Fonseca 5-50 Natural

[theroberthogan]

Cigars International is running a special for 8 cigars and a 20-count humidor for $15. The sticks are one each of:

5 Vegas Gold Churchill
Torano 1916 Cameroon Robusto
Fonseca 5-50
Gurkha Connecticut Reserve Robusto #4
Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Belicoso Maduro
Perdomo Slow-Aged Lot 826 Glorioso
Perdomo Reserve Champagne ‘R’
Pirates Gold #2

I picked up this deal and the first thing that struck me was the quality of the sticks. First, instead of the Pirates Gold, CI sent me a Puros Indios Maxima Reserva. The 5 Vegas, Gurkha, and Indios had loose wrappers at the foot. Obviously these sticks must have been factory rejects for leftovers that CI was just trying to clear out.

I’ve been battling a cold all week, but last night was my birthday and my sense of taste had returned to normal so I wanted to smoke something. Instead of picking one of my top shelf smokes I picked the Fonseca. The stats:

Connecticut shade natural wrapper
Mexican Sumatra binder
Dominican filler
5” x 50 ring
Retail for about $3

The cigar lit up quickly, and produced a nice clean burn line throughout. The most stunning thing about this cigar is the long white ash it produces. When it finally fell off in my ash tray it looked like a little clump of snow. I’m kicking myself for not getting a picture because it was a pretty awesome ash. The draw was a little tight to start, but once the stick warmed up it opened up and produced a medium volume of smoke.

The flavor was tobacco right off the bat, and the cigar is mild to the extreme, so it didn’t even produce a nicotine buzz. About an inch in the profile turns to wood and that’s where it stayed. The cigar started to bore me and I put it down before I even got into the last third.

I would call this stick the cigar version of yard beer. If you are one of those people who just has to have a cigar all the time, and you want something to smoke while your preoccupied mowing the lawn or working in the garage, this might be up your ally. I personally like to have a cigar that I can really enjoy, and this one didn’t cut the mustard for me.


Here is the CI link in case you want to pick up this deal.

 

[Niko]

I picked up this deal and the first thing that struck me was the quality of the sticks. First, instead of the Pirates Gold, CI sent me a Puros Indios Maxima Reserva. The 5 Vegas, Gurkha, and Indios had loose wrappers at the foot. Obviously these sticks must have been factory rejects for leftovers that CI was just trying to clear out.

What did you expect for that much money?? CI blows out this crap all the time. Although the PI Maxima is not bad, neither is the Fonseca..

 

[Leeroy697]

I have had the 5-50 and thought it was not bad but would not seek them out.

 

[Marco-Polo]

The PI Maxima Reserva isn't bad at all, in fact. The only major blemish I noted was that it doesn't put out a lot of smoke. As for Fonseca, I haven't had the 5-50, but I found the Vegas de Fonseca to be quite pleasant. I liked it more than the 5 Vegas Miami that I had the same day, which may or may not say anything about the Fonseca.

 

[elderboy02]

These are decent cigars. I don't go seeking them out. I mostly give them to my buddies who don't smoke cigars. They are a nice mild and creamy smoke for non-smokers.

 

[Jaster]

I got a very similar combo back in February from CI, back when I was diligent about keeping a cigar log. :laugh:

The Fonseca was the first one I tried too (funny that), and my opinion echoed yours. The experience could be summed up in one sentence: "Yup, that's a cigar all right." Nothing more, nothing less.