Candela cigar review

[jgohlke]

Great reviews so far guys. Appreciate the effort.

AF - Too bad about that Harley crash...I mean it not happening and all. I had my fingers crossed for ya!

Bilder - Dude! Great pictures and great ash...I'm too much of a spaz to hold a long ash like that. As far as that white stuff goes...Holy crap!

I'm not much of tea drinker, but I liked the comparison. For me, it was a very easy smoke. It didn't demand too much attention and it didn't need too much attention. It did everything a cigar is supposed to do...it lit easily, had a great draw and produced clouds of smoke. Just a nice, easy smoke. Like many cigar smokers I have just avoided the green cigars because they were...well, green. I'm happy to discover that (so far at least), these cigars can be a very pleasant way to kill an hour.

I'm thinking that this cigar would be a great summertime smoke. I only smoke outside and sometimes sitting in the 90+ degree, high humidity outdoors that is Florida in August is just too much for smoking a full-bodied cigar. One of these cigars and some ice tea or fresh lemonade (or maybe a mojito or even a cold beer) sounds like a nice wind-down to a long, hot day.

 

[bilder]

A. Fuente 8-5-8 Review stick #2

This is the second of the 8-5-8's and today I paired this stick with some Starbuck's green tea just to see how well they compliment each other.

As with the first stick, this one has a nice appearance and a slightly sweet tobacco smell. Draw was a little loose on this one, but not too bad.

Setting is at work among some parked 737's that have been reitred from the fleet and are awaiting the final paperwork for the sale to an outfit in Africa.

As with the first stick, the flavor profile is the same, mild tobacco flavor with hints of sweetness and some tea like flavors tossed in for good measure. The cold started to get to this stick and the wrapper began to crack after an inch or so.

Lots of smoke with these sticks and the ash is holding on great, just like the first one. These things may be good for some ash standing! The flavors continue to be the same as the first cigar. Lots of smoke and good, yet mild flavor.

The cold is really getting to this wrapper now. Starting to come apart all over the place, but it keeps together and I can still smoke it all the way down.

The final shot as it is burning pretty hot and the wrapper is shot to hell.

This stick paired well with my tea. They compliment each other quite well and made for an enjoyable time. The wrapper issues were due to the cold, so I will not hold that against the cigar.


I hope the rest of the candelas are like this one. I am looking foward to the rest of them.

 

[Dogwatch Dale]

First off, gotta give major props to Joe for coordinating this tasting/review event. I know it's a lot of work and he has pulled it of magnificently! I really appreciate him allowing the DWSC to join in and follow along in the adventure!

Since I commented on the 858 on the show this week, and many other have posted their great reviews here, I don't have much to add. I really was impressed with the natural sweetness the wrapper imparted to the cigar and left on my lips. Very subdued, not anything like a flavored cigar, but yet a touch of sweetness that was very enjoyable. I hadn't realized as I smoked mine, but the camparison to a fruit flavor (really aroma) is valid. I also was impressed with the amount of underlying rich tobacco flavors, even in this very mild bodied smoke. Construction was excellent, burn was even and smooth and the cigar provided lots of smoke to play with and roll around the mouth.

I'm afraid the bar has been set high, and if even a couple other of these "unripe greenies" (as my co-host jokes about) provide such an enjoyable smoke as the 858, everyone is in for a surprising treat.

 

[Michal]

Yesterday I've smoked Iguana... and now I know why it did not qualified... :whistling:

 

[Brickhouse]

snip.....The wrapper issues were due to the cold, so I will not hold that against the cigar.

Mine blew up on me yesterday as well, but it was still a very tastey smoke :thumbs:

 

[denverdog]

Old man winter has been holding me hostage from the Cameroon and lighter wrapped cigars as well. Dangerous experiment for this time of year.

 

[mmburtch]

I smoked the 858 the other day. I'm not in the review pool, but since I had one well rested, I fired it up. About 1/4" in, I heard the audible POP as the wrapper succumbed to the low humidity denver air. Otherwise, I concur with those above. Sweet, mild and not at all unpleasant. I look forward to burning one of these in the spring or summer when I won't have to spend the better part of the experience containing a run-away wrapper.

 

[jgohlke]

Looks to me like we are ready to move on to the Astral. Feel free to add anything you want about the AF as we move forward.

All the comments are welcome, don't worry about being an "official" reviewer.

I got the 2 fivers of the Graycliffs in, still trolling for one more fiver.

Feel free to start posting your Astral reviews when you can...if the reviews overlap a bit in the thread, it's not a big deal.

 

[AVB]

I'm still trying to get the second 858 in. I thought the Astrals didn't start until the 16h according to YOUR schedule.

 

[jgohlke]

C'mon man, keep up! :laugh:

I know you haven't done your 2nd AF yet, neither have I. No big deal. I proposed that we could speed the schedule along if everybody made good time. No sense in just letting the clock run out if everybody is ready to move on.

If you want a couple of days to finish out the AF 858's, no problem. We'll hold on the next ones until both of us smoke our 2nd one.

Or, if you don't get to it, you can always go back and edit your other 858 post once you are ready to post your review.

I'd like to take some pictures with my next one as well, so I have some work to do too!

Hey, for those of you in Alaska, I'm sitting outside Panera typing on my laptop....it's about 60 here and looks like it's going to be a perfect day.

 

[jgohlke]

Ok, I smoked my 2nd AF 858 Claro today. First off, I have to say that I dropped it on the way out to the garage. It was still in the celophane and seemed ok, but once I examined it, it was split a little bit. I smoked it anyway. Other than it looked a bit nasty, it tasted and smoked fine.

Also, we had the perfect day. It started around 60 and hit about 80 and then cooled back off. I smoked this cigar just after lunch.

Here's the cigar:

Here you can see where the wrapper is split just a bit:

This was totally my fault as I dropped on concrete while I was walking outside.

It lit ok and seemed to draw just fine. It didn't take very long for bad things to start to happen:

I could actually hear the wrapper snapping and making little popping noises. I figured I would just throw it out and go get another one. Surprisingly, it smoked just fine. It didn't split any farther up the wrapper and without looking at it, I couldn't really tell, so I kept smoking it.

It tasted pretty much just like the last one. Now that I'm thinking about it, it kind of has that green tea flavor just a bit. While I was smoking it, my wife came out and said "it sure is green"....she had a puff and said "it tastes kind of green too". I don't find the flavor objectionable. Like the last one, this one burned well (in spite of the split), gave off big clouds of smoke and was generally a very agreeable cigar.

As I smoked it, the end of the split stayed put and gradually became less and less of an issue as the cigar burned up the mess.

When I got down to the last third, I cut off the ash and disected the cigar.

The wrapper is very thin, almost like tissue paper. It was 1 to 2 layers thick. The cigar seemed well made and peeled pretty easily once I sliced it with a sharp knife. Some of the interior cigar leaves were pretty thick and beefy. I managed to unfold two of them into good sized leaves.

All in all, another nice cigar despite the way it looked. The wrapper is a bit fragile, but tough enough to keep the split from spreading. To the cigar's credit, it smoked fine and eventually fixed itself.

 

[Nacho Verde]

It is I, Nacho Verde, and it is my sincere pleasure to welcome you to my reviews of these cigarros.

Señor Gohlke, muchas gracias for inviting me to partake in this most pleasurable journey with you and your compadres.

Let us begin. Viva los verdes!

The Arturo Fuente 858 Candela. Such a lovely cigar, the color of the first pale buds of spring. The firmness of the roll makes one think of a draw muy dificil, but I know Don Carlos builds his cigars well. The method entubar of rolling can result in a cigar as full and as firm as the supple twigs of the camelia, yet to draw, it is always a pleasure. The scent of this wonderful 858 is mild and delicate. All hay and straw flowers. Pleasant!

And now to light. Very, very nice. Draw as suspected, perfecto! The taste is, how you say sweet? Sweet like the caña de azucar, sugarcane. Ahhh, such fond memories of my childhood on the farm of uncle Renaldo. We would cut a piece and split it into small sticks and chew the juice. Muy delicado, a sweetness that was fresh and green like juice of the cane. The smoke was full and thick but so light. Very mild and pleasing through the nose. Suave!

This cigar, she smoked well to the end. Mild, delicate, sweet. Smoke was smooth and supple, but balanced. Ash was white and firm. Aroma of sweet leaves, hay and sunshine.

For a warm spring morning, this cigar is very good. To relax and not think too hard, this cigar is very good. Coffee or rum is maybe too strong for to smoke. But if you like to try something different, this cigar is very good.

Nacho Verde

 

[PSTAN]

For some reason I can't get the sound of Jack Black's voice in Naco Libre out of my head as I read your review Nacho Verde. :laugh: Stretchy Pants :sign:

 

[AVB]

Nothing going on today so I left and went outside to get my second 858 "C" in so I could post my review on time.

The wrapper is the color of new grass just poking up, a pale light green. This cigar like my first had the band glued on so that when it was removed it took a piece of the wrapper with it leaving a spot of dark brown binder poking through a ladybug sized hole. The cigar was firm almost all the way down to about the 2nd inch from the head were it became a bit softer. No veins stood out from the silky smooth wrapper and after clipping the prelight draw was more then I wqould have guessed from the firmness of most of this cigar. Smoking mostly maduros the scent of this cigar was light and airy in comparison almost as delicate as the wrapper itself.

Whipping out the trusty bic lighter this baby torched up with no problems with the lit draw matching the volume of the pre-light draw. A bit less smoke then I expected but well within normal range. The taste is sweet, not maduro sweet but fresh cut hay sweet. Underneath the woody nut flavor is noticeable but subdued matching the lightness of the wrapper giving a smooth pleasurable smoke that went well with the unsweetened ice tea I was drinking.

Overall, a bit light for me but it was a nice change of pace from my normal sticks.

 

[jgohlke]

Ok guys, appreciate the effort. We are right on track for the next round.

Astral Candela is up next.

Who wants to go first?

 

[tigger]

My apologies guys, I've been away, and thought I would have internet access, but didn't. Will post my 858 review later today or tomorrow.

Nice reviews!

 

[bilder]

Going to smoke my first Astral tonight after dinner. Review should be up by midnight my time.

 

[bilder]

Astral Candela Review

Took a time out today to smoke the first of the Astral Candelas for the review.

My usual hide out was filled with snow removal equipment, so I settled for a spot among three vintage DC-3 aircraft. Wonder if any of these things flew over Normandy?

The cigar looks to be well made, no large veins or any other flaw that I can see. The pre-light aroma is ok, a light smell of tobacco.

Draw is good, maybe just a touch on the loose side, but not enough to worry about.

Toasted the foot and gave it a couple puffs. Not much flavor, just a light tobacco taste for the first inch or so. After the first inch, it grew somewhat harsh. Kind of sour/bitter with hints of sweetness hidden in there. The tobacco taste is pretty one dimensional.

The middle of this stick is more of the same. Very light tobacco taste with the harshness that tends to take away from any enjoyment I may have. Seems as if this wants to be a good cigar, lots of smoke, good construction and draw and so forth, but the lack of flavor and harshness keeps it from being the good smoke it appears to be.

The ash does not want to hang on very well and I loose it after about an inch and a half every time.

The final third of this cigar is just like the rest of it, bland and sour/bitter. Has been an even burn so far, but now it is starting to canoe a bit. A quick touch up with the lighter got it back on track. If this were not a review stick, I would have tossed it a couple inches ago.

My final thoughts on this stick are mixed. It is well made, and burns good, but the flavor does not live up to the construction by a long shot. The harshness and lack of any depth of flavor simply cannot make this a good review. Would I smoke another? Well only because I have to smoke the other one for the review panel. I hope that this stick was simply a dud and the next will be better. Will smoke it over the weekend and let you know what happens.

 

[Dogwatch Dale]

I gotta admire what you go through to enjoy (or not) a cigar Mike. Makes me feel bad to complain about our cold weather.

I'm not hopeful your 2nd stick will be any better then the first, but I do hope I'm wrong. I smoked my Astral last week and it was just as you described - harsh & bitter. I really can't imagine the candela wrapper having anything to do with that either. The stick appeared well made and burned OK, but the tobaccos in the filler & binder had no real flavors outside of bitter.

 

[bilder]

Don't let my review scare you off guys, I want to know what you all think of this stick.