Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature Maduro Tuesday, May 6 2008

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Broadleaf Maduro
Filler: Dominican
Size: Perfecto 6.0″ x 47 ring

As if the Cameroon wrapped Hemingway cigars weren’t special enough, The Cigar Family makes an extra special, aged, limited release of the Hemingways with a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper. Like the Anejos, the Hemingway Maduros are usually released around the holidays as a special treat for the fans and customers of Arturo Fuente cigars. I gave some more background on the Hemingway line of cigars in my review of the Hemingway Best Seller so click on over and check that out while you’re here.

The Signature Maduro has a oily, dark, toothy wrapper that is simply gorgeous. It has the look of old, well worn leather. Like all the Hemingway’s the foot tapers down to a slightly odd looking nipple. The Hemingway and Hemingway maduro provide an excellent example of how much a wrapper can affect the flavor of a cigar. The maduro is a completely different and unique experience compared to its Cameroon wrapped sibling. The Cameroon version provides a classic Cameroon flavor with a sweet spice. The Signature Maduro starts off with flavors of cedar and a slight sweetness typical of a maduro wrapped cigar with flashes of black tea. As the smoke develops it gets very creamy and mellow. In the last third it starts to exhibit black pepper with a unique earthiness that I find hard to describe. It makes me think of wet earth, almost like I am tasting the rich damp soil the tobacco was grown in.

The construction, as is always the case with any Hemingway was superb. The burn was razor sharp and the as was grey and rough looking but held firm. It produces thick clouds of white smoke with a rich aroma. There is just nothing bad to say about this cigar. It is a wonderful experience from start to end and as good as the Cammie version of this cigar is, it pales in comparison to the complex experience that the maduro delivers. The Signature Maduro and the Work of Art Maduro are by far my favorites of the Hemingway line. If you have never had one, you simply must find one and try it. I usually don’t give maduros this much love, but this is a superb cigar.

Get yours at CigarsDirect.com: Arturo Fuente hemingway Signature Maduro

Rating - A

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Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Presidente Wednesday, Apr 23 2008

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican
Size: Toro 6.0″ x 50 ring

I provided a bit of background on the Don Carlos line of cigars back when I reviewed the Don Carlos #4 for CigarsDirect.com in October of 2007. Rather than rehash all that here I am just going to cut to the chase today and provide you this link to go back and read the review of the #4 if you are interested. Now onto the good parts, smoking the Presidente…

The wrapper on this cigar is vieny and a splotchy brown. This is unusual for a Don Carlos. They usually have very few viens and the color is usually very smooth and uniform. The rustic appearance had no adverse effects on the smoke though. It was mellow and smooth, the flavors were creamy and refined. It was slightly sweet, typical of a good Cameroon. I found this one to be a little one dimensional compared to the smaller No. 4, but the flavor was so good it was still a very enjoyable smoke. As is always the case with the Don Carlos, the construction was perfection. the burn was razor sharp and the smoke was thick and creamy. These cigars never disappoint.

I used a new style of cut tonight and I have to say I really liked it. I used a double V-cut. This technique was shown to me by my friend Jamie who is a regular at Capital City Cigars in Raleigh. He calls it the “Butterfly Cut”. You use a V-cutter to make a small cut across the head, then you turn the cigar and make a second V-cut perpendicular to the first creating a shallow X across the head. It makes for a very clean cut and a good draw. I enjoyed it so much, it may become my cut of choice. Of course, it is best suited to larger ring gauges. I don’t know that I’d use it on anything smaller than a 48 ring. i highly recommend you give it a try. i think you’ll find you like it.

Get yours at CigarsDirect .com: Arturo Fuente Don Carlos

Rating - B+

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Fuente Fuente Opus X Petit Lancero Wednesday, Mar 12 2008

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Dominican Rosado
Filler: Dominican
Size: 6.25″ x 39 ring

Today, thanks to the generosity of my friends at CigarsDirect.com I am smoking one of the elusive Opus X from the Fuente Family. The Opus X line of cigars has garnered a lot of accolades since it’s introduction in 1995. Opus X cigars routinely score in the 90’s in Cigar Aficiando and Cigar Insider. That combined with some aggressive marketing and limited supply has led to a whole lot of hype surrounding this scarce stogie. They sport a Dominican grown, reddish brown, Rosado wrapper which in the case of the petit lancero is a little veiny and lumpy. The wrapper for these Dominican Puros are grown on the Chateau de la Fuente Estate in the DR and are reported to be cured in rum barrels. Once the cigars are rolled, they are aged for a year before being sent to market.

This particular cigar is a short and slender lancero with a tapered head. I love lanceros. I think they are a connoisseur’s size and if done right make for some of the most complex smokes you can get. It’s small ring gauge that leaves no room for error though as there isn’t enough room in them to hide substandard tobacco. The Opus X Petit Lancero starts off a little peppery but settles down quickly. It’s smooth with lots of caramel, and earth with a leathery finish. It is very complex medium to full bodied smoke. I expected it to pack a stronger punch than it did though. The buzz factor was nice but not the reputed knock you to your seat strength I heard and read from others. The flavors are very well defined making for an amazing smoking experience. The construction is excellent, with a perfect draw and a razor straight burn. Those two things are not easy to accomplish when making such a small ring gauge, and it is a testament to the skill of the rollers the Fuentes have making these cigars. The ash was so well formed, it looked like a little piece of concrete hanging off the end of the cigar. Even though I was a little disappointed with it’s power, this is the best of all the Opus X vitolas I have tried so far. I am afraid its price tag relegates it to a special occasion smoke though.

Get yours at CigarsDirect.com: Fuente Fuente Opus X Petit Lancero

You can win a free sealed box of Opus X Petit Lanceros courtesy of CigarsDirect.com, or one of 3 other boxes of cigars and support a great cause at the same time. Click here for details!!

Rating - A+

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Arturo Fuente Hemingway Classic Thursday, Feb 21 2008

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican
Size: Perfecto 7.0″x 48 ring

The Hemingway line of cigars from the Fuente Family has a reputation of excellence. Along with that success, it also carries a reputation of being hard to find. Not so. Finding them is as easy as pointing your web browser at CigarsDirect.com. That is where this long and lovely Cameroon wrapped stogie comes to me from. CigarsDirect.com has an impressive selection of Hemingways so if you have been in search of a source, now you have one.

I provided a bit of background on the Hemingway cigars in my review of the Best Seller so rather than rehash all of that here I will just dive right into this cigar. In my experience, the Classic seems to be the easiest to find of all the Hemingway vitolas. Classic is a good label for this smoke too. That is how I’d describe it. It’s a classic cigar experience, medium bodied and easy smoking. It has a classic tobacco flavor wrapped in a classic Cameroon sweet spice. It is a very enjoyable smoke if a bit one dimensional. It doesn’t do a whole lot to excite the palate but when you are finished with it you find yourself saying “That was a damn fine smoke.” There is a warmness to the flavors that lends this cigar to a chilly day. Construction wise it is your typical Fuente product, very well made with a good draw. The cigar feels a little light for its size making you wonder if it’s under filled, but there are no soft spots on the cigar to speak of. The wrapper is a very toothy and very rough looking. It looks like you could use it to sand a piece of balsa wood. The burn would go a little crooked once and a while but it always managed to correct itself. If you find yourself in the mood to just drink in an abundance of classic Cameroon flavor, this is a stick you should consider reaching for.

Get yours at CigarsDirect .com: Arturo Fuente Hemingway Classic

Rating - B

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Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente King B Saturday, Dec 29 2007

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Sungrown Rosado
Filler: Dominican
Size: Belicoso 6.0″ x 55 ring

Finally, I feel well enough to enjoy a good cigar. So I figure it’s time to catch up on some reviews. I was hoping to get a review done in December. I managed to sneak it in at the wire. I’m starting with a top shelf cigar from CigarsDirect.com…

Here is yet another hard to find Fuente cigar. One begins to wonder why so many of their smokes are “hard to find”? But I’ll leave it at that before I end up running off on a tangent. The King B is a handsome looking Belicoso. Hidden beneath a cedar sleeve with a black ribbon on the foot is a beautiful Sungrown Rosado wrapper. Reddish brown in color, the wrapper has a few veins running through it but is otherwise unblemished. There is a story that has been recounted in several places where Carlos Jr. tells the story of the King B and how it came to be as well as how it got it’s name. It is apparently named after an old tavern in Yarbor City that his father used to frequent. The Tavern is gone now but will be remembered for a long time now that this cigar bears its name. Carlos Jr. also said the reason for making this cigar in this shape was because he felt the Chateau Fuente line was in need of a pyramid. Maybe I’m mistaken, but I thought the Cuban Belicoso (only available in a sungrown wrapper), which has been around longer than the King B, was part of the Chateau Fuente line so I’m not sure why he thought they didn’t have one. Don’t suppose it matters so on to the smoke.

It’s been my experience that cigars wrapped in a cedar sleeve tend to have that cedar take a prominent place in the aroma and flavor of the cigar and it was no different with the King B. The aroma was predominately cedar with a solid tobacco undertone both pre-light and when it was burning. The tapered head clipped nicely and the foot took the flame perfectly. The burn was excellent. Fuente cigars always score big in the construction department. The have very well put together cigars. The ash was firm and well formed and the cigar produced clouds of thick white smoke. The King B starts off very cedary with a slightly sweet spice on the finish. The cedar was always present but as the smoke progressed the cedar mixed with earth and a bit of black pepper. I found this to be a medium bodied smoke. The flavors are pleasant and fairly smooth making it an accessible and enjoyable smoke for most cigar smokers. I really like the Belicoso shape and while this was a very good cigar, my personal tastes put my preference with the Fuente Cuban Belicoso. I find the Cuban Belicoso to be a slightly more robust cigar with more interesting flavors. Plus it is a little easier to find than the King B, but only a little easier. The King B is certainly worth a try and if your tastes tend to gravitate toward medium rather than full bodied or mild cigars than you may find this cigar to be a favorite.

Get yours at CigarsDirect.com: Arturo Fuente King B

Rating - B+

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Arturo Fuente Hemingway Best Seller Friday, Nov 16 2007

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican
Size: Perfecto 5.0″x 55 ring

Today I am enjoying another Fuente cigar courtesy of CigarsDirect.com. It is another Cameroon wrapped stick from the Fuente Family. This one is part of the Hemingway line. The entire line of Hemingway cigars are very hard to make perfectos. The shape of the Best Seller as well as the other vitolas are some of the hardest cigars to make because of their unique shape. Carlos Jr. tells the story of how the Hemingway cigars came to be on their website. He are some small excerpts from that story:

Ever since I was a child I was always fascinated with that shape, the old world, and the really difficult art of the craft that the Cuban Perfecto cigar represents…

…Today we make all these cigars and also a few very limited shapes such as the Work of Art, Best Seller, Untold Story or the Between the lines as well as others. These cigars are extremely difficult to make so our production is very small. We accumulate the limited production of these cigars in the aging rooms and usually release them around the holidays, something special for our fellow cigar smokers to enjoy. (Carlos Fuente Jr., Cigar Family Website)

Carlos doesn’t elaborate on why they chose Hemingway to name this cigar after. I think there is a perception in the general public of Earnest Hemingway as a cigar smoker, probably because of his macho persona and the bravado his personality portrayed. I think that the fact that there is a cigar line named after him just served to cement this misconception in the eyes of a lot of people, but the truth is he was not a cigar smoker.

Hemingway later said that Cuba held many attractions for him…. What he evidently did not find of interest in Havana were cigars. Although he had learned to smoke Russian cigarettes during the First World War, and once described himself in a humorous 1935 story about Key West as “sitting on the verandah enjoying a cheroot,” he told a writer in 1950 that he didn’t smoke because it diminished his sense of smell. In The Sun Also Rises, Count Mippipopolous makes a great ceremony out of clipping his cigar with a gold cutter and proclaiming “I like a cigar to really draw,” but apparently that was a procedure and preference Hemingway rarely practiced. (Cigar Aficionado People Profile).

I have been a fan of the Hemingway cigars for a while now and the Best Seller along with the Short Story and Work of Art are my favorites in the line. The size and shape of these cigars make them fun, complex smokes that can be easily enjoyed when the mood strikes because they are usually no more than an hour commitment. You can drag them out because the burn slow and cool, but if you don’t have all day they fit the bill nicely. I am also a lover of the Cameroon wrapper, and the perfecto shape, so this cigar has a lot to offer me.

There are a couple reasons I love a perfecto. Number one is aesthetics. They are beautiful cigars to look at if well made. The curves and sloping lines are pleasant to the eyes and knowing how tough it is to wrap a shape like this and the kind of skill and artistry that goes into making them enhance this. Have you ever tried to wrap a gift that had an odd uneven shape? I’m not a good wrapper anyway, but with a gift like that the wrapping job usually comes out looking more like a damaged package from UPS rather than a gift. The other reason I like the shape is because it lends itself to a more complex smoke. When the cigar starts off narrow, there is less filler mixed with the wrapper and so the wrapper plays a larger role in the flavors of the smoke to start. As you progress through the smoke and the burn starts to widen into the thicker part of the cigar you are burning more filler and the wrapper’s role is less dominate and the flavors begin to change. It’s not long before the cigar begins to narrow and the flavors begin to change again. It makes for a complex, attention holding, fun smoke. This has been my experience with the Hemingway cigars including this Best Seller.

When you first light the nipple on the foot of the Best Seller you get a bast of Cameroon that is more sweet than spice. The cigar quickly opens up as you smoke up the taper to the thickest part of the cigar. The Cameroon takes back seat to a woody/cedar flavor with a subtle nutty undertone. Once you get past the bulge, the cigar starts to taper down to the head. As I progressed through the smoke the Cameroon flavor gradually picked up in intensity once again becoming the dominant flavor toward the end. The finish is a pleasant cedar that doesn’t linger longer than it needs to. The construction is impeccable and the burn is perfect. The Best Seller is a wonderfully complex yet mild to medium bodied cigar. I have never been disappointed by this cigar.

Get yours at CigarsDirect .com: Arturo Fuente Hemingway Best Seller

Rating - B+

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Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No.4 Wednesday, Oct 24 2007

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican Republic
Size: Mini Belicoso 5 1/8x 43 ring

The Fuente family makes some of the most popular cigars in the US. The Opus X and Hemingway lines seem to get the most notoriety in this part of the country, but right up there with them is the premium Don Carlos line of Cameroon wrapped cigars. The Don Carlos is a supurbly constructed refined cigar that proudly bears the name of Don Carlos Fuente Sr. himself. The Don Carlos can be had in various vitolas, seven of which are the most common. The #2, #3, #4, Robusto, Double Robusto, Belicoso, and Presidente. I have seen pictures of a Lancero but have never seen one in person. I don’t know the story behind the Lancero but can only assume it was some kind of special run that may or may not have ever been publicly available. The Fuente’s seem to have a lot of special run, never released cigars floating around out there. You often hear stories of them much like you hear stories of Big Foot and Lochness sightings.

But I digress. Today I am smoking the Don Carlos No.4 courtesy of my friends at CigarsDirect.com. There is a great selection of hard to find smokes over there so please click on over and look around.

The Don Carlos No.4 is a handsome looking Mini Belicoso in an toothy, brown Cameroon wrapper that shimmers with an oily sheen. The Mini Belicoso is unique. The cigar is the size of a Petite Corona but with the tapered bullet head of a belicoso. The wrapper tastes sweet on the lips and the draw seems to be about perfect with just the right amount of resistance. Right off the bat it delivers a nice strong abundance of Cameroon sweet spice. This is one of the smoothest and most refined Cameroons I’ve smoked (true of Don Carlos in general). I am a lover of Cameroon wrapped cigars so I really enjoyed this. The flavor was pretty consistent the whole way. This size is a little stronger and more robust than the larger vitolas in this line. There is a little pepper in the background and the finish is surprisingly light and pleasant. The construction is impeccable and the burn is perfect. Given the small, short format of this cigar, the lack of complexity really isn’t a problem. It is the perfect smoke if you are looking to get a lot straight forward, classic Cameroon flavor.

Get yours at CigarsDirect .com: Arturo Fuente Don Carlos

Rating - B+

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Fuente Fuente Opus xXx 4.5×49 Thursday, May 4 2006

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Size: Mini Belicoso 4.5″x49 ring

Also called the Power Ranger, this Dominican puro is a powerhouse cigar in a small package. It is excellently constructed with a reddish brown oily wrapper. It had very few tiny veins and the torpedo head clipped nicely. I found the draw to be a little on the light side but not so much so as to be a problem. I had a little trouble lighting it but once it got going, the burn was perfect. It had a very firm ash that held well. It is a full bodied cigar with straight forward tobacco flavors and notes of leather and spice. In the strength department, this little cigar comes in big. It made me more than a little dizzy. I usually find cigars this strong to be a little harsh, but that wasn’t the case here. It is an excellent smoke from start to finish. I recommend this to anyone who loves a full bodied strong smoke. Just make sure you have a place to sit down while you smoke it.

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A. Fuente Añjeo #48 7×48 Monday, Mar 27 2006

Country: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican ?
Wrapper: Broad Leaf Maduro aged in Cognac Barrels
Size: #48 7.0″x48 ring

I don’t have the exact stats on this cigar but above is what I believe to be correct for this stick.

Wow. What a great smoke. The Añejo #48 is a beautifully presented cigar with a cedar wrapped foot accented by a blood red ribbon wrapped around the very bottom. The wrapper is very dark with a little tooth and very few tiny vines. There were not soft spots in this cigar which was well filled with no rib veins visible in the foot or the head. A pre-light draw delivered spicy notes and the wrapper left a slightly sweet taste on the lips. The cigar lit very easily and it had a nice easy to medium draw. This cigar produced a lot of thick white smoke. It was full-bodied and spicy on the tongue with just a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste. The finish was long and spicy. This was a powerful cigar too with an excellent buzz factor. After sitting for the first 45 minutes of this smoke, when I attempted to stand up for the first time, I almost fell right back down. This cigar made my knees a little wobbly. I enjoyed every puff of this cigar, all the way to the nub. Its impressive seven inches took me and hour and forty-five minutes to smoke, but admittedly I took a short break to eat a couple of slices of pizza. It was lasting a long time and a man needs food as well as cigars to survive.

This was a fantastic cigar that now has me looking forward to smoking some of the other Añjeo vitolas I have resting in my humidor. Maybe I’ll finally smoke one of those Sharks (#77) I have resting.

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A. Fuente Hemingway Short Story 4.25×49 Thursday, Dec 8 2005

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican Republic
Size: Figurado 4.25″x49 Ring

Don’t let the name fool you. This cigar may be short in length, but it is not short on flavor. It’s also not a short smoke. I puffed on this thing for about an hour. This cigar burns slow and cool, and it creates lots of thick creamy smoke. The burn was near perfect and the ash was like cement. This shorty is wrapped in a beautiful dark brown Cameroon wrapper. It’s toothy and oily with few little veins running down it.

The cigar tasted wonderful. It left a slightly sweet taste on your lips. Smoking this cigar was kind of like drinking a cup of coffee with cream. It was creamy with a coffee like bitterness to it. The flavor was consistent throughout and I smoked it down to the nub. I highly recommend you try one. This was the first of the highly touted Hemingway series that I’ve tried and I was not disappointed. Next I think I am going to try one of the Signature Maduros.

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