Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Sun Grown Cigar Review
Yesterday, I did a review for this cigar with the natural wrapper and the green band that holds the cedar sheath. To cut a long story short, I did not really care for that cigar and I rated it at 87 points. The flavors were all fine but the cigar just lacked life, complexity and most everything else that makes a cigar truly enjoyable. But maybe with a different wrapper this cigar will be better – maybe an Ecuadorian sun grown wrapper will do the trick.
I effortlessly slide off the cedar sheath, with the black band this time, and a well constructed cigar is revealed. It’s definitely darker than the other one, maybe a little bit more oil and packed tighter but not too tight. I can smell something sweet from the foot of this cigar. Let’s see if it’s better than the other one or not.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 4 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $4.55
Echo Torch!
I smelled sweetness from the foot and now I can taste it. There’s also a coffee flavor that has a good helping of cream added in. Unfortunately, there is a pervasive burnt blandness that sticks around as the main aftertaste. Fortunately, that negative flavor is relegated to the bottom half of my olfactory system. The flavors I get through the nose are good.
During the first half an inch or so the flavors I mentioned are the main ones. After that point a dirty earthy flavor comes on stronger and I actually like it. It gives the cigar some interest. Surprisingly, at about this same time that burnt blandness has begun to fade into the background, almost disappearing but not quite gone.
The Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Sun Grown is a medium bodied cigar with a slightly erratic burn and a good draw. That negative flavor of burnt blandness has come back for the last third of the cigar, which is too bad. I was enjoying this cigar, somewhat. With the negative flavor this cigar falls precipitously in my estimation. Without the problematic flavor this cigar is one or two points better than the natural wrapper (which scored 87 points) version of this cigar but, with the negative flavor, the sun grown wrapper version of this cigar is at least two points worse.
It has its ups and downs. However, its highest highs are not very impressive. Couple that with the lows and this cigar can be avoided. The natural wrapper wins!
84 points
Carlos Toraño Reserva Selecta Cigar Review
From Carlos Toraño’s website:
Lovingly and painstakingly developed by Carlos Toraño, the Reserva Selecta is crafted much like a vintage estate wine,with the most refined tobacco grown in the lush Esteli Valley in Nicaragua and the Valley of Jamastran in Honduras. Packed with soft cool smoke, the Reserva Selecta is mild- to medium bodied with notes of sweet cream and cedar. All cigars are wrapped in cedar and encased in crystal tubes to preserve freshness. Packed in boxes of 20 or 5-count gift boxes, all tobaccos are aged three to five years.
The wrapper is very light and it has a light sheen of oils. It is packed nicely and the construction is above average. The veins that are there are not very pronounced and the discolorations are minor.
Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 6 1/4″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua
Price: $10.20
Hero Torch!
The first flavor that hits me is, obviously, wood. I don’t think I would describe it as cedar but, rather, spruce or a Christmas tree. That is the flavor I get when I exhale out my nose. When I inhale the flavor is more akin to a forest fire. To be fair, it is not that bad, it’s more like the aftermath of a forest fire, charred wood. It’s not totally un-enjoyable but it isn’t exactly a plus either.
Between the one and two inch mark that charred wood flavor migrates from being a minor annoyance to being a pain. The charred wood gets stronger and does start to take away from the rich wood flavor, which I still get on the exhale. A couple other flavors that are barely perceptible are vanilla and peppermint.
A weak ash, an uneven burn and a good draw sum up the fundamentals of the Carlos Toraño Reserva Selecta Torpedo. Any good thoughts about this cigar I had before I lit it were snuffed out by that harsh, charred wood flavor. It’s a mild bodied cigar that has a lot of promise. It would have been a very good cigar if not for that harshness. Too bad.
84 points
Partagas Naturales Natural Cigar Review
This cigar brand started back in Cuba way back when, actually, way before Castro. This isn’t one of those Cubans though. But it is made by the same family, the Cifuentes, that was making these cigars in Cuba before Castro’s merry men took that Caribbean island, just south of Florida, over.
Partagas cigars are offered in a ton of different vitolas (it is offered in three different vitolas with the maduro wrapper); if you can’t find your favorite size with this line then you probably won’t find the right cigar anywhere. They are offered with a natural (Cameroon) wrapper and a maduro wrapper. They are priced anywhere from $4.00 to $10.00. I’m smoking the Naturales vitola with the Cameroon wrapper for this review.
Upon first glance it does look a little rustic. There are bumps all over the place and it is not perfectly cylindrical in shape. With a small crack near the foot, a couple of raised veins and a really hard feel to it one would be forgiven for dismissing this cigar. But, working in its favor, is the fact that it is an oily cigar. And, truth be told, you can not ever really tell how well a cigar will be until you light it up.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Mexico
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: around $6.00
Flame Flickering!
Unfortunately, the draw is tight – I guess being too tightly packed does matter. It is not too tightly packed as to make this Partagas unsmokable but it’s bordering on that. On the bright side, the burn is pretty even.
Tobacco is the main flavor for this mild-medium bodied smoke. There is also some burnt wood flavors coming through. Near the end of the cigar there are some sweet and salty notes.
82 points
CAO L’Anniversaire 1968-1998 Maduro Belicoso Cigar Review
Before I took a couple of months off from posting reviews I had forgotten about all the CAOs I had smoked. I’m looking through my review book and there is only this one and one more from CAO and then there are some really interesting reviews after that.
The maduro wrapper looks mostly good. There are some spots on it and there is a tear near the foot. It’s a box pressed cigar. The cap looks a little misshapen but there is a good amount of oils on this cigar.
Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: USA/Connecticut
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Price: $8.00
OC Lights!
First impressions: decent draw, mild earthiness, a gritty cocoa flavor as well. Medium-full bodied. Nothing really special.
The cigar is burning evenly and there is a mild sweetness. But my overall impression of these flavors? So-so. Nothing to write home about.
Halfway through and things have not changed all that much. There’s a slight chocolate flavor that is coming through but, besides the chocolate, it’s boring. I also have to mention that it is medium bodied at this point and has been for about an inch.
Perhaps the only good thing about this cigar is that I am smoking it while watching the movie “Orange County.” It’s a hilarious movie and you should watch it. If you do pick up the DVD then the best parts, besides the movie itself, are found in the “Interstitials.” Oh, yeah, I’m still smoking a cigar.
The cigar doesn’t get harsh but it does get bitter after the halfway point. Specifically, it’s a chalky bitterness that completely ruins any good feelings I may have had about this cigar. The previous CAO L’Anniversaire Maduro I had was much, much better.
84 points
The price point for this cigar demands a higher quality cigar than this one. It’s also worth pointing out that the previous one I had scored 93 points. There really shouldn’t be this kind of disparity between scores for the same vitola of the same cigar. For my money the Cameroon line is a better choice than the maduro one.
Romeo Y Julieta Habana Reserve Toro Cigar Review
This cigar has a slight sheen of oil. It looks perfect and it’s the second cigar I smoked after the CAO Vision. Very big cigar. Drinking Wild Turkey and a Cherry Coke.
Cigar Stats
Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 56
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua
Price: $5.00
Go Light!
This cigar is on the verge of being too fat. Yet, the draw is perfectly fine. I usually end up having draw problems with the thinner cigars anyways. I’m not getting a ton of flavor from this cigar however, which is somewhat surprising.
Feels like a medium bodied cigar, which is shouldn’t be. It should be full bodied. The only flavor I’m getting from this cigar is that it’s a little nutty. Cashew? Maybe. There is also a mild sweetness to it that’s nice.
About halfway through now and it is just a boring cigar. There really isn’t that much flavor to it. No spice or anything that would push the limits of my palette and nothing that makes me think that this is a full bodied smoke.
It does burn evenly though. But who cares if it burns well if it’s boring? I would rather have a cigar that was more of a technical problem and tasted wonderfully than a cigar that was technically perfect, like this cigar, but is just boring. Even if it had some more good flavors to it but it doesn’t – so I don’t like it.
84 points
Other Takes:
Cigar Aficionado: Here is what they had to say about the churchill vitola “An oily cigar that draws well but burns a bit unevenly. It is mostly nutty in character with a touch of sourness on the finish.” They gave this cigar 88 points.
Kear Brothers Cigar Journal: They called this smoke a “classic.” They thought it was mild and has a nice spiciness to it along with some cinnamon and leather. They really like it.
CigarMonkey: This cigar got 86 points from CigarMonkey. “This smoke is far milder than the 1875 Series and the Real Reserva. It was very light and spicy.”
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