Arturo Fuente Maduro

[Austinoir]

Smoked a Arturo Fuente curly head maduro tonight. Sadly, it's a bait & switch. Dark chocolate wrapper, which smells of musky clean female nether regions and chocolate. Hell, even tastes like chocolate when put to lips, and strangely waxy for a minute or two. But, once lit had no draw, no flavor, just pepper and ok smoke cloud. But, nothing to write home about. Good looking stick til you smoke it. But, wait! Sadly, it got worse halfway it went out after three attempts to fuel a hotter cherry w short puffs (had to relight) once done the wrapper started to unravel, but better draw and finally a hint of the smooth creamy flavors I'd been expecting from my initial draw (also burned unevenly at the tip). Disappointed, and a little lightheaded I finished the rest thinking that I won't be revisiting this stick ever again.

As a newbie this is my first review of many to follow. I have been smoking for 3 months and have ventured into maduros after exclusively smoking factory throw conneticuts, so I don't have a wide, nor experienced palate; but my goal is to add my limited opinion on the best, flavorful and CHEAPEST cigars for those on a budget like me.

Would loved feedback on my reviews.

Thanks and happy smoking.

-Tom

 

[MichiganSRT8]

Surprised to hear this. One that I tend to like is the AF 8-5-8 Maduro, not sure if thats what you went after but that is a great stick in my opinion. I'm a new guy too, so take that with a grain of salt, but also a big maduro fan.

 

[Austinoir]

Thks, I've experienced that a lot, but read a few reviews (the exact Fuente stick was a curly head deluxe) but I also had a Casa Bella maduro churchill, National Brand maduro churchill and Casa de Garcia maduro churchill all fall apart on me last night and crack like brittle twigs (not mad paid $8 total for the lot, but hated to waste them). I went back to my B&M today and inquired and sales guy recommended a few other muduros which I asked him to inspect. He said the issue may lie w me being a newby, that I'm buying discount brands to start (cheap & poor) and the least experienced rollers make those. He also noticed my today selections were hard and cracked in many spots and said that those needed to be placed back in the humidor. I selected Fuente on a lark and also saw after smoking it in another review that I may have needed to cut both ends (the foot as well, since it was wrapped) for better ventilation. I also picked up a Punch double maduro, a Briosos maduro and a square Sancho Panza maduro. All of which I will smoke in the next couple days and give reviews on. I think my inexperience, my B&M being a large wholesaler with a crappy storage humidor and that I'm smoking $3 sticks have contributed to my bad smoking experience so far. Although, I had a great smoke w a C&C Rollback Toro maduro a few days ago-great flavor and smoke. I'm currently just trying to cheaply expand my palate with the smokes I've mentioned after smoking factory throwouts to start three months ago.

 

[Palama]

Surprised to hear this. One that I tend to like is the AF 8-5-8 Maduro, not sure if thats what you went after but that is a great stick in my opinion. I'm a new guy too, so take that with a grain of salt, but also a big maduro fan.

I second this recommendation as well as the Oliva Serie G Maduros for decently priced cigars. If you can rest them for 6 to 12 months they'll be even better. As your palate changes and you're more accustomed to stronger cigars (...and your budget increases...) try the Tatuaje Reserva or Crowned Heads Jericho Hill series. My favorite Maduros are Hemingways and Anejos but those are typically much more expen$ive and harder to find. Good luck and have fun looking for Maduros that you like.

 

[Austinoir]

Thanks, I will keep those on my list to try. I'm trying to economically take baby steps, not leaps, but I'll get there, especially with solid advice and suggestions like yours. Sadly, my current selection method is driven by price, so I'm a bargin value shoper looking for under $4 great maduro smokes (hell would be estatic w under $2). I will be trying a Sancho Panza double maduro (square pressed), a Briosos maduro and a Punch Elite double maduro in the next few days. I will post my reviews on those.

Thanks again for the solid response and suggestions.

 

[Angry Bill]

Head over to the interdiction section too and tell folks about yourself.

http://www.botl.org/forums/introductions.23/

 

[jtmazz10]

I second this recommendation as well as the Oliva Serie G Maduros for decently priced cigars. If you can rest them for 6 to 12 months they'll be even better. As your palate changes and you're more accustomed to stronger cigars (...and your budget increases...) try the Tatuaje Reserva or Crowned Heads Jericho Hill series. My favorite Maduros are Hemingways and Anejos but those are typically much more expen$ive and harder to find. Good luck and have fun looking for Maduros that you like.

Agreed, Oliva G maduros are absolutely a great value. One of the most beautiful maduros anywhere at any price! I would also recommend them. Another inexpensive maduro to try if you're a newb is the Sancho Panzo double maduro. You can get these for $2 a stick easy and they won't overwhelm a developing pallet. On the other hand, if you want to buy yourself a birthday/special event type smoke (like most of us do) I would recommend an AF Anejo. I prefer the #60. Then you'll see what Fuente is truly all about. Magical smoke! Enjoy!

 

[Spenny]

I'm blanking on which AF stick has a wrapped foot. Must just be early. Do you recall what vitola this was?

 

[danmdevries]

I'm blanking on which AF stick has a wrapped foot. Must just be early. Do you recall what vitola this was?

He said it was a curly head.... which doesn't have a closed foot.
I'm no Fuente expert, but I think I've had pretty much everything in their production lines and never saw a closed foot.

 

[Austinoir]

The name was correct, but maybe I erred when I said closed foot due to thinking that's what I saw and what I heard it being called influencing me to call it that. I could be easily wrong on that description.

 

[MichiganSRT8]

I second this recommendation as well as the Oliva Serie G Maduros for decently priced cigars. If you can rest them for 6 to 12 months they'll be even better. As your palate changes and you're more accustomed to stronger cigars (...and your budget increases...) try the Tatuaje Reserva or Crowned Heads Jericho Hill series. My favorite Maduros are Hemingways and Anejos but those are typically much more expen$ive and harder to find. Good luck and have fun looking for Maduros that you like.

Dang how did I forget the G maduros, I love those. Just picked up a box of G mad churchills for under 70 bucks actually, such a dang good deal, under $3 a stick and IMO holds its own against sticks I have had at near $9-$10. Tatuaje Reserva are another I'm glad to see mentioned, went to our local B&M and he was just putting a few boxes on the shelf, that stick dang near smelled like milk chocolate. Now I can't wait to give that a try.

 

[Palama]

Of the 7 vitolas in the Serie G Maduro line I've only had the 4 smaller ones (...Special G, Robusto, Belicoso and Perfecto...) and really like those. Have a Churchill somewhere, I guess one of these nights when I have a couple of uninterrupted hours for just smoking, I'll give it a whirl.
Tat Reservas - my favorites are the PCR, Noella and 7th. The Belle Encre Reservas are also great but almost impossible to find now. If you want a real quick smoke, the Petit Tatuaje Reserva would fit that bill but the RG is so small it reminds me of a cigarette.
In the Hemingway Maduro line, the Best Seller might be the easiest to find. It's kinda like a middle child. Bigger than the ever-popular Short Story but typically forgotten because of the Work of Art and Signature. No matter when I look, Thompson's always seems to have BSMs in stock.