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Candela cigar review

Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 858

My apologies again for the delay in posting this. I smoked the cigar a couple of weeks ago, when the weather was warm enough to sit out on the porch - a nice surprise. :)

Perhaps worth noting, this is the only one of the cigars slated for the Candela tasting that I've smoked before. I've enjoyed the ones I've had previously.

Getting Going

This cigar has a green (duh), very finely veined wrapper. It feels a bit light in my hand, but its construction is firm.

The wrapper smells a bit grassy, and the foot smells vaguely of tea and herbs.

It cuts easily. The prelight draw is a little loose. The flavor is, for lack of a better word, yeasty, with some salty/sweet notes.

Foot toasts up easily, and the initial draw has a light-bodied, pleasant nondescript flavor, with a slightly tangy finish.

First Inch

After a few puffs, the draw tightens slightly, so that there's just the right amount of resistance. There are herbal flavors, with hints of saltiness and light pepper in the finish. The ash is light gray and flaky.

Toward the end of the 1st inch, there's a toasted bread flavor that makes itself known.

Second Inch

Some light, sweetness becomes dominant, with the prior flavors falling off.

Some spice shows up at around the 2" mark, and the wrapper cracks around the band (delicate leaf and January air don't always mix well), but the wrapper stays on.

Third and Fourth Inches

It settles in to predominantly creamy flavors with a mix of sweet and bitter notes on the finish

As the cherry nears the band, the remaining wrapper finally falls apart, and I put it to rest.

Final Comments

This smoke seemed a bit random...the flavors changed a fair amount, but didn't really build on one another until it settled in to a nice creaminess toward the end. It's an enjoyable cigar.

While I don't smoke them much anymore, I've long been a fan of AF 858s. In the four wrappers I've tried (Cameroon, Maduro, SG and Green, I've never had one I disliked. They're consistent, reasonably priced, and of good quality. While it's rare that I reach for one these days, I'll be holding onto the second one from Joe, because sooner or later the mood will strike me. :)

Thanks again Joe, for setting this up!
 
One question before I continue. Do I HAVE to smoke the second Astral?

I can just copy bilder's review since there isn't anything good I want to say about this. Bland, sour and flavorless just about sums it up. I will say that the wrapper on the Astral did seem to be thicker then on the 858 but I don't know if that is good or not. Being put away for about 5 years should take care of the sour part of this stick leaving you with just a pleasant bland smoke, an improvement for sure but one not worth waiting for. The construction was pretty good with a content firmness over the entire length and only a few small veins showing. I think they did that to fool you into thinking there is something worthwhile inside,

 
No, ya don't gotta smoke the 2nd one.

Here's my review of the Astral Candela....

The cigar seems to be firm, well-made with nice wrapper. A couple of veins are visible.

The pre-light draw is very easy, almost too easy with little resistance. I was actually able to draw through this cigar before I clipped it.

The first couple of puffs produced tons of smoke...unfortunately, it was harsh and somewhat acrid. After a few puffs the taste moderated a bit to a straw/hay type of flavor...sort of fresh tasting, but not in a good way.

The cigar simply refused to stay burning well enough to smoke. Getting a good puff required several slow "pre-puffs" to get the cigar going well enough to smoke. My smoking was more like "puff, puff, puff, puff, pant, pant, puff, puff, cough, cough...."

I soldiered my way through about the first 1/3 and tossed it.

Ok, let's get this one done and move on.

Feel free to "gift" the extra one to somebody (you don't like!).
 
Ok, the rest of you slackers better step up! Bilder, AVB and I have done our duty for this round, it's time for the rest of you to "git-r-done".

Just because the cigar sucks and you've already read the reviews doesn't mean you get to slide. :laugh: :laugh:

Let's see those reviews! And some pictures too! On about the 3rd puff, hold the camera at arms length and let's see your mug! Try and capture that moment of realization..."Hey, this cigar really sucks. Hey, I have to smoke the whole thing because I'm writing a review. Hey, I have to smoke another one too! Aaarrrggggg!".

That's the "Kodak moment" I want to see!

Also, I did manage to score 3 5-packs of the Graycliff Emerals on Cbid. That gives us enough cigars to finish the review. I'll figure out the cost of 2 cigars and shipping and let you know. I paid $12 or less per cigar, so we saved some money for sure (MSRP on those cigars is $18 I think..that's what the local B&M charges anyway.) I plan to send out the Graycliffs next month (Feb). Hopefully that spreads the financial pain out enough for everybody. Holler if you need to work out something different.
 
This is a good read guys. I wish I had joined the board a few months ago and could have joined you in this 'expedition'.
 
Great reviews guys and way to tough it through the nasty specimens. Has anyone here ever had an Astral you enjoyed? The few I have had have not been worthy of the time spent smoking.
 
REVISED ASTRAL CANDELA REVIEW

We wants the precious, we must haves it! Those filthy hobbits stole it from us!

norah012ed326fqb3.png


We takes it and lights it! Puffs it we does, like the fine stick our precious is. Tastes just likes bunny nuts our precious does yes. Just like bunny nuts.

gollum2f22518yk9.jpg


Aggha! Whats is its? Our precious this is not! They tricks us, nasty stinking hobbits'es! It burns! Burns us! Nasty Elves must have rolled it!
Stinking gay elves, they tricks us! We cannot smokes this, kills us it will.

orlandobloomhot2f60b82os4.jpg


Our tastes are ruined! Our precious lost! We's may as well smokes blunts and lives in the hoods we do. Yes precious, lives in the hoods we will.

gollum2f9cee3yw9.jpg


Grapes and apples and peachy blunts we's will smoke now. Miss out precious we does, seeks it will we. Some day we's finds it.

We's hopes to find the hobbits'es and kills them. Yes kills them we will and take our precious! Till then we's blends in. Gets fancy rings in ears and turn tricks we will.
Anything to gets our precious back.

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Ok, smoked the Astral on Sunday while driving. (I haven't read any of the other Astral reviews yet so this is totally unbiased) I wasn't expecting too much and boy was I suprised.

Burn Perfect! No runners and almost a perfect circular burn with a perfect white ash that held for at least 1/2 of the total cigar before falling off in the car seat.

Wrapper was smooth with no veins and the pre-light aroma was light, floral and very pleasant.

I used a standard .44 caliber bullet to cut the head.

The inital light was extremely pleasant and pleasing to the palate. The subtle green tea flavors and the hints of cinnamon were compounded by the smooth smoke that filled the oral cavety. As the smoke engulfed the imagination and wandered to what the cigar would grow into as the richness and body would increase in intesity and the finish would elongate in something that could be enjoyed to the bitter end........I realized I had lit the Astral, finally!

You should also realize that everything I wrote above is BS except the fact that I had not read any of the other reviews.

I found it a marginal smoke at best. It had a runner, the flavor is kinda thin and without any distinguishing characteristics. About 1/2 way it started to show some character but not enough to keep it lit for more than another 1/2 inch. So, I gave it 70 mph heave ho. Certainly something I would not recommend purchasing again.
 
Sorry for not posting guys. Been hurt, had some surgery, then some complications, now just pain. I must say that although I do not hate all the Vicadin my taste buds suffer.

I also smoked the second AF and enjoyed it almost as much as the first. Smooth, sweet and a new favorite in my greenie stash.

I will smoke the Astral tomorrow and do my write up. After reading the reviews I can't wait to experience this one for contrast.


PS - I'm back


Fish
 
Welcome back Fish, hope you feel better soon.
 
Fish - Sorry to hear you were having some grief. Hope it's all behind you now!

The next cigar is the Camacho Robusto. Let's see those reviews!
 
OK, here's my abreviated review of the Camacho Robusto candela. I'll discuss it more on next week's show, but I really liked this cigar! Construction was excellent, draw was perfect (for me that means just slight resistance) and the cigar burned slowly and very even while giving up tons of fragrent smoke. The aroma was herbal and rich. Flavors were mostly leather and a sweet grass. At times a bit of wood crept in. A touch of spice showed up in the last 1/3rd. I'd say the body and flavors were medium, strength was mild. The finish was creamy and lingered a while, very pleasant. I smoked this on my commute this morning and the cigar lasted the entire hour with no wrapper cracks or other misbehavior at all. A wonderful morning cigar!
 
Very nice Dale. I'm looking forward to it. As a point of interest, these cigars came unwrapped in the box and were banded with green and brown bands. The cigars were stacked next to each other with alternating band colors. It was nice presentation. It looked like somebody had taken real care when they put the cigars in the box. Plus, "naked cigars" are kind of special when you first open the box.... :laugh:
 
Hey everyone,

I smoked a Camacho Robusto Candela last week that Joe had gifted me while I was down in FL. Here's my thoughts:

Similar to the 858 in this tasting, it was a very mild cigar. In fact, at least the last six cigars I smoked were all dark and strong maduros, so at first I thought to myself the same thing I told Joe about the 858, "I feel like I'm smoking air!". But that's not a bad thing at all, in fact it's really nice to know that there's a couple cigars out there that are very light and tasty, and make a great early morning cigar if/when I happen to be able to have a cigar in the morning (it rarely happens). I really enjoyed this one, and thought the construction was spot on, very nice looking cigar, smooth wrapper, perfect burn, never cracked or fell apart, and produced loads of smoke. It was certainly very mild, perhaps a flowery or herbal taste to it.

I certainly enjoyed this one, and it outshined my expectations. I've never been a big candela fan, or had very many in the past. One thing I've noticed about this one and the 858 was how thin the wrapper was. As I finished this cigar I took it apart slightly, and the wrapper really is paper thin. Much thinner than any other wrapper that I've dissected from a cigar before. It amazes me that the wrapper on this cigar doesn't just burst into flames the second that a lighter is put to it, leaving the binder and filler in your hand!
 
So I know I am behind in reviewing and I am trying to catch up.

I smoked the Astral and I think Jgohlke purposely picked this cigar to kill my tastebuds.

The wrapper was smooth and silky to the touch, the cigar looked well crafted and I went in with the best of intentions. Unfortunately this was the best part of the cigar. I did notice that the tobacco under the wrapper was much lighter then the AF and later wondered if that was the reason for the horrible taste.

I can't say much more then what was said other then it tasted like feet, well like a dirty foot. and very sour. None of the things I liked about the AF were present here. The subtle sweetness has been replaced with an aftertaste. I couldn’t explain it at first but now I can describe it as that terrible funk you have in your mouth when you wake up after a long night of drinking tequila.

This is an embarrassing cigar for Astral and I have included it in my new "Worst 5".

Onward to the Camacho!


Fish
 
Cammacho....

Wrapper very thin, in fact it was peeled off in a couple of spots. Also very smooth and very green. :rolleyes:
Burn was even until the last third. Caught a bit of a runner at the end.
Draw was very good, no hinderences whatsoever. Perhaps even a bit more open than I like it.
Initial body was light in character with increasing intensity but nowhere beyond medium
Decent finish...suprisingly.


No green tea in this one either. Pleasant flavor with a very distinct note of something I could not describe. It was a familiar flavor but more intense than in anything else I've had. That was the long finish note. Even though I am not sure how to describe the flavor, the character was a bit slippery, not unlike a good olive oil. No harshness noted until the last bit, probably cause I was smoking hard to finish it before getting back to the office after lunch break.

I regularly smoke other Cammacho's and enjoy the fuller flavor they have. This was not the same but a nice middle of the day cigar without edges.
 
Smoked the green band Camacho this evening. Much better then the Astral, the subtle sweetness is back with notes of green tea and apples. Another success.

Fish
 
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