Fonseca Arana? Any thoughts so far?
boydmcgowan
Posts: 1,101 ✭
Hey guys,
thinking about a bundle in my next order. they sound right up my alley, so I wanted to see if anyone's had any yet and what their thoughts were.
thanks
thinking about a bundle in my next order. they sound right up my alley, so I wanted to see if anyone's had any yet and what their thoughts were.
thanks
0
Comments
Right on, sounds good, Definitely sounds like a stick I'd be into when I just want to relax and space out and not think too much about the cigar I'm smoking.
I was def thinking about the corona. partially b/c the budget is tapped, but partially becuase I just have this feeling that budget cigars taste better in smaller ring guages. Thanks for the feedback, guys.
You too Kuzi, I don't think I've ever had a fonseca, or an urge to ever try one, until this one. It just looked good. Also one of my early favorite cigars was the CAO Criollo, and I'm bummed we don't have more cigars that utilize that tobacco. I rewatched the Ccom video where they talk about this one, and its just been on my mind. A Criollo Binder and a real dark habano wrapper with some probably mild dominican filler, just sounds tasty.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
That being said, its definitely a mild and super smooth cigar that was nice but I wanted more flavor out of it. That could have been becuase it was my second cigar of the night though.
The write up on Ccom talks about the aged Cuban-seed Dominican filler with a Criollo binder, and Habano wrapper with spicy, nutty and earthy flavors. I Definitely didn't get any spice out of it, but it did have a nice sweet, warm, earthy vibe to it. So I enjoyed smoking it, but I do want to get through the other two before making up my mind on it. I would imagine the skinnier the better for this blend though, to squeeze the most flavor out of the binder and wrapper as you can.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
What a magnificent cigar. You can skip the rest if you want.
A cigar this impressive deserves a name. I would name it Colin Powell, because it has gravamen. Weight, calm intelligence, dignity, wise behavior, admirable conduct. You can skip the rest if you want.
Pre-light you notice the ample 6x60 size of course. A natural dark wrapper with beautiful veins and marbling, and a slight oil. It feels solid. Perfect construction. Tastes like salty leather. Uncaps easily Easy draw. The pre-draw puff is all cashews. I have read about cashew flavor in a cigar, but this is the first time I noticed it.
It took three matches to light this beast. Here, I wish I owned a big torch. Thought I had it lit right; but the sequel proved me wrong, because one side refused to burn for the first half hour before it evened itself out. I got a tremendous volume of smoke. The flavor became like an old leather bound book, the cream colored kind. The flavor was consistent, but got stronger in the middle. Never turned bitter when I ashed. Filled the room with a very pleasant aroma. Cold leftover merlot made a great accompaniment. Never overpowering, but always flavorful. An hour and a quarter in, with about three and a half inches left, the thing got soggy and put itself out. I think you'd need a mouth the size of Joey Brown to adequately puff a monster like this. I let it rest for twenty minutes. Went round the house on errands. The attic fan had drawn the aroma throughout the place. Very pleasing. You know how a barbecue guy sets up his trailer outside a high school football field taking careful note which way the wind blows so as to famish his customers in the stands? Well, if you wanted to waft an odor out the door of a cigar lounge to famish guys for a smoke so they would have to come in, this would be it. "Here, you go to the boutiques without me, Hon. Here's the credit card. Have fun. I have to stop here." Twenty minutes later, I lit up the rest, and it smoked another half hour just as well as the first. I think a smaller ring gauge would make this an ideal smoke. Increase the wrapper to filler and make it easier to light right.
I was left with a wonderful stinkfinger which smelled to me like puppy breath. Morning mouth was real harsh until I brushed and showered. After that, made me look forward to coffee. The wheeze is very pleasant too. And the house still has a linering aroma. You wonder how it manages to not go stale.
Gravamen and good manners. I give this a four and a half stars. If I had it in a robusto, I think it would rate five stars.
GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY! I just looked these beasts up on cigar.com and I see where they are selling a mazo of 20 robustos for 35 bucks! Toros are just 40 skins! What the heck are these guys thinking? I may have to clean their stock out of these gems.
Good review by the way.
(Alliteration anyone?)
I scored a bundle of these to include among my Four Smoketeers. This may turn out to be the first Smoketeer which will have to be replenished. Can't stay off 'em. I was correct back in June when I reckoned that the robusto would be the right size for this. I don't have to yawn to get it in, there's a better balance between wrapper and filler, it's easier to light, and it's easier to live with.
Most importantly, if you hit this thing too often, you don't get that creamy soft replete with flavor can't see through it smoke. This thing has a completely different and way harsher profile when hit too hard. It wants to be babied, nurtured, and loved.
Nope. Hard to find a better bundle of flavor for the bucks. Fonseca Arana. Tellin ya. To da nub.
CutleryBarn
I may have received a bad bundle of Toros, but...
1. After resting a week, the first one was terrible. Using the term "harsh" is being kind. Smelled like burning rubber.
2. Another week resting and I fired up the second one. Ammonia best describes it.
3. I donated the rest to the Combat Cigar Lounge and even the Soldiers commented on how bad they were.
Never again.
True Sleeper.
But one thing I'd like to point out is that the cigar I smoked yesterday was not the same cigar I bought 4 or 5 months ago. I smoked a couple of them back then after they had had a few weeks rest in my cooler and I was not that impressed. Not badly turned off but, just not impressed.
Yesterday I just fired it up literally as a yard-gar while I was finishing up some outdoor painting but eventually I sat down and popped open a beer and ended up smoking it to the nub. (Which I don't often do.)
I'll definitely be getting some more bundles in different vitolas and I'll be sure to give them 3 or 4 months rest.