Originally published on Tiki Bar Online.
Size: Figurado
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $6.68 per stick at my local B&M
With this next review, I once again wanted to review a cigar that I either have not smoked before go for something that I wouldn’t normally smoke at all. It’s not to say that the Arturo Fuente Short Story, regardless of a natural or maduro wrapper, is something I wouldn’t smoke. It’s simply one that because of its size is one I do not reach for. Still, with the pedigree of the name and the high probability that it would be a great smoke, I chose the maduro variant to review.
While I didn’t detect any noticeable flavor notes pre-light, I did notice three chips in the wrapper after taking it out of the plastic. None of those chips caused any issues in smoking the cigar. Other than that, I found nothing else out of the ordinary.
Using a cutter with the cigar and lighting with a match, my first draws were met with a mild amount of resistance which loosened up after a few minutes. The first flavor points that I noticed from the cigar were not from the draw but from the taste of the maduro wrapper. It had an almost oily taste to it but not in a way that was bad but unique (I did automatically check for tar but found none). The flavor profile for this cigar is complex; medium to full bodied in terms of strength but not overbearing. Two flavors came to the forefront for this cigar that were akin to bitter cocoa (think baker’s chocolate if you’ve had the chance to taste it) and burnt coffee. Again, they weren’t bad at all but definitely an interesting combination. Around the halfpoint in this cigar, I did get an additional flavor point of spice. This Short Story never got bitter on me and stay incredibly smooth right until the end.
While the smoke time for this cigar was right under an hour (56 minutes), the finish for this cigar was short as there is only a mild lingering of this Short Story on my palette. The burn was this cigar was great needing zero corrections and only required one relight. And amazingly enough, I did not ash on myself as it held well to the cherry.
To recap the Arturo Fuente Short Story Maduro:
- A medium to full bodied cigar with a complex flavor profile in a small size, perfect for when you do not have a lot of time to dedicate for a cigar.
- While I would be hesitant to give this cigar to someone who is new to cigars or who is not a regular smoker (because of the complexity), most would enjoy this cigar. Those who consider themselves aficionados would love this selection, especially if by some strange circumstance they have not had the opportunity to smoke one.
- At $6.68 for a cigar this size and complexity, you are getting a good value for your money.
- As always, thank you very much for reading and I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.
