toss all of these.

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Notice the Davidoff band. Made of cheap printing paper. The part of the band shown is the inside.
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Wise choice there...
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Yea better be safe than sorry.
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I just think it's very cool that you have a family member who went to the DR :-). My family is not nearly so worldly. smoke those bad boys!
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