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Review Fuente Hemingway Work of Art Maduro |
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Written by Administrator
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Sunday, 21 December 2008 07:15 |
Okay, this is my first review...... pretty much ever.
It's the first time I've sat down with a cigar and a piece of paper (this piece was nicely formatted and ready for use, thanks to VigorishSLC) and actually tried to get beyond, "it's real good, man, I like..."
I'll be honest up-front that I purposely tried to underscore this cigar for that very reason.
Whatever the case, I bought this Maduro mid-December at the TinderBox in Tucson (thanks to a tip by BOTL Toos, thanks brotha!) and I believe it ran me just about $8.50/9.00. Itemized receipts as a standard for cigar shops would be sooooooo nice and soooooo baller.
Anyway, here's the review:
Length: 4.88 (Based on Holts' page)
Gauge: 60
Wrapper: Republica Dominicana
(I couldn't find anything specific on the Maduro wrapper so I'm stabbing at this one... I know the natural is Cameroon but???)
Binder: Republica Dominicana
Filler: Republica Dominicana
Appearance and Construction: 7.5/10
It wasn't the prettiest maduro I've seen but, generally speaking, I don't spend a lot of time looking at Maduros...
Nicely filled with some visible veins and a bumpy wrapper. The cigar's appearance almost reminded me of a Crunch Bar. Grin
Took a nice, clean cut with the Palio.
I gave it a 7.5 for its slight ugliness as well as some sloppy wrapper application.
Flavor: 16/20
Cold - Alfalfa with Floral, almost Grassy smell
Lit - First third delivered Bittersweet Chocolate, hints of Mesquite, Alfalfa and some Caramel.
I was already hooked and very interested in this cigar!! I think I slightly overcut it but the draw was still resistant enough to not burn terribly quickly and delivered loads of thick, sweet smoke. The fragrance from this cigar was amazing!
Second third started slowly but kept bringing hints of what was to come, Toasted Tobacco, hints of Almond and retaining that Chocolate presence. This flavors kept through the end of the smoke, which was nubbed. I did get some hints of Ammonia through the nose at about the beginning of the third third but it was mild and subsided back to the predominant flavors of the smoke.
The cigar was complex and interesting and kept my attention the entire time, even though I was watching "Layer Cake" and enjoying some glasses of Warre's along with it...
I gave it 16 because of the Ammonia and for the slow start on the 2nd third.
Smoking Characteristics: 8.5/10
One relight was required to get beyond the "hips" Grin of this Perfecto. However, that happens to me just about every time I try out a Perfecto. The cigar took a cut nicely, had a medium resistance on draw, held its first ash for just over 2" and, for the most part, burned razor sharp. Never needed a relight after the initial bump in the road.
I gave it an 8.5 for a slightly uneven burn and for good measure not to go points-crazy... Grin
First Third
Second Third
Value/Overall Impression: 4.5/5
I couldn't call it my "perfect smoke" but, man, was it an enjoyable one! Price point was right around $8.50/9.00 which seems to be pretty consistent with other retailers, especially by the box.
It was a great smoke, though, and for that, I gave it a 4.5
Total: 36.5/4.5 = 8.1
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Last Updated on Monday, 22 December 2008 02:53 |
