Yes I think I learned a lot just by obsessively googling and taking this forums input over the past few days too. Went and got some nice sticks at Duaso ( thanks for the recommendation!).
Walking back through Las Ramblas in Barcelona I'm walking by the Gimeno shop that I've seen reviewed a bunch online and out of curiosity ask them about Behikes. Lady pulls out some repurposed Vega box with a handwritten "Behike 54 " on it. I ask her where the box is she tells me in Spanish that Behikes only come in singles..... she was corrected later by another lady working there, but nevertgeless. This time... bands look super legit... but have white marks and you can feel glue residue near overlap point. This combined with shitty look of the cigars ( light wrapper, lots of green spots, squarish shape under the cap) made me conclude the wrappers had been removed from legit sticks and placed on these fakes.
It's a shame there is nothing keeping these shops honest, wish there was some mechanism to report of have these guys looked at. 45 euro a cigar is no joke.
Walking back through Las Ramblas in Barcelona I'm walking by the Gimeno shop that I've seen reviewed a bunch online and out of curiosity ask them about Behikes. Lady pulls out some repurposed Vega box with a handwritten "Behike 54 " on it. I ask her where the box is she tells me in Spanish that Behikes only come in singles..... she was corrected later by another lady working there, but nevertgeless. This time... bands look super legit... but have white marks and you can feel glue residue near overlap point. This combined with shitty look of the cigars ( light wrapper, lots of green spots, squarish shape under the cap) made me conclude the wrappers had been removed from legit sticks and placed on these fakes.
It's a shame there is nothing keeping these shops honest, wish there was some mechanism to report of have these guys looked at. 45 euro a cigar is no joke.
