Full Transcript for Cohiba Secrets

seven and a half inches by 38 ring gauges. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:56.079 That tell us what a diplomatic smoke is. 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:59.279 It's not a cigar, it's not a cigar that that that makes deals with other people. 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:03.439 That is a cigar that you can only get through diplomatic channels. 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:07.600 In other words, it has to be a present from Castro. 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:08.800 He had to really like you. 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:15.360 And if he liked you, uh you came to the island, you guys had a good time. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:17.040 Maybe you made them laugh. 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:22.639 Right before you leave, you get this big chest full of these cohibas. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:24.399 Now, this is before it was commercially available. 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:24.879 Right. 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:29.600 Now that now now cohiba, it's uh at this time, this is after the revolution, obviously. 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:32.959 It's Fidel Castro whose uh person created it. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:36.959 It's it's a relatively young brand in the world of Cuban cigars. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:44.399 Uh even during those diplomatic times, uh it before it was sold commercially, but people started to get to know about it. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:45.680 There were legends about it. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:51.680 You know, you wanted to get this cigar that nobody else could get unless uh you know you paid a visit to the comandante. 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:54.879 Yeah, and there's still some of those chests laying around. 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:58.959 In fact, I think there's I think there's one of those chests uh here in the office somewhere. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:00.639 I think those are under lock and key. 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:01.759 We can't get those. 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:04.319 Jump forward to 1982. 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:06.079 They commercialized the brand. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:07.439 They launch it in Spain. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:14.160 There are three sizes when it launches, including that original Lancero that we talked about during our Lancero video. 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:18.800 And the other sizes uh the Corona Especial and the Panatella. 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:28.800 So slender sizes, kind of a small, uh small line, launches in Spain, and then later on uh after '82, it gets expanded. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:33.279 I think it gets expanded to global markets soon thereafter, maybe 1989. 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:41.839 What's very interesting about this, what sets Gohiba apart from so many of the classic brands, it's a young brand, but it's a post-revolution brand. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:44.879 This brand is the product of the government. 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:48.879 So it doesn't have any family lineage. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:49.439 Right. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:54.879 It j or or or or any history based in private enterprise. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:58.160 It is a hundred percent a product of the government. 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:02.240 All the older brands, uh, the famous brands we all know, Monte Cristo, H. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:15.759 Upman, uh uh Porlaranaga, Partigas, etc., etc., Hoyo Punch, those were all all privately owned pre-revolution brands, much older brands that were seized, nationalized by the forces of Fidel Castro. 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:22.879 And then those brands had non-Cuban versions founded in large part by their former owners. 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:31.120 Uh courts fought over the rights, and that's why now you have uh versions of Monte Cristo both inside and outside of Cuba. 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:34.240 Uh, there's the non-Cuban and there's the Cuban version of all these brands. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:43.120 Cohiba is different, although there is a non-Cuban version of Cohiba too, and that one's been fought over in the courts for about 30 years, hasn't it? 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:43.920 Yeah, almost. 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:45.519 It started in '97. 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:52.240 Um before nationalization, before the revolution, you just had basically a free market. 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:54.720 Um, some brands did better than others. 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:56.560 It was arguable at the time. 00:07:56.720 --> 00:07:59.199 What is the quintessential Cuban cigar? 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:00.480 Is it Monte Cristo? 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:07.519 Which, even by uh by Cuban cigar brand standards, Monte Cristo was kind of young because that came out in 1935. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:08.720 So is it Monte Cristo? 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:10.160 Is it Particas? 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:11.120 Is it H. 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:11.920 Upman? 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:18.319 Once Cohiba came out, this became a symbol of the country. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:20.000 It was a symbol of Cuban cigars. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:21.759 I think that was the idea. 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:29.839 And according to um, you know, you when when you read about what makes a cohiba a cohiba. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:31.839 Yeah, what makes a cohiba a cohiba? 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:32.399 Let's talk about that. 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:55.919 What habados considers the finest fincas, the the the the best farms in all of Cuba, only the finest tobacco farms in Pinot del Rio um only that tobacco qualifies for cohiba, and it goes through they say an extra fermentation process, and it it's uh um uh the tobacco's barrel aged where other brands are not. 00:08:56.080 --> 00:09:06.399 Trinidad also gets barrel aging as well, but I don't know if they're they are as selective of the field for Trinidad, and I know that it doesn't get as long a barrel aging as Cohiba does. 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:15.600 So between uh highly selective tobacco fields and extra fermentation time in a barrel, this is what sets cohiba apart. 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:20.320 And and it's funny because you ask Cabanos, well, what are the fields? 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:21.840 What are these these magic

five fingers? 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:22.480 They won't tell you. 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:23.279 They will never tell you. 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:32.639 But any farmer who I've ever spoken to in Cuba, they all say, Oh, well, my tobacco's used for my tobacco's used for cohiba. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:37.600 There's probably a hundred farmers who claim uh, you know, what what's the what's the line success is a million fathers? 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:40.080 Yeah, so everyone wants to be a part of their cohiba story. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:41.840 But failure as an orphan. 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:46.799 Now, they uh we've talked on and on about how expensive cohibas are. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:54.720 Cohibas are premium priced, so they're not only the flagship of the co of the Cuban cigar industry, they're they're priced as the flagship. 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:59.120 You know, they no cigar, no regular cigar brand costs more than cohiba. 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:06.000 But the other thing about cohiba is for the most part, uh they are they're they're good cigars. 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:08.960 There's there's more than just uh you know a story behind it. 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:10.559 They they tend to be damn good cigars. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:11.279 Do you agree? 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:13.759 Yes, I mean the one I'm smoking certainly is. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:18.720 Now the fact that it has all this age on it helps, but I smoke young cohibas as well. 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:24.720 And and they're um love them or hate them, there is something different about them. 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:29.200 And I don't mean compare to the whole world, just compare them to other Cuban cigars. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:31.759 Smoke a cohiba, smoke a different brand. 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:35.679 There, there is a distinctive quality that that I find about them. 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:37.440 And it doesn't matter what factory it's made in. 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:40.799 Here's something people may not know about Cohiba. 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:49.440 So it has a mother factory, El Laguito, which is the old big yellow mansion converted into a really cool factory. 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:55.120 But it's made in a couple of different places, as are most Cuban cigars. 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:59.279 Every brand has its mother factory, but then it could be made in other factories in Havana. 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:02.320 It could be made in provincial factories outside of Havana. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:12.720 So I've had cohibas at El Laguito, I've had cohibas made at the La Corona factory in Havana, and I've even had Cohiba Maduros made out in uh Pinar del Rio. 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:15.120 Yeah, you saw them out at the uh the old Vigueros factory. 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:17.360 Yeah, the Francisco Donatien factory. 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:21.279 It was a former prison that they turned into uh they turned into a cigar factory. 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:31.200 So for those who don't know, the

mother factory in the Cuban cigar world is the one that controls the blend and the creation of the cigars and is kind of the mothership of the brand. 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:37.200 But I think the Cubans don't necessarily mind people thinking that every cohiba is rolled at El Aguito. 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:41.360 El Aguito is known as like the grand arm of Cuban cigar factories. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:42.480 It's beautiful. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:43.919 Uh it it's different. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:47.679 There's small rolling rooms rather than one large rolling room. 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:50.000 It has a certain majesty, uh majesty to it. 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:55.440 Well, it's a converted mansion, so so they're not even like rolling rooms, they're like rolling salons almost. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:00.639 Yeah, these these beautifully appointed, uh almost you know, it looks like something out of the Gilded Age. 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:01.840 It's a beautiful place. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:04.399 Yeah, it's it it's it's a lot of fun. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:11.120 So there's all this mystery and and and history about cohiba, but let's let's start talking uh some brass tags here. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:12.159 Let's talk favorites. 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:16.639 You're smoking a cohiba, I'm smoking a cohiba, you've smoked your fair share of cigars, so have I. 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:18.559 I'm gonna put you on the spot. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:24.159 Name your favorite cohiba that you that that's part of the regular production line. 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:27.200 So a cigar that's uh that's made on a regular basis. 00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:28.960 What would you what would you say? 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:31.519 You know, I almost think that's an unfair question. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:36.720 You know, that's like asking someone, you know, what's your you know, some watches a lot of movies, what's your favorite movie? 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:38.639 Cohiba is so monumental, it's tough to say. 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:39.679 I'm not here to be fair. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:40.639 Okay. 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:48.639 Well, one one thing I I can totally rule out is I tend to like thinner ring gauges, 50 ring gauge and below. 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:59.679 So automatically it rules out a lot of the newer stuff, it rolls, it rules out a lot of the um uh a lot of the special edition stuff because that stuff is just getting thicker and thicker and thicker. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:07.200 So I would say my go-to size, I mean I'm smoking a Ciglo 4 now, which is 46, but you know, I really like Ciglo 2. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:10.320 So I would say it's that's uh which is even smaller, though. 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:14.720 It's even smaller, it's even thinner than this, but I can make them last, they they burn slow and cool. 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:20.799 I can make a Ciglo two go uh hour, hour and a half without having to relight. 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:34.159 Um and I would say

my go-to size, my favorite cohiba size, fired my way if I could, if I could, if I could smoke cohibas every single day, which I don't, but if I could, it would be the Ciglo 2. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:34.720 Okay. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:36.879 I'm gonna go in an opposite direction. 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:50.240 I'm a big fan of what was originally considered a rather thick cigar, the Cohiba Siglo VI, which is uh 52 ring gauge, uh five and seven eighths inches long, no pigtail. 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:53.279 Uh when it came out, the size is called Canonazo. 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:54.159 Canyonazo. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:54.720 Oh, I forgot the term. 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:56.879 Canyonazo. 00:13:57.679 --> 00:13:58.720 I think it's Canyonazo. 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:00.320 Everyone needs an editor, including me. 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:01.919 Canyonazo, the canon shit. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:03.279 And I'm sure I'm not even saying it right. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:07.440 I'm sure someone will put the comments in YouTube that your Spanish sucks. 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:20.799 When it debuted in 2003, it was considered a landmark smoke, and it was it was the the the uh the the the story was Cohiba, I'm sorry, Cuba is finally joining the fat cigar trend. 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:26.240 Hard to believe that a 52 ring gauge cigar would be considered fat back in those days, but it was it was a whole new format. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:34.320 Now that there was a 52 ring gauge cigar because every peramide was 52 ring gauge, but it had the tapered head, so it was a little easier to put in your mouth. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:36.240 It was a big deal for being a parejo. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:36.559 Right. 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:44.159 It was a parejo, so it was a 52 ring gauge parejo, new format, and the thickest cohiba cigar. 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:49.840 Um I think before that it was the Robusto, which is what I'm smoking. 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:50.879 Now it's only a 50. 00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:53.120 I think it's a 50, and this went up to 52. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:59.840 So it was also, if you remember, the first Cohiba that was put in those glossy lipstick style tubos. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:00.480 Oh, that's right. 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:01.120 I forgot about that. 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:01.519 Remember those? 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:04.799 That was part of the fanfare of this new size. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:15.600 Well, well, now we're talking about a whole different subject, but Cuban cigar tubes, which have existed existed for a long time, they used to be uniform battleship gray, dull looking things. 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:16.320 Screw cap. 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:17.279 Yeah, screw cap. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:18.559 It was like, oh, what is this thing? 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:25.360 And all of a sudden you had this very vibrant, cool-looking tube that was like a uh a billboard for the brand right in your pocket. 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:26.000 It was kind of cool. 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:28.320 High gloss, uh gold ring in the middle. 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:43.679 People appropriately called it the lipstick style tube because it looked like something out of the cosmetics industry, but it's really sleek, and then they followed suit from there, and then you had more brands doing this this lipstick style, uh uh the the pull cap top. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.720 So the Ciglo 6 has done really well in our ratings over the years. 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:50.799 It's I said my favorite go-to, but let's talk about limited editions. 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:52.320 Same question for you. 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:58.320 Uh, name your favorite uh Q uh Kohiba rarity, a limited edition cohiba that stands out in your mind. 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:05.279 You know, these cohiba limited editions, it's it's a rare world because I mean they don't make a lot of cohibas and they make even less. 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:23.279 And now, here I'm gonna kind of contradict myself because I just said my go-to are are are thin sizes, and they are, but probably the best limited edition I ever had was the Cohiba Ciglo VI Gran Reserva. 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:31.679 Now, for those who don't know, the difference between Gran Reserva and a regular cigar is uh it's older tobacco and it has a specific vintage. 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:32.960 You're just copying my favorite. 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:33.840 I see what you're doing here. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:34.799 I see what you're doing. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:36.320 I didn't mean to top you, Dave. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:37.759 It's like, oh, you like Siglo VI? 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:39.840 I like the Gran Reserva even better. 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:50.080 Since 1999, Neptune Cigars has brought cigar lovers an incredible selection of premium cigars from around the world. 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:59.279 From sought-after Nicaraguan puros to classic Dominican blends, every order is packed with care and shipped fresh from its Miami humidors straight to your door. 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:06.000 Visit NeptuneCigar.com and discover why cigar lovers have trusted Neptune for more than 25 years. 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:09.839 Use code Aficionado for 10% off your first order. 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:12.720 Must be 21 or older to purchase tobacco products. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:14.160 Neptune Cigars. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:15.759 Taste the passion. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:24.559 They came out in these boxes of 15 when they came out, and they smoked fantastic young. 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:33.519 And then I was just smoking through them probably one a year, and they were aging beautifully until I ran out, and now I haven't smoked one in quite some time. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:35.599 You don't happen to have any, do you? 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:37.440 I don't want to answer that question. 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:38.400 No, I don't have any. 00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:39.440 I'm not holding out now. 00:17:39.680 -->

00:17:40.640 I don't have any of those. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:46.799 Now, we've got a box here on the table that's one of my favorite cohibas of all time. 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:53.039 It's the Cohiba 1966 Limited Edition, Edition Limitada from 2011. 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:58.720 I remember when that debuted in Havana at the Habanos Festival that year, I was there for it. 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:00.319 They passed it out of one of the dinners. 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:05.599 And a lot of times those early cigars are young and they don't smoke so well. 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:09.680 Well, you know, it it it I said, I gotta smoke this cigar now, see what it is. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:12.079 Blew me away right then and there. 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:14.720 And every subsequent one has blown me away too. 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:22.720 We gave it a 95-point rating when we rated it for the magazine, which has tied for the highest rating we've ever given an edition limitata from Cuba. 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:31.359 The other one was this one here, the Cohiba 1955 limited edition, which got that 95-point rating in our top 25. 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:36.559 Uh, I still think this is the superior cigar to this, even though they got the same rating. 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:47.279 Uh one thing to note about this 55, this was a$300 cigar when it debuted, which was uh a landmark point for Cohiba at that at that stage. 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:50.400 It did make our top 25 because it was such a great cigar. 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:58.720 We ranked it lower because of that crazy price and because of its its almost impossibility to get its rarity. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:01.039 Yeah, it wasn't just the price, it's also the availability. 00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:04.880 What what these two cigars have in common is they're both anniversary cigars. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:17.759 The Kohiba 1966 was put out for the 45th anniversary, whereas you're aptly called the the 55th anniversario was for the 55th anniversary. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:24.880 Um, that 66 when it came out in 2011 was an expensive cigar and expensive for the time, yeah. 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:32.000 And then it became pretty expensive because almost instantly it became like the next year, it became an auction cigar. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:38.400 So they they sell out at every shop, and then you get it on the secondary auction market, and you still come across them sometimes. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:48.000 But nothing, it was not even close to the the release price, the the 55 anniversario, that was a$300 release price. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:50.960 So we got regular production, we got special edition. 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:52.799 How about the cohiba that got away? 00:19:52.960 --> 00:20:02.960 What is the the the cohiba, a cohiba special edition, or maybe not a special edition, just a cohiba that you've never smoked that you'd like to smoke? 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:04.640 You know, I was just reminded of this. 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:09.440 The one I have never smoked that I would love to smoke is the first Bahike. 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:21.039 The Bahike that came out uh for the 40th anniversary was in the LA Blue humidor with the Stingray skin, individually numbered bands, as rare as a as a rare cigar can get. 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:23.200 I have never smoked one of those. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:24.960 Do you have any of those, Greg? 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:28.480 You know, I think I may have to agree with you on that one. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:30.799 I've never smoked that cigar. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:32.160 I'd love to smoke it. 00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:33.279 I'd like to smoke it. 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:40.160 I'd like to see the whole humidor because a lot of people say they have smoked it, but the first thing I ask is, well, where'd you get it? 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:45.279 And they may have gotten loose sticks from a strange online source. 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:47.039 And I'm very, very skeptical. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:54.799 If I'm gonna smoke that cigar and take the time to really think about it and enjoy it, I want to know that it came from the original humidor. 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:56.240 I want to see that original humidor. 00:20:56.319 --> 00:21:05.359 The provenance has to be absolutely without question because there was there was some some some weird lore surrounding that one. 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:24.480 There was this um these strange cases, these strange sculpted leather cases that were that were supposed to be the these uh factory overruns made for the sure uh made specifically for the the people involved in in behickey, and then they showed up at auction, and then it's like no, no, no. 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.480 Well, you bring up a good point. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:28.240 You're getting us on a different subject now. 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:31.599 When when we talk about cohiba, we have to talk about fake cohibas. 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:38.319 There are all kinds of fake cigars, but I think it's safe to say no cigar gets counterfeited more than cohibas. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:39.359 No, not even close. 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:40.640 And I'll tell you a funny story. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:45.680 One of my first cohiba, the one of the first cohibas I was given was a fake cigar. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:49.839 I was at a big cigar party in Beverly Hills when I was very new at this magazine. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:59.599 It was a grand cigar night at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and uh Cigar Vishnada was involved, but we didn't uh didn't take care of the cigars, not all of the cigars. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.200 And someone passed out Cohiba Robustos. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:05.519 I was given one, I smoked it. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:10.880 And even though I was very uh new to the magazine at the time, the cigar just didn't taste very good. 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:18.640 So I smoked my cohiba and I was like almost ashamed that I wasn't

liking like it burned improperly, it was harsh, it was terrible. 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:23.759 And I yeah, I talked to some of the other editors afterward, and it was a fake cigar that was passed out that day. 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:27.759 So I think it was my first ever cohiba Robusto, and it wasn't real. 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:30.559 And I think that's the case for a lot of people smoking cohiba. 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:38.319 There are a lot of people who will smoke the cohiba, the fake cohiba, not realize they're smoking a fake and think, oh, it's overrated, it's not that good. 00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:42.000 They'll think they got the real experience, but they do not. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:45.279 And and it it it brings me back to do you remember Big Smoke? 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:50.559 The last Big Smoke, Las Vegas Big Smoke, last year, we did the Cohiba seminar. 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:56.480 So I asked for a show of hands, how many of you have smoked Cuban cohiba? 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:57.680 Ton of hands go up. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:03.599 But then, like half the room, and we're talking a room of 600 people. 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:08.480 Yeah, but then if you remember, I asked, How many of you have smoked a fake cohiba? 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.480 Most of those hands went down. 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:13.920 Until maybe three or four or five hands. 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:16.640 And I said, No, that's nonsense. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:17.680 That's nonsense. 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:23.039 There are a lot more, a lot more of you have smoked fakes than you are aware of. 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:31.279 I think, I think people are just unaware how many uh uh um how many fake cohibas there are out there. 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:32.079 Oh, they're everywhere. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:36.160 I mean, you know, you think about what how much money you can make by by faking cohiba. 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:39.279 Yeah, they sell for more than regular Cuban cigars. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:43.039 So you could take a normal Cuban cigar and put a fake uh cohiba band on it. 00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:45.839 You could take an unbanded cigar from somewhere else and put a cohiba banana. 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:46.799 But what's the pitch? 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:54.319 The pitch is always yeah, I know someone in the factory, my cousin, my brother, my sister, we get it out the back door here. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:57.279 And and this pitch is alive and well in Havana. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:24:06.000 You go to Havana, there are people that want to kind of uh uh take you to some room and say, look, my cousin works at El Laguito, I'll give you cohiba for a good price. 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:07.839 Do not fall for it. 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:08.480 Right. 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:14.559 And and and uh uh if if regular cohibas are counterfeited, the addition limitadas are counterfeited even more. 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:25.440 The best way to defend yourself is to is to to know the drill, know what the real thing looks like, know what the real packaging looks like, know which years have addition limitadas with cohibas and which ones don't. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:28.960 That's where we're a great resource because that's another fake you see a lot. 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:42.160 You see a cohiba in a weird size with an arbitrary secondary band on it, addition limitata 2022, 2023, and you see a cohiba, you look at it, you say, okay, that year there wasn't even a cohiba edicion limitata. 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:42.880 It wasn't that size. 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:51.839 So you got to go to our website and check out the edition limitadas, how they rate, and you can match every single size to every single year. 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:54.319 And that's that's an instant indicator of if it's fake. 00:24:54.480 --> 00:25:05.200 We've seen the glass top cohibas, we've seen the barber pole cohibas, we've seen, I don't know, you've seen uh perfe uh prefectos and pigtails that that shouldn't be there, all kinds of crazy stuff. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:07.519 I've seen esplendidos and tubos. 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:09.599 The silver tubos. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:10.000 Remember those? 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:10.720 Silver tubos. 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:13.359 I mean, you know, you you you name it, it it's out there. 00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:16.640 So I uh we hate to see somebody buying fake cigars. 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:31.359 So you you know save your money, know your sources, be careful about where you buy your cigar, especially if you live in the United States where there is no legal outlet for Cuban cigars here, and you don't you can't just walk into your store and see what a box of cohiba should look like. 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:38.799 So your best resource is getting familiar with our website, looking at our resources, and making sure you're careful about how you buy your cigars. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:45.039 And the the very band that is on this cigar, that was a that is an anti-counterfeiting initiative. 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:46.720 The bands used to be pretty simple. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:57.200 They were black dots, then they went to black squares, then it went to kind of um this embossed gold, the gold lettering. 00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:08.720 And once the counterfeiters kind of caught up with that, they came up with this band, which has uh, you know, it's it's larger, it has a ton of uh holographic elements, the top and the bottom. 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:12.079 There's just a repeating holographic pattern that goes all around. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:16.799 And then there's the the Taino head, the the um the symbol of Cohiba. 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:22.400 There's kind of a holographic head within a head, there's a specific amount of of dots. 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:34.319 So it's I'm not saying that this, I'm not saying this this band isn't counterfeited, and I'm not even saying that there aren't some fairly good versions of this fake,

but it's a lot harder. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:38.640 Sometimes you see a fake with this new band, and at first glance it looks okay. 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:43.039 Then you hold an X of the real thing, and it's always good to have have an example. 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:44.079 So you can always put it. 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:45.599 I mean, that's why I save all packaging. 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:48.079 I look, put it right next to it, I say, ah, now you see the differences. 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:49.359 They're subtle, but they're there. 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:52.079 You can even get a fake cigar with real packaging. 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:54.640 You could have a genuine band put on a uh a fake cigar. 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:56.640 It's good to know what the cigar should look like too. 00:26:56.799 --> 00:26:58.559 Simple stuff like mounted head. 00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:07.519 Uh you know, if you see a cohibo with a round head, you know, the in the style of cigars that are made outside of Cuba, that's that that that's a uh that's a flag right there. 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:11.519 If you see a barber pole for sure, that's something that should uh warn you off. 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:20.880 There's all kinds of ways to tell a but you know I I I think a bright white ash is a your your ash, your ash is a typical Cuban ash. 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:24.000 I always say it's salt and pepper gray, more pepper than salt. 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:28.240 If you see those cigars burning with a bright, bright white ash, that's not Cuban tobacco. 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:30.640 That's not the way it's use my hair as a guide. 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:38.400 If the ash looks like the top of my head, then if it looks like the top of my head, then you're doing okay because I've got more white hair than you. 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:40.319 I I know we're talking a lot about fakes. 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:45.440 I think one of the big differences between the consumer of a fake is women are a lot smarter than men. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:52.880 When they go to Canal Street or they buy a fake Louis Vuitton bag or a fake Goyard bag or all the fakes that are there, they know they're buying a fake. 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:55.279 They look at the price, they're not fooled. 00:27:55.519 --> 00:28:01.839 It's just a question of is this fake passable enough and and is it cheap enough? 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:09.519 But they're not deluding themselves into thinking that they have a real Louis Vuitton bag if they buy it off the street for 85 bucks. 00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:15.759 Whereas I think when someone buys a fake cohiba for cheap, they really think they're getting the real deal. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:17.839 And that's another uh flag there, too. 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:20.720 If you're getting a cohiba for 20 bucks, it's not a cohiba. 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:22.160 Absolutely not. 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:23.039 Yeah, yeah. 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:24.960 There are no bargains in cohiba. 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:30.000 Now, Dave, I want to go back to the anniversary a bit and and all the releases. 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:34.640 I think uh uh uh you look back and there were 30 and 35th anniversary releases. 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:52.000 The 40th anniversary is the one that that is that's when I really started paying attention because that was in 2006, and that was the the the Kohiba Bahicke, just the single size, which was seven and a half inches long by 50 ring gauge. 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:55.839 It was a combination of the first size, which is the Lancero. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:00.160 So it was the length of the Lancero, but it was the thickness of the Siglo 6. 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:05.680 Now, this isn't the Bahickey line, which came out in 2010, which is its own other other story. 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:08.799 This is just the anniversary uh Bahickeys. 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:13.839 Then the 45th anniversary, we had this Kohiba 1966. 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:19.039 Then in 2016, we had the 50th anniversary. 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:26.720 So for the 50th anniversary, there was they released the Cohiba uh Medio Siglo. 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:28.480 That was regular production. 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:34.400 Then they had the 1966, is it uh Majestuoso or Majestuoso? 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:36.400 Yeah, magistoso, yes. 00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:41.039 Now some people were lucky enough to get them in those these kind of um these little two-packs. 00:29:41.200 --> 00:30:07.759 Remember, they gave out the two-packs at the festival, and then it came in this really cool humidor, and then there was the 50 anniversario came in this this big cabinet with double doors, gold squares, and it was the first and to this day the only commercial 60 ring gauge cigar to come out of Havana, uh, to come from Havanos. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:14.559 Now I'm not saying, I mean, I've I've been to a farm where someone will roll a 60 ring gauge cigar, but I'm talking about a commercial brand. 00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:17.759 That was the only one, to this day, the only one. 00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:19.680 So that was the 50th anniversary. 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:23.200 Then we had the 55th anniversary, which is right here. 00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:29.759 So we had the 55th anniversario, which was an edition limitada for 2021. 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:39.279 And it also marked probably the most expensive list cigar to come out at 300 bucks a pop. 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:45.359 There was the book humidor, also for that, the collection habanos. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:47.359 We just call it the book humidor because it looks like a big book. 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:50.559 That was the idealis, it looks like ideals if you look at it. 00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:52.160 So that was for the 55. 00:30:52.720 --> 00:31:00.000 And that same year is when they announced the Cohiba Ambar, and they put, and that was going to be regular production. 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:02.880 It did not end up

coming out in 2021. 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:06.720 I think it was supposed to be for that celebration, but it didn't happen. 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:08.319 And that is a fantastic cigar. 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:11.599 That one was our number two cigar of the year for which year was that, Greg? 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:12.559 2025. 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:13.440 2025. 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:13.920 Yeah, okay. 00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:17.839 So it still rain, it still rains as the as the number two cigar. 00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:19.200 Fantastic smoke. 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:22.799 So now for 65, we know that for six uh 60. 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:24.319 Uh for 60, excuse me. 00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:29.920 Uh we we know that uh, as we mentioned before, the talisman is going to regular production, but we don't know what else is coming. 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:32.319 And that's clearly, as I said before, plan B. 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:39.519 It had it been a normal year or even close to a normal year in Cuba, you know they would have surely had something for that 60th anniversary. 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:42.160 And maybe they'll come out with the I think something's coming. 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:42.640 Yeah. 00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:51.359 I was hoping that they would do kind of what they did a few years ago when they canceled the Banos Fest, but then they had kind of a mini festival in the fall. 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:53.119 Uh not happening. 00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:56.559 So we're gonna just see these these kind of sporadic releases, I think. 00:31:56.720 --> 00:31:59.680 But but uh you know, I think everyone's waiting. 00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:02.319 I think no matter how expensive it is, I think it won't matter. 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:03.119 They'll they'll get it. 00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:07.039 And you touched on Bahike, which is gonna be the subject of a future podcast. 00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:10.400 Bahike did even more for Krohiba. 00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:15.359 Bahikes were amazing when they uh when the when the trio Bahikes first came out. 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:20.079 The uh 52, the the thinnest in the original trio became our cigar of the year. 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:21.759 Absolutely stunning smoke. 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:29.200 Another cigar with a story, it's the introduction of Medio Tampo, which is debatable and controversial, but we'll talk about that at another time. 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:31.759 I I have I have a few things to say about Medio Tampo. 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:40.720 And of course, they recently came out with in very limited form the the 58, the fourth size in the in the Bijike, um which is now a quartet. 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:42.640 And again, we'll talk about that later. 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:46.319 So the the legend of Cohiba only continues to grow. 00:32:46.559 --> 00:33:01.359 It's a brand that's been uh talked about for 60 years, a brand that has uh attention like no other uh in the world of uh Cuban cigars known around the world,

and it's one whose legend only continues to grow. 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:06.240 Sadly, it's a cigar that's like so many Cuban cigars, very, very hard to find. 00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:09.920 You walk into a cigar shop today, good luck finding cohibas. 00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:12.160 Uh, it's a cigar that everybody wants. 00:33:13.200 --> 00:33:17.839 And even when you find it, it's not always necessarily affordable. 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:28.319 Well uh when I went to last time I was in Paris, uh not last year, but the year before, I found that Ciglo II. 00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:29.759 Your favorite. 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:32.079 And it was 45 euro. 00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:34.079 45 euro for a little cigar. 00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:36.480 And and you know, I ponied up for it. 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:38.160 Was it worth the money? 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:39.200 I don't know. 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:40.720 Value is such a personal call. 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:42.480 It depends on what kind of mood I'm in. 00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:45.359 Uh sometimes I say, yes, totally worth it. 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:50.160 Um, and this was at the uh the a la Savette store right outside the Louvre. 00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:53.759 And so sometimes I smoke it and I'll say, Yeah, absolutely worth it. 00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:57.680 Other times I'm like, you know, that that's really expensive for such a small cigar. 00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:03.519 Well, that's the question any cigar smoker has to has to ask uh himself or herself. 00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:07.599 Cohibas do cost more, they are different. 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:09.440 The question is, are they worth it? 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:11.360 That's up to the individual smoker. 00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:13.840 And it's something that's going to be debated for years to come. 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:15.119 And we can't wait to see. 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:18.400 Maybe there'll be something extra special for that 60th anniversary. 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:20.400 Maybe it'll come out a little bit late. 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:24.559 So thanks for joining us once again on the Cigar Avisionado podcast. 00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:31.519 One note uh nothing would really go with this cigar quite as well as a good glass of whiskey. 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:34.719 If you're a whiskey fan like I am, I think Greg is too. 00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:39.920 Uh, consider Whiskey Fest, which is thrown by our sister publication, Whiskey Advocate. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:42.480 It's coming to New York City on November 20th. 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:44.400 It's going to be an exceptional evening. 00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:59.039 We are bringing back the seminars where you'll be able to drink and sample some of the most amazing whiskeys, very rare whiskeys, including uh one that's 50 years old, something that's 40 years old, uh a 20-year-old Mickter's, all kinds of amazing things. 00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:01.119 Check it out at whiskeyfest.com. 00:35:01.199 --> 00:35:04.639 That's W-H-I-S-KY.com. 00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:06.000 Uh, I'll be there too. 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:07.840 I'm part of Whiskey Advocate magazine. 00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:10.159 I'll be sipping those whiskeys up on stage. 00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:11.599 I'd love to have you join me. 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:14.719 Thanks for joining us on this episode of the Cigar Vicionado Podcast. 00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:15.679 Be sure to subscribe. 00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:19.920 Check us out on YouTube, CigarVichonato.com, Apple, and Spotify. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:20.960 We're here twice a month. 00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:22.239 I'm David Savona. 00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:23.519 I'm Greg Matola. 00:35:23.679 --> 00:35:24.559 And we'll see you next time. 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:26.079 Don't miss an episode. 00:35:26.800 --> 00:35:31.199 So, Dave, how how many of those 55 anniversaries do you have the last Greg? 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:31.840 What do you have?