First off I would like everyone to know just how rare the Sungrown version of this cigar is. Until I got my hands on this one I had not seen one in nearly a decade. I was like a giddy child in the toy store when a BOTL gave me this one. I wanted to save it for a special occasion, but said the hell with it. A special cigar makes any occasion special, so one night I busted it out and smoked it on my lanai with me, myself and I.
A little back story first. Every cigar smoker has an evolution of sorts during their smoking careers. I have been smoking for nearly twenty years now and I have had several. This sungrown blend from Arturo Fuente in all of its vitolas was one of my evolutions. It was about 12 years ago, in the horrid post boom period, when I decided I needed to step up the flavor and intensity of what I was smoking. Through the boom I was a Fuente and Padron loyalist, but when the boom ended and cigars became plentiful I really spread my wings. One of the areas that I took flight in was seeing what Fuente had to offer other than the standard boom available smokes. I found the Fuente Sungrown lines and a lifelong match was made. I have moved on to stronger blends, as anyone that reads my reviews knows, but I still come back to the Fuente Sungrowns every now and again for some whispers of nostalgia.
This rare cigar presents with the usual 858 ruddiness, these will never win a looks contests, but looks don't matter when you know what you are getting. There are some prominent veins and the wrapper has miles and miles of toothy texture. An inspection reveals one area that may have a void and I am nervous about it. The pre light aroma has the usual Sungrown earth and spice notes with maybe a bit of dark fruit. The pre light draw shows some leather and wood flavors that remind me of bygone days.
The cigar opens with the true Fuente Sungrown profile. Plenty of pepper and leather meet the palate right away, I savor every bit of this opening gambit and remember what it is to smoke these creations. At the back of the palate there are some beautiful notes of dark wood and rich tobacco that off set the front of the profile in a way that only Fuente can. The cigar is not particularly complex, nor the flavors particularly deep but it is exactly as I remember. The draw is a bit too loose for me, but Fuente are almost always too loose for me. The burn is right on the money and a nice white ash is forming.
The first half continues to walk me down memory lane and I wistfully remember a simpler cigar time when you could smoke just about anywhere you wanted to, I briefly lament the changes that political correctness run amok has wrought. The profile continues to show some pepper, but the more prominent flavors of leather and wood are showing through. At the back of the palate there continues to be a show of nice tobacco flavor. The draw and burn remain the same.
The final half of the cigar maintains the same hallmarks. Fuente cigars really are a model of consistency for me. I have always found that the profile changes are few and instead some thought and concentration has been put into making the cigar solid from start to finish without a lot of ballyhoo. The profile continues to show leather and wood notes with some brushes of pepper for good measure. The tobacco flavors at the back of the palate continue to show solidly. The burn and draw are also consistent throughout.
The finish is smooth and continues to tease the palate with wood and pepper flavors.
Appearance- 86 never a really good looking vitola
Taste- 90 a very solid performance
Construction- 90 again very solid, the draw was too loose for me though
Strength- 92 a very solid medium that complements the profile in an extraordinary way
Overall- 89.75 a very good experience
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