A. Fuente Anejo No. 46
Wrapper: US Conneticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
A. Fuente's maduro wrapped version of their "flagship" cigar the OpusX. Its definately a beautiful cigar, wrapped in cedar with a red bit of ribbon taped to the foot. I removed all the "fluff" and examined the cigar a bit closer. Nice and dark with an oily sheen and some slight veining. It is a solid cigar, weighty in the hand and almost no give when slightly pressed. I'm a bit worried about draw at this point. No discernable aroma at cold except clean tobacco. A bit surprising considering this is ,after all, a Maduro. Cut very clean with my Xicar, draw is a bit on the tight side but not so much that I'd have to work at it.
Light is easy, the first few puffs produced tons of heavy white smoke. Not much in the way of flavor except crisp clean tobacco. Again for a maduro I was expecting something different.
First third was very depressing. Clean tobacco taste with slight vegetal afternotes. Lots of white pepper through the nose. Draw had a little pull to it and the burn was excellent - straight and razor sharp. Nothing really "jumped" out at me that told me this cigar was "cream of the crop" except for maybe the telltale signs of a well made cigar.
Getting into the 1/2 way mark and on to the last 1/3 I'm starting to get a bit more flavor out of the cigar. Hints of coffe are starting to peak out from the ever present vegetal flavor the cigar has been producing up to this point. Still, this is very different from a typical Maduro.
At the end of the cigar the strength has increased. Coffee notes are finally present but some slight harshness has materialized as well. Purged the cigar and let rest for a few minutes before picking back up. This helped and allowed me to nub the cigar at the end. The last 1/3 was definately the best but it took too much cigar to get to this point.
Burn: 10
Draw: 9 (would be a 10 but was slightly tight)
Taste: 6
Aftertaste: 6
Construction: 9
Appearance: 10
Feel: 8
Overall: 8.3
3 smoke rings -- and average cigar
I think I'm being super critical with this one. However, seeing the exclusitivity of this cigar, and the cost one has to fork over just to smoke one, I should be critical. Will I buy another - nope, not at the "retail" markup everyone seems to get for these things. Heck for the same price I'd much rather smoke a Cohiba EL Sublime or 3 Ashton VSG's for that matter. At least I can get a better flavor profile from these cigars. Its too bad this line has such a crutch from the get go. Only available twice a year (if you're lucky) and expensive to boot.
I'd rather save my pennies and buy a few VSG's.
Wrapper: US Conneticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
A. Fuente's maduro wrapped version of their "flagship" cigar the OpusX. Its definately a beautiful cigar, wrapped in cedar with a red bit of ribbon taped to the foot. I removed all the "fluff" and examined the cigar a bit closer. Nice and dark with an oily sheen and some slight veining. It is a solid cigar, weighty in the hand and almost no give when slightly pressed. I'm a bit worried about draw at this point. No discernable aroma at cold except clean tobacco. A bit surprising considering this is ,after all, a Maduro. Cut very clean with my Xicar, draw is a bit on the tight side but not so much that I'd have to work at it.
Light is easy, the first few puffs produced tons of heavy white smoke. Not much in the way of flavor except crisp clean tobacco. Again for a maduro I was expecting something different.
First third was very depressing. Clean tobacco taste with slight vegetal afternotes. Lots of white pepper through the nose. Draw had a little pull to it and the burn was excellent - straight and razor sharp. Nothing really "jumped" out at me that told me this cigar was "cream of the crop" except for maybe the telltale signs of a well made cigar.
Getting into the 1/2 way mark and on to the last 1/3 I'm starting to get a bit more flavor out of the cigar. Hints of coffe are starting to peak out from the ever present vegetal flavor the cigar has been producing up to this point. Still, this is very different from a typical Maduro.
At the end of the cigar the strength has increased. Coffee notes are finally present but some slight harshness has materialized as well. Purged the cigar and let rest for a few minutes before picking back up. This helped and allowed me to nub the cigar at the end. The last 1/3 was definately the best but it took too much cigar to get to this point.
Burn: 10
Draw: 9 (would be a 10 but was slightly tight)
Taste: 6
Aftertaste: 6
Construction: 9
Appearance: 10
Feel: 8
Overall: 8.3
3 smoke rings -- and average cigar
I think I'm being super critical with this one. However, seeing the exclusitivity of this cigar, and the cost one has to fork over just to smoke one, I should be critical. Will I buy another - nope, not at the "retail" markup everyone seems to get for these things. Heck for the same price I'd much rather smoke a Cohiba EL Sublime or 3 Ashton VSG's for that matter. At least I can get a better flavor profile from these cigars. Its too bad this line has such a crutch from the get go. Only available twice a year (if you're lucky) and expensive to boot.
I'd rather save my pennies and buy a few VSG's.