Fonseca Cigar Review
Lately I’ve found myself going for more full bodied cigars; Diesel and Padilla’s Dominus to just name a couple. While those cigars are great – and they are in every sense of the word – it is nice to shake things up a bit every now and then. So, I went to my humidor and eyed this light brown cigar with the simple band.
Construction is nearly perfect. Manuel Quesada, the pater tobaccoist of this cigar, is truly a craftsman. My only quibble, if you can even count it as such, is that there are some minor inconsistencies with the coloring of the wrapper. The wrapper has a nice sheen of oil on it and the tobacco is snugly packed into the cigar.
The cigar that I am smoking, the Fonseca 5-50, comes in a natural or maduro wrapper. For this review I am smoking the natural wrapper version.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: USA (Connecticut Shade)
Binder: Mexico
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: Box 25 – $95 | Fiver – $25
Midday Flame!
I accidentally forgot about this cigar a number of months ago and, as a result of that accident, this cigar has had lots of rest and it seems to have aided in the flavor of this cigar. Oak, berry sweetness and some burnt hay. Overall, I’m liking the flavors. Unfortunately, this cigar does have an aversion to staying lit; that’s a pain!
It’s a mild cigar, probably too mild for my liking. The draw is nice and the burn is even (as long as it stays lit!).
After about an inch that sweet berry flavor goes up a couple of notches on the flavor-o-meter. Honestly, this is a weird cigar for me. I guess I like these flavors, they are pleasant, it’s just not exactly my concept of what is a great cigar.
It is a good cigar though. Very, very laid back. And the flavors are surprisingly strong for such a mild cigar. This is definitely one of the better mild cigars that I have ever had.
Nearing the end of this cigar and, despite the occasional burn problem, it is a good cigar. The flavors are enjoyable but I’m still not sold on this cigar. If you like oak and sweetness in your cigar then you will most likely enjoy this one. If you normally go for something a little spicier and full bodied then you will probably only be an occasional smoker of these Fonsecas.
87 points
Cabaiguan Cigar Review
It’s got a pigtail – and we all know pigtails are cool – so it must be a good cigar. If you haven’t guessed it already I am smoking the Cabaiguan Guapos Rx, which is a robusto. Besides the pigtail the cigar looks great: it’s oily, not too veiny and the imperfections are kept to a minimum.
Here’s what Pete Johnson has to say about this line:
Blended in the style of the flavorful yet Medium Bodied Cuban Cigars.
Cigars are rolled in classic Cuban tradition by Master Rollers.
Headed by Maestro Tobaquero Jose Garcia.
Cigars are rolled with a beautiful Cuban triple-cap and are Medium to Mild in flavor.
Not having smoked a lot of Cubans in my life (maybe one? I know, sad) I won’t be able to tell you whether or not that claim is realized or not. But if it’s a good tasting cigar I don’t care what the style is!
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5 1/4″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $9.50
Garage Light!
Three matches and it is lit (well, four matches if you count the one that went out before its flame could touch the foot of the cigar, which I won’t count)!
While the draw is somewhat too tight for my liking it isn’t tight enough to deny me the bouquet of flavors that comes from a Cabaiguan. Really earthy, hints of licorice and woody flavors. It’s a nice, medium bodied cigar. No real hints of spice or anything aggressive – this is the kind of cigar you can smoke with your morning cup of coffee.
Even though the draw is a little tight the burn is even.
This is a flavorful cigar but there is something missing from it. Like the earthiness and all the other flavors (which now includes oak, sweetness, some burnt tobacco and a general lightness of flavors) it is an enjoyable cigar. There’s just something that would have put it over the top.
During the second half of the cigar there is a transformation from the deep earthiness to a sweeter oakiness. It becomes a lighter cigar – not necessarily worse but not better either, not at all.
Around this time the draw gets a little tighter and the burn goes awry at times. Maybe it was a combination of these two things that makes the cigar take a downturn or not but the cigar does become less enjoyable.
Overall, it is a good cigar. The high points all center around that dark earthiness because it’s just such a good example of what an earthy cigar should be. But, to be honest, earthiness is not one of my favorite front line flavors. And, once you add in the second half’s oakiness, it just doesn’t work out all that well for me.
87 points
Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Natural Cigar Review
Today, I am doing a review of the Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente (4 1/2″ x 50) with the natural wrapper and tomorrow I will be smoking the same cigar with the sun grown wrapper. Should be fun!
None of the veins are too pronounced. It is an oily cigar that may just be packed a bit too loosely. The color is a cross between the lightness you should expect from this kind of wrapper but there is a lot of darker spots as well; it reminds me of that painting that some people do on walls with a sponge to give the wall “life”. It works well with this cigar though, so I’m happy about that.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 4 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $4.50
Eight Flame!
The draw is spot on and the burn starts out well. Spice, a sweet oak and a background of herbal flavors make up the beginning flavor profile for me. There is, however, a burnt flavor that I do not like.
After the first ashing at the 2/3″ mark, the oak flavor really begins to take over. It is still within the “sweet” oak categorization but less so than before. There is a new sweetness that has come on board. Even though I have talked a lot about the sweet flavors in this cigar they are more of a secondary group of flavors, which is fine by me.
The burnt flavor that left after the first ashing does not come back. While that is usually a good thing (and is probably also a good thing with this cigar since I did not like the type of burnt flavor that it imparted) I would have liked to have a little more burn for this cigar to cut the overbearing oak flavor – something like a burnt oak. It would also be a better cigar if the spice would have remained. In retrospection the spice is nothing more than a fleeting memory, which is to this cigar’s detriment.
This all leads me to the conclusion that this is a fairly flavorful cigar that is also basically one dimensional. There are not any really negative flavors to be found in this cigar but there is not much excitement about it for me either. It is a nice medium bodied, one dimensional cigar – nothing more, nothing less.
87 points
Perdomo 2 Limited Edition Robusto Maduro Cigar Review
This is the reintroduction of an old blend. It was introduced in 2008 with a natural (Cameroon) and a maduro wrapper by Tabacalera Perdomo. This cigar comes in four different vitolas: Robusto (5 x 50), Epicure (5 1/2 x 54), Churchill (6 7/8 x 50), and Torpedo (5 1/4 x 54).
The Perdomo 2 has a slight box press (so don’t fear getting cut on any sharp edges) and is expertly made. While there are a couple of minor stretch marks on the wrapper it’s construction is nearly perfect. Packed with the perfect amount of tobacco with a decent amount of oil on the wrapper. I did a Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary review a few days ago and I liked it very much; so I have high hopes for this one.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $6.00 or less
Sun Flame!
Spice may be the first thing that is noticeable but the predominant flavor is oak. Smooth cigar that has a draw that may be a little too tight. It is a medium-full bodied cigar with a burn that is not too bad. After a couple of touch ups it smokes just fine.
The draw does become quite a bit better after about the one inch mark. With the better draw comes a clearer picture of the flavor profile. The aforementioned oak flavor comes along with some sweetness. The spice is a background flavor and there are also some chalky chocolate flavors there, but barely.
Nearing the end of this cigar now and the flavors, while they are enjoyable, just are not that great. Overall, it is a good cigar but just not that good.
87 points
Graycliff 1666 Pirate Cigar Review
What is a man to do who has created the first five star restaurant in the Caribbean and has one of the world’s largest wine collections? He obviously creates his own high priced (dare I say overpriced?) cigar! It comes with a lot of exotic tobaccos, a maduro wrapper and the guy credited with the creation of the Cuban Cohiba as its maker. What could go wrong?
Just looking at it I have to admit that it looks good. It’s oily, packed firmly and the wrapper is just awesome, I am a sucker for maduro wrappers. It isn’t in the least bit veiny but the wrapper is a little rough to the touch.
Cigar Stats
Torpedo
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Jaltepec maduro
Binder: Ecuador Sumatra
Filler: Peru, Columbia, Brazil and Mexico
Price: $14.50
Church Torch!
It starts off nicely. There is this floral and grassy flavor at first. Maybe a little bit stronger than medium bodied but not much stronger than that. I am also getting a little hint of coconut with this cigar. The draw is pretty good but the draw is not even.
Very creamy smoke. Weird cigar though. Yeah, sure, it’s refined and all that good stuff that you would expect from such a lofty upbringing. But there’s just something missing from it. There is no real complexity to it; no intrigue. Solid cigar? Sure. But at this price you would expect something much better.
Light and airy is how I would describe this cigar. There isn’t any bite to it and, well, it’s kind of a boring cigar after the halfway point. Instead of this cigar you can buy so many different cigars for a lot less money that are much better.
87 points
Another, more charitable take on this cigar from The Stogie Guys.
-
-
Advertisement
-
