orangedog
Navin R Johnson
Hello All,
I missed it by one weekend! I was told that on the weekend of March 17th, Carlito made his way to Casa Fuente in Las Vegas to release a new series - Casa Fuente Sun Grown.
The weekend after, I was able to pick one up and am now just sitting down to light it up. There are three new sizes... I'm guessing in the 50-52ish rg... but I'm sure someone else will have all of the technical details. All about corona/robusto in length. Maybe those were the sizes... Corona Gorda, Robusto, and Toro... not sure... looked but didn't write it down.
Anyways... this might be the FIRST "review" (and I do use the term very loosely) out there on the interwebs, at least per a cursory review of google... so thank BOTL for being around. :thumbsup: (I think there was discussion on a couple sites but feedback was limited to "tasty" and "good", etc.)
So first thing I noticed...besides how nice the wrapper looks... there isn't really ANY difference in the individual cigar packaging on these when compared to other Casa Fuentes. There also isn't anything different in the price... If I remember correctly, the box says Sun Grown which is the only give away.
Firm to the touch - solidly constructed. Took some effort to light. Draw is excellent.
Initial puffs... think of reducing cane sugar into a caramel consistency, and then dunking roasted almonds in that. remove the almonds. let dry. the sweetness was balanced by a tannic, but not quite leafy, quality. very reminiscent of wine... which I guess shouldn't surprise me due to the raisin note that pops up in Opus.
The tannic tone strengthened a bit into can sugar stalk... ever chew on cane sugar stalk? You should try it at least once.
Continuing on. Still sweet, tannic. Toasty, like toasted sourdough. Creamy... like a venti latte with only one shot.
Plenty of white smoke output, as a side note.
Past the halfway point, a tiny bit of spiciness shows up. Spicy in terms of Christmas spices (I'm thinking clove, ginger, cranberry), not pepper spice. Helps pare down the sweetness a tad.
Starting to round out a bit. The beginning had me thinking "light and sweet" and now it is picking up. Balancing into sweet and spice (and yes, everything nice) and medium (not a strong cigar).
Wrapping it up... the spice and heat picks up towards the end. Still pretty balanced, the sweetness has noticeably faded. I think this is a good thing, though - prevents it from being a pure sugar stick.
Summary: Quality stick in construction. Full flavor - reminds me of an improved and more complex Magnum R, which I like the Magnum R as a nice change of pace cigar (kind of like Diplo 2s). Transitioned nicely from sweet to spicy, but all in the same flavor palatte. Another Fuente success in my book.
As for aging... this is probably a smoke in 0-4 years type of cigar, if I were guessing (which I am, of course). The tannic nature makes me think these can improve a tad, but they won't age like Opus.
Casa Fuente is limiting these to 1 per person. None of the normal people I see on my visits were there that morning, so I left with my single. This would be a cool box to have to celebrate with friends though... if you had something big happening (i.e. wedding, birth of a child, big year/event at work, etc.) where you were celebrating with the occasional smoker. The price might prevent that, but I think it would be a good cigar for those circumstances.
In any event, I'd definitely chalk this up as a cigar to try at least once. On your next trip to Vegas, or your mule's next trip to Vegas, snag one, despite the price ($21-$25 plus tax, each).
I missed it by one weekend! I was told that on the weekend of March 17th, Carlito made his way to Casa Fuente in Las Vegas to release a new series - Casa Fuente Sun Grown.
The weekend after, I was able to pick one up and am now just sitting down to light it up. There are three new sizes... I'm guessing in the 50-52ish rg... but I'm sure someone else will have all of the technical details. All about corona/robusto in length. Maybe those were the sizes... Corona Gorda, Robusto, and Toro... not sure... looked but didn't write it down.
Anyways... this might be the FIRST "review" (and I do use the term very loosely) out there on the interwebs, at least per a cursory review of google... so thank BOTL for being around. :thumbsup: (I think there was discussion on a couple sites but feedback was limited to "tasty" and "good", etc.)
So first thing I noticed...besides how nice the wrapper looks... there isn't really ANY difference in the individual cigar packaging on these when compared to other Casa Fuentes. There also isn't anything different in the price... If I remember correctly, the box says Sun Grown which is the only give away.
Firm to the touch - solidly constructed. Took some effort to light. Draw is excellent.
Initial puffs... think of reducing cane sugar into a caramel consistency, and then dunking roasted almonds in that. remove the almonds. let dry. the sweetness was balanced by a tannic, but not quite leafy, quality. very reminiscent of wine... which I guess shouldn't surprise me due to the raisin note that pops up in Opus.
The tannic tone strengthened a bit into can sugar stalk... ever chew on cane sugar stalk? You should try it at least once.
Continuing on. Still sweet, tannic. Toasty, like toasted sourdough. Creamy... like a venti latte with only one shot.
Plenty of white smoke output, as a side note.
Past the halfway point, a tiny bit of spiciness shows up. Spicy in terms of Christmas spices (I'm thinking clove, ginger, cranberry), not pepper spice. Helps pare down the sweetness a tad.
Starting to round out a bit. The beginning had me thinking "light and sweet" and now it is picking up. Balancing into sweet and spice (and yes, everything nice) and medium (not a strong cigar).
Wrapping it up... the spice and heat picks up towards the end. Still pretty balanced, the sweetness has noticeably faded. I think this is a good thing, though - prevents it from being a pure sugar stick.
Summary: Quality stick in construction. Full flavor - reminds me of an improved and more complex Magnum R, which I like the Magnum R as a nice change of pace cigar (kind of like Diplo 2s). Transitioned nicely from sweet to spicy, but all in the same flavor palatte. Another Fuente success in my book.
As for aging... this is probably a smoke in 0-4 years type of cigar, if I were guessing (which I am, of course). The tannic nature makes me think these can improve a tad, but they won't age like Opus.
Casa Fuente is limiting these to 1 per person. None of the normal people I see on my visits were there that morning, so I left with my single. This would be a cool box to have to celebrate with friends though... if you had something big happening (i.e. wedding, birth of a child, big year/event at work, etc.) where you were celebrating with the occasional smoker. The price might prevent that, but I think it would be a good cigar for those circumstances.
In any event, I'd definitely chalk this up as a cigar to try at least once. On your next trip to Vegas, or your mule's next trip to Vegas, snag one, despite the price ($21-$25 plus tax, each).
:tiphat: