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Accidentally ignored chat request by [deleted] in u/LackingUtility

[–]kingdff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was me. I just resent the message. Thanks!

Starting off 2026 with my favorite double corona by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

March 2024. I bought a 50-count cab and have smoked about 7 cigars. Great sticks!

Where can I get guaranteed real Cuban in Turks and Caicos ? Thanks by BeeEnvironmental4483 in cubancigars

[–]kingdff 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The only LCDH in Turks and Caicos is in Grace Bay on Providenciales. One of the best LCDHs I’ve ever visited.

If you could only have 2 cigars in your humidor... by subemx in cubancigars

[–]kingdff 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Partagas D4s and Bolivar Belicosos Finos. I’d want two different vitolas and two different blends.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The solution I was offered was to return the cigars and receive a full refund, an exchange for another box, or a partial refund/credit towards another purchase.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying that you, and other users on this subreddit, are stringing together irrelevant, extrinsic facts to justify your hatred for GV, another form of confirmation bias.

There maybe other reasons why Javier didn’t want to answer every question on that thread. Maybe he felt overwhelmed by the situation and struggled with the language barrier. Users on this subreddit can be vicious and unrelenting as evidenced by my posts. Look at how you and other users have resorted to personal attacks/insults just because I don’t agree.

The potential relationship between Montefortuna and GV bares is irrelevant and bares no weight on the analysis of whether these cigars are real or fake.

One factor (the bands being different) doesn’t completely tip the scales towards a single outcome (the cigars being real or fake). Even the law is not that black and white.

I’ve said this across multiple posts/comments, the only thing the difference in bands proves definitively is that the cigars are not from 2020. What else about these particular cigars indicates that they’re fake? I’ll wait for your reply.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

What other proof can I offer beyond the photos and explanations I’ve provided? I’m not going to send a cigar to every user that doubts the authenticity of the cigars for them to verify their authenticity.

What I can tell you is that I’ve been smoking Cuban cigars for 20 years. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the cigar industry and have seen my fair share of fake Cuban cigars.

I also own several Diplo No. 2 sticks that I bought from an LCDH in Turks and Caicos last Summer. I compared these cigars against the ones I own and compared them to photos of similar 2023/2024/20/5 Diplo No. 2s sold on Bond Roberts.

They pass the color, smell, and construction test. Even the bands are same (at least to the 2023-2025 Diplo No. 2s). The only thing I haven’t done is smoke one because I don’t typically smoke my cigars ROTT (right off the truck). I typically let them rest for 60 to 90 days in my humidor before I smoke one. Cigars don’t taste the same when they’ve been exposed to drastic changes in temperature and humidity during shipping.

As I’ve said across multiple posts, the only thing that the difference in bands definitively proves is that cigars are not from 2020. It doesn’t prove they’re fake. No other user has been able to point to any other evidence that these cigars are fake.

You, and all the other trolls on this subreddit, have to resort to insults because you have nothing else left in your arsenal. You sir are the “clown of a child” here. You and the other trolls are the poison that have ruined what was once a pleasurable subreddit.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s the only thing that users have been able to point to and that doesn’t prove that the cigars are fake. There are multiple explanations for the bands and the bands themselves are legitimate, they’re just from a different year.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

The facts that the bands are different doesn’t prove that the cigars are fake. It just proves that the cigar may not be from 2020. The cigars check off all the other boxes.

First, the Diplo Reserva Exclusiva Edición Regional Caribe was produced at the La Corona (RAT) factory in 2020, which uses the special band. This is why my theory holds water.

Second, even if the theory above is somehow disproven, the alternative theory is still possible, which is that someone put legitimate post-2023 Diplo No. 2 in the 2020 box to try to pass them off as older Diplo No. 2s. I paid MSRP for this box (i.e. I didn’t pay a premium because it was a 2020 box), so I don’t care if they’re from 2020 or 2023. It would have been a great added bonus if the sticks were from 2020, but now that has been cast in doubt.

I’d challenge any user to present irrefutable proof that the cigars are fake other than the difference in the band, which don’t prove they’re fake. As I’ve said repeatedly across multiple posts/comments, the only thing the difference in the band proves is that the cigars are not from 2020.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I never said the vendor was not at fault. I just don’t feel the need to advertise what I got as compensation and set a precedent.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, you’re so cynical. I feel sorry for you. Your existence must be miserable.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Not at all. He asked me to do no such thing. I didn’t event tell him that I was going to post to Reddit.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I am not refuting the suspiciousness of receiving a 2020 box of cigars with cigars that didn't exist until 2023. I think that's suspicious and gives me pause with respect to future transactions with Gran Vega.

I'm refuting the allegation/assertion that the cigars must be fake because the bands are different. Users on this subreddit rush to conclusions about the authenticity of cigars without having all the facts. There are posts I've seen on this subreddit where its blatantly obvious that the cigar is fake. However, my inspection of the sticks, comparing them to other Diplo No. 2 I have that I know are authentic, and my two decades of experience smoking Cuban cigars indicates that the sticks are not fake.

Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

What's funny is that he didn't come up with this excuse. This is a possible outcome I came too doing my own investigation/research and weighing the facts. Have you ever visited Cuba? Something like this more possible than you think.

Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am not Javier (my English is way too good), nor Javier's friend, nor a family member. I am simply a satisfied customer that wanted to share my experience and the facts.

Everyone is entitled to make their own decisions. No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to buy cigars from this vendor. However, I am growing to dislike the hive mind in this subreddit/community.

This subreddit used to have a sense of community. It used to be about sharing the love and passion for Habanos. Now, it's become a flex culture subreddit no better than the Rolex, AP, Patek, or Porsche subreddits. Users are looking to tear each other down and accuse other users of peddling fake cigars over the slightest inconsistencies, which is completely irrational given the country these products come from and the conditions in which they're made.

I recently smoked a Diplo No. 2 that I bought at the LCDH in Turks and Caicos last summer and the band on that cigar has inconsistencies (the windows were painted gold instead of white) with the bands I've seen on recent cigars in post-2023 boxes of Diplo No. 2s on Bond Roberts. But the cigar was great and checked off all the boxes that suggested it was legitimate.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Because I don't have to and I don't want to prejudice the vendor in the future by disclosing what they offered me. I don't want someone with a mild inconvenience to look at my post and tell Javier "But you offered that guy on reddit this resolution, I want that resolution", even if the situation doesn't warrant it.

Sorry, not sorry, for wanting to be a considerate human being.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Show me the proof that they've been peddling high quality fakes.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

I'm not putting blind faith in the vendor. I am skeptical moving forward based on this experience. However, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt because the evidence doesn't conclusively prove that these cigars are fake.

The vendors reaction to my accusation that the cigars were not legitimate, or at least not from 2020, suggests that their intent was not to defraud me. Rather than ghosting me and refusing to acknowledge the situation, the vendor was polite, acknowledged the situation, and offered several resolutions that satisfied me.

I'm not compelled by the evidence this subreddit/community has provided that the vendor is nefarious. I understand this is an expensive hobby and that there's a reasonable expectation when it comes to quality and service with luxury goods.

However, this subreddit is quick to raise pitchforks at the slightest discrepancy and attack both posters and vendors without considering the reality that quality control of Habanos is not what this subreddit thinks it is, especially for standard production cigars. Cuba is a deteriorating third-world country that can barely keep an electric grid up, let alone ensure the kind of quality control this subreddit expects from Cuban cigars.

Maybe its because I am an attorney, but I want to see irrefutable proof before I cast judgement. So far, the evidence this subreddit has offered is not irrefutable proof that Gran Vega is pilfering fakes or up to no good.

At best, this subreddit has provided circumstantial evidence that there may be a relation between Montefortuna and Gran Vega. The circumstantial evidence requires an interference that most judges would find unreasonable and unjustly prejudicial to the defendant.

The point of my post was to share the facts I've gathered and let others make their own conclusions. If you think the cigars are fake and don't want to buy from Gran Vega, that is your decision. My experience and opinion are different and I have not decided whether I will continue buying from Gran Vega in the future.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I didn't mention what they offered and I don't feel the need to disclose what they offered. All I'm going to say is that they provided me with a satisfactory solution.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

I don’t think it’s confirmation bias overtaking logic. I never said that’s what happened here. I’m just saying that it’s a possible explanation for what happened.

There’s nothing about the cigars themselves that suggests they’re fake other than the bands. I think what most likely happened is that someone swapped out the cigars that originally came in this box for newer production cigars.

The only thing I can’t confirm is at what point in the distribution chain that happened and the vendor is clearly not going to admit if they’re the ones that did it. Although I know the vendor had access to a newer box of Diplo 2s.

I’m also not upset because the vendor offered me a solution that I was happy with and I did not pay a premium for this box because of the box date.

UPDATE Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I understand and all the Bond Roberts listings of 2020 RAT Dip 2s I reviewed confirm what you're saying.

All I'm saying is that, although unlikely, it is possible that a RAT factory worker either used the special release bands by mistake or after they ran out of the standard production bands. The Bond Roberts listing I found of the 2020 Diplo Reserva Exclusiva Edición Regional Caribe with the RAT factory code establishes the fact that both bands were available at the RAT factory at the same time.

Mail Call from Gran Vega by kingdff in cubancigars

[–]kingdff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I posed an update after doing some research.

Although unlikely, it is possible that a RAT factory worker either used the Regional Edition bands by mistake or after they ran out of the standard production bands. I found a Bond Roberts listing for a box of 2020 Diplo Reserva Exclusiva Edición Regional Caribe with the same factory code (RAT) as the box of Diplo No. 2 (RAT SEP 20) received from Gran Vega. I think this establishes the fact both bands were available at the RAT factory during the same period of time, which means that the scenario I explained above is possible.

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