I am new to Cbid and CI but have been pretty happy with the boatload of cigars I've bought so far. All have been mostly what I know I like with a few singles and 5 packs of things that peaked my curiosity. The one thing that intrigued me the most was the Knockoffs. At first I thought that they would legitimately sell knockoffs but at least they were up front about it. I read the reviews on the Macanudo's as the Hyde Park is one of my all time favorites (I like'em mild-medium). I do base some of my online shopping on reviews as they usually are a better gauge then the well written marketing depts sales pitch. One of the reviewers went as far as to say that you could remove the band off the original and not be able to tell the difference.
So I threw caution to the wind and went against my better judgement and bought the knockoffs. Now I know they aren't going to be an exact replica and you get what you pay for. However, I did expect them to be remotely close. Here is a comparrison of the real and the knockoff. I am going to let them breathe for a month before I decide whether I completely wasted $40 or not. But if it tastes as bad as it looks then I'm going to be pretty bummed. Can't tell the difference?!?! REALLY?!?!
[img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xzYLOSWfxWg/Tqn__2-M0kI/AAAAAAAAGAE/MVP5abyu_gY/s800/photo%2525201.JPG[/img]
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cUKlODuQWL0/TqoABZaDY-I/AAAAAAAAGAM/_pZsDIgzZ1c/s144/photo%2525202.JPG[/img]