Review: Arturo Fuente Special Selection Maduro

• Price: ~$3
• Size: 6.5" x 43
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Wrapper: Connecticut Maduro
• Time to completion: ~45min

Smoking Experience: 


The holiday weekend is unfortunately over, and today was business as usual. I am on call for work this week, which means a lot of time sitting around at home waiting on emergencies to come on in. I took a quick call at around 6, and the Sons of Anarchy Season Premier was at 7, so it has been a good night so far. My girlfriend got home from school around 7ish so once the show was over, we headed downstairs to have a smoke.

I did get to swing by the cigar shop on the way home to pick up some fodder for a trade I am doing this month, and while there I saw this stick and figured I would give it a go. It is a "seconds" selection which means it has not made the cut as far as quality controls go (supposedly) and it looked like it was wrapped by an apprentice, but for the $3 price tag, I was willing to give it a shot.

I went through the bin they were in and while some of the sticks looked to be in less than great shape, this one didn't appear to have any major construction issues out side of not looking so pretty. There were no major soft spots, but the cap was sloppy as was the wrapper. There were no tears but some of the leafs had some discoloring.

Aesthetics were the only place this cigar lacked. I was able to cut the cigar with 0 problem. The pre-light draw was a little loose, but good. Lighting this stick was easy and even after lighting it a bit crooked (my lighter was out of fuel so I had to use matches) it evened out on its own and burned perfectly.

The cigar burned nice and cool for the first 3/4, the burn speed was consistent, and it gave off a good amount of smoke for a smaller cigar. It really was much more than I expected it to be.

The ash on this cigar was a bit loose, but burned as a medium grey and broke off every 2-3 inches.

Flavors:


I was pleasantly surprised by the flavors in this cigar. The first few puffs of this cigar have a nice sweet and spicy blend. Really mild, but you know they are there. The smoke isn't incredibly thick, but there is a nice consistency to carry the flavors.

As you get to the end of the first third, there is an undertone of chocolate/coffee that sort of leaves the spiciness in the background. There are some short bursts of sweetness along with the coffee taste that sort of lingers in your mouth as you blow out the smoke. Very nice, very smooth and mellow.

The trade off of spice and sweetness has sort of a rolling feeling, where one gradually leads into the other and back throughout the cigar, it is nice, never too harsh, never to mild, just a smooth and almost creamy blend of the two.

The finish of the cigar brings a noticeable change to a mild tobacco and spice taste, which I very much enjoyed. I am not a big fan of most plain tobacco flavors, but this was smooth and just sweet enough (with some hints of that chocolate) to be very well received by me.

Overall this was a cigar that I didn't have high expectations for but really shocked me. I will certainly go hunting for a few more in that bin the next time I am at the shop as they make a nice smooth smoke on an evening and something I could keep around for friends who don't smoke frequently or don't really like the big bold flavors of some of the other cigars I have come to enjoy. Apprentice rolled or not, this cigar is a winner.

Review: Perdomo Tierra Del Sol Corona Maduro

• Price: ~$3-5 (Gift in a trade)
• Size: 6.5" x 42
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Wrapper: Connecticut Maduro
• Time to completion: ~45min

Smoking Experience:

Its been a nice Holiday weekend. Off from work, spending time with friends, going to the gym, and relaxing. Tonight I wanted to just relax after a long day of relaxing, so I reached into the humidor and grabbed this guy out. After a brief fight with my lighter (which almost resulted in it getting thrown into the pool) I was able to toast this smoke and light up.

The construction of this box pressed cigar was good, there were a couple of small veins in the wrapper, but nothing horrible (especially considering the price), the wrapper was in good condition, no tears, no water spots, etc. The draw was good throughout the entire smoke, not to tight, not too lose.

The cigar was really easy to light (which is good for my lighter, because it would be in the trash had it ruined my time) and released bellows of thick smoke right from the start. The first third of the cigar burns really hot and fast, it was actually surprising how fast it burned, I thought it was going to be a 25 minute smoke, not the 45 that it ended up being. The burn speed slowed down at the start of the 2/3 but kept a good pace, and continued to let off A LOT of smoke. 

The ash on this cigar was sturdy and grey, and held on until about the halfway point, at which time it fell on me - my own fault for always trying to see just how long I can get the ash, but for this smoke, I really wanted it to hang on to slow and cool the burn.

Flavors:

The cigar starts off really spicy. Combined with the heat from the fast burn, it is an OK flavor. It isn't really strong, but definitively noticeable. There is an underlying earthy taste in the first and second third of the cigar, its pretty mellow and goes well with the spice, but it is all sort of...boring. There were no massive kicks of flavor in the first or second thirds, so it is just kind of meh to me. Not -bad- but not really memorable either.

The final 1/3 of this cigar is a whole different store. Those earthy notes fade away and there are flavors of charcoal and a woody flavor. The flavors were too overwhelming in my opinion and felt like I was sucking the smoke off a newly lit charcoal grill. My girlfriend actually commented on the face I made when the flavor hit me, it was not good. It tasted like fuel. I tired to get passed this, but after a few draws, I just put out the cigar, as the taste was just BAD at that point. Certainly not the finish I was looking for. 

I could have dealt with the first and second third of this cigar as being a really mild, slightly spicy smoke, maybe something cheaper to keep around for friends, but the final 3rd really killed this for me, so I wont be buying it in the future.

Review: CAO Brazilia

• Price: ~$5
• Size: 5 x 56
• Wrapper: Maduro (Oily Dark Brown Brazilian)
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Time to Completion: ~70 minutes

Smoking Experience:

I went to a movie with my girlfriend last night, and we got home around 11:30p or so and I wanted a cigar, so we decided to drive up to a nice lookout on a mountain near our apartment. We sat out and chatted while looking over the city skyline. I enjoyed this fantastic cigar and she smoked some nice hand rolled cigarettes that she made for the first time a few days ago.

The cigar had a nice rich smoke right from the start. It burned slow and even the entire way through. It got a little hot in the last 1/4 which is to be expected, but the rest of it was just perfect.

Flavors:

It has an almost chocolate flavor in the start, I was kind of surprised (Im new to this, so it was a nice surprise). After a few puffs that flavor gave way to the flavor of the wrapper and it had a nice almost nutty taste. I very much enjoyed it. It had A LOT of nice flavors. Some woody, some smokey, but none really took over the experience. It was a nice mixture in every puff.

I would highly recommend this smoke. It was fantastic.

Review: Sancho Panza Double Maduro (La Mancha)

• Price: <$4
• Size: 5.5" x 44
• Wrapper: Oscuro
• Filler: A blend of Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican Piloto Cubano leaves
• Time to completion: ~40 minutes

Smoking Experience:

The first 1/4 of the cigar burned hot and fast, but was somewhat mild. Once a little ash built up, the burning seemed to slow down and cool some which allowed a lot more flavor than the first part of the cigar.

Flavor:

A mild start, but once you get about 1/3 in it has a nice pepper taste. Its not harsh, but there is a nice build up of flavor. The flavor lasts until the end, and it gets a bit smokey in the last 1/3. The pepper aftertaste last for a long time after the smoke was completed. This cigar packed a lot of punch for such a small package. 

Downside: The construction was lacking something. I dont know if it was just dry (it shouldn't have been, it was purchased a few days ago and sitting in the humidor at 70% since). Maybe my cutters are just dull, but they sort of tore the outer wrapper. It didn't effect the smoke, but was just something to note.

Review: Macanudo Maduro Vintage ‘97

• Price: ~$12
• Size: 6 “ x 54
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf (1997 vintage)
• Filler: Nicaraguan, Brazilian, and Dominican long-filler blend
• Time to Completion: ~70 minutes

Smoking Experience:

I had planned a nice cigar night with the boys, but due to some unforeseeable circumstances, we had to call it off. I wasn’t about to let that stop me though. I headed out to hunt down the perfect cigar for the night, and this is the cigar my local cigar shot recommended. This was not a unanimous choice among the staff, and I was warned that the last 1/3 might get a little rough, so I headed home, went out to my pool deck to relax under a nice cool Hawaiian night and lit up.

The cigar lit well, burned evenly, and had a nice even draw. Once a little ash built up, the burn cooled a bit and the flavors really came out. The smoke lasted about ~70 minutes before I put it out (it had another 15 minutes of burn time left – but the taste was too strong at this point).


Flavors:

This cigar had fantastic maduro flavors. Smooth and sweet from the start. Nice creamy smoke with slight woody undertones and even some chocolate flavors. The first 2/3s are very smooth. Around the last 1/3 of the smoke there is a dramatic change; it’s almost like smoking a whole new stick. It gets spicy, and it gets there fast. Had it been on its own, it would have been nice, but with the significant contrast from the first 2/3 it was a little unexpected. I put out the cigar with about 1 inch left on it.



Side Note:

The cigar comes with a metal band on it. A few people have asked about it, and its just a metal cigar band to hold the cigar with, but it has a twist. The band only fits properly when the cigar is properly humidified. If the band is really loose, the cigar is too dry.