danthebugman
BoM Nov '10

Size: 4 1/4" x 54
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade & Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Price: $13.10
A couple days before Christmas I took the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful and unseasonably warm December day. As it turns out it was the last of those kind of days, Winter has set in like a bad house guest and doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon. On this day my tastes selected a cigar that's been sitting in the humidor since around this time last year. The local B&M got in a shipment of Arturo Fuente Between the Lines and while they're a little out of my usual price range, I simply can't pass up a barber pole cigar. Especially a Fuente.
At first glance all you can really say about this cigar is it's darn pretty. The almost jet black Broadleaf and tan Shade wrappers contrast each other beautifully while complementing the perfecto shape of the cigar. True to the Fuente reputation everything else seems to be done impecably as well. Pre-light aroma was a thick barnyard with a slight sweetness in the background...heavenly. Cap clipped smoothly leaving behind a slightly tight draw. Given the nipple foot on the cigar it was about right. Leashed up the dogs, zipped up my son't jacket, fired up the nipple and away we went.
Wasn't much flavor right at first, but once the cigar burned through the nipple I was met with a light roasted coffee flavor and a little sweetness. The burn, as has been my experience with nipple foot cigars, was all over the place at first and required several touch ups. At around the half way point the burn evened out and remained fairly straight the remainder of the smoke. Also once past the nipple, the draw opened up and was perfect. As the cigar burned towards the second third the roastiness of the coffee flavor increased and was joined by a faintly sweet chocolate flavor. In the last third the flavors remained mostly the same, the chocolate became more intense and took on a slightly bitter character while the roastiness of the coffee increased almost to the point of being too much.
Visually this cigar is stunning, flavor wise it doesn't live up. While it was far from bad, the flavors didn't really change from start to finish and in my opinion were kind of generic. If you like those flavors you're likely to be happy, if they're not in your wheelhouse then you're likely to be disappointed. I think a lot of the popularity in this cigar stems from it's rarity and the cool look. For the price you could snag a couple of WOAMs or Singature Maduros and I find those to be a better smoke.
Dan