Last night's study smoke was the Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story. Since it was late and I had an 18 page paper to proof read and edit, the only accompaniment was a strong cup of freshly-brewed coffee.
The AFSS is a cute cigar. At only 4" x 48 rg, this little figurado is perfect when you don't have a lot of time but still want a high quality, big cigar "punch." The wrapper is African Cameroon and the internals are Dominican. You can read read about the origins of the Hemingway line in Carlito Fuente's (very own words). This cigar was also reviewed most recently by CP'ers natejustice and sabresfan.
This is the second cigar in my recent and ongoing AF tour. As I remarked in another review, it's been a while since I smoked much from Fuente and I wanted to give it a shot again with a refreshed palate.
Prelight and Initial Stage
This is a solid little stick. The wrapper is a ruddy colorado-maduro with moderate veining and a tough, slightly rough feel to it. External construction was quite good with a nicely formed, domed head and a neat nipple at the foot end. The scent strikes me as "old" tobacco, slightly peppery with a touch of dry wood. This suggests tobacco that has been sufficiently fermented and aged.
After I cut the cap off with my knife, I saw an indicator of potential draw problems. When you're looking down the freshly cut bunch and it looks like a solid disc of tobacco, that usually means a tight or impossible draw. And so, after moistening the region near the head again, I cut another 1/16" off to see if I could locate some channels. Not much luck. A quick draw test revealed that though quite tight, the stick was not plugged. In these cases, I smoke them with the hope that the heat will soften the bunch allowing me to roll the barrel a bit and open the stick up. It seems that even Fuente is not immune to the occasional tight pack but then this is a more likely occurrence with figurados rather than straight-sided parejos.
Light-up went well except for something that I sometimes encounter only with figurados, especially short ones. I find that sometimes I misjudge the point of contact between the tip of the flame and the point of the foot. In this case, I shot too low and ended up lighting the foot quite unevenly on one side. This did not seem to cause a persistent problem as the cigar was able to straighten itself out when the rest of the burn line caught up to the inadvertent torching. I'd caution that the following account is based on a cigar with a pretty tight draw. In my experience, this skews the impression but I cannot say with confidence in what ways other than muting flavors and sometimes adding a certain sourness/bitterness to the impression.
Initial impressions were of a medium-light bodied smoke. There was no discernible pepperiness underlying the predominant woodiness. Snatches of nuts (why am I always tasting cashews?) and dry earth snuck in. A good, dark tobacco flavor was present. Not rich, not creamy but reasonably satisfying nonetheless. The draw continued to be firm but the burn was organically straight with a razor thin burn line. Ash was a very stiff medium gray.
Finish and Final Impressions
I can't say the cigar developed very much. The flavors stayed true to tobacco/dry wood/nuts all the way without any harshness but also without much verve. I also found the smoke to be a little drying on the palate. As I smoked it further down, I got the same feeling that I always seem to get when I smoke Fuente products...nice, but no fireworks. At about the last 3/4" I was able to loosen up the bunch and get a freer draw. The cigar did open up, releasing more earthy and nutty flavors and the smoke actually had a better, more full mouth feel as the nub drew near.
In summation:
Although I don't feel I got the most out of this little cigar due to a tight draw, I think it performed pretty close to expected. If you like the Hemingway profile, you'd probably enjoy this cigar more. For my money, I found the LaGloria Cubana Reserva Figurado Felicias a much more satisfying, complex and flavorsome cigar. The unfortunate thing is that the LGC RF series is not available year-round.
(IMG:http://webzoom.freewebs.com/photonjazz/AFSS01.jpg)
(IMG:http://webzoom.freewebs.com/photonjazz/AFSS02.jpg)
Wilkey
The AFSS is a cute cigar. At only 4" x 48 rg, this little figurado is perfect when you don't have a lot of time but still want a high quality, big cigar "punch." The wrapper is African Cameroon and the internals are Dominican. You can read read about the origins of the Hemingway line in Carlito Fuente's (very own words). This cigar was also reviewed most recently by CP'ers natejustice and sabresfan.
This is the second cigar in my recent and ongoing AF tour. As I remarked in another review, it's been a while since I smoked much from Fuente and I wanted to give it a shot again with a refreshed palate.
Prelight and Initial Stage
This is a solid little stick. The wrapper is a ruddy colorado-maduro with moderate veining and a tough, slightly rough feel to it. External construction was quite good with a nicely formed, domed head and a neat nipple at the foot end. The scent strikes me as "old" tobacco, slightly peppery with a touch of dry wood. This suggests tobacco that has been sufficiently fermented and aged.
After I cut the cap off with my knife, I saw an indicator of potential draw problems. When you're looking down the freshly cut bunch and it looks like a solid disc of tobacco, that usually means a tight or impossible draw. And so, after moistening the region near the head again, I cut another 1/16" off to see if I could locate some channels. Not much luck. A quick draw test revealed that though quite tight, the stick was not plugged. In these cases, I smoke them with the hope that the heat will soften the bunch allowing me to roll the barrel a bit and open the stick up. It seems that even Fuente is not immune to the occasional tight pack but then this is a more likely occurrence with figurados rather than straight-sided parejos.
Light-up went well except for something that I sometimes encounter only with figurados, especially short ones. I find that sometimes I misjudge the point of contact between the tip of the flame and the point of the foot. In this case, I shot too low and ended up lighting the foot quite unevenly on one side. This did not seem to cause a persistent problem as the cigar was able to straighten itself out when the rest of the burn line caught up to the inadvertent torching. I'd caution that the following account is based on a cigar with a pretty tight draw. In my experience, this skews the impression but I cannot say with confidence in what ways other than muting flavors and sometimes adding a certain sourness/bitterness to the impression.
Initial impressions were of a medium-light bodied smoke. There was no discernible pepperiness underlying the predominant woodiness. Snatches of nuts (why am I always tasting cashews?) and dry earth snuck in. A good, dark tobacco flavor was present. Not rich, not creamy but reasonably satisfying nonetheless. The draw continued to be firm but the burn was organically straight with a razor thin burn line. Ash was a very stiff medium gray.
Finish and Final Impressions
I can't say the cigar developed very much. The flavors stayed true to tobacco/dry wood/nuts all the way without any harshness but also without much verve. I also found the smoke to be a little drying on the palate. As I smoked it further down, I got the same feeling that I always seem to get when I smoke Fuente products...nice, but no fireworks. At about the last 3/4" I was able to loosen up the bunch and get a freer draw. The cigar did open up, releasing more earthy and nutty flavors and the smoke actually had a better, more full mouth feel as the nub drew near.
In summation:
Although I don't feel I got the most out of this little cigar due to a tight draw, I think it performed pretty close to expected. If you like the Hemingway profile, you'd probably enjoy this cigar more. For my money, I found the LaGloria Cubana Reserva Figurado Felicias a much more satisfying, complex and flavorsome cigar. The unfortunate thing is that the LGC RF series is not available year-round.
(IMG:http://webzoom.freewebs.com/photonjazz/AFSS01.jpg)
(IMG:http://webzoom.freewebs.com/photonjazz/AFSS02.jpg)
Wilkey
Smart move so that you can get your fingers on the nub though.
Right on about the nub though :thumbs: 
