JC Newman

December 08, 2013

Arturo Fuente Anejo Reserva no. 50 (5 1/4 x 50)

 
 
 
 



Video review HERE.


Arturo Fuente Añejo cigars are made with the same filler and binder as the OpusX cigars except they're wrapped in a dark, oily U.S. Connecticut broadleaf Maduro leaf that's aged for one full year in oak cognac barrels. Sometimes these cigars are known as the maduro OpusX. They are usually distributed around Christmas each year.

The cigar is a very dark brown and well made. These cigars have a nice density.




The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors were sweet cedar, cocoa, espresso, earth, and pepper rated at an 8. There is a very nice sweet cedar with cocoa notes. The coffee notes are so deep I would call them espresso.


About 1 inch in the cigar has really changed. The extreme, heavy espresso notes are now a nice black coffee. The lead flavor is the rich, sweet cedar with cocoa notes. There are also some charred oak notes. The earth notes have toned down. The pepper remains very good. The finish is one of a creamy toasted cream with some lingering pepper. The pepper is a black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. Within the first inch the cigar makes some major changes.




At the midpoint you get a really good mix of sweet, rich cedar, cocoa, and black coffee. The pepper has moved up to between and 8 and 9. The finish is unchanged. The cigar is medium bodied and moving rapidly to medium to full.









Just a few minutes later I realized that I left out the charred oak notes, which are very obvious now.











At the end the flavors are a nice, rich, sweet cedar with cocoa notes, charred oak, and coffee. The pepper and finish are about the same. The cigar ended up medium to full bodied. This 2013 version of the Fuente Anejo is very typical of other Anejos that I've had. The rarely disappoint. These are limited and in shops now. At my local shop they are priced a little better than the regular OpusX. Get them while you can!!!




Score:  93

Note: These are in short supply and not always available in your local shops. Buy Fuente Anejos HERE.

2 comments:

Marcellus said...

Just to add my two cents, a lot of it will be personal preference. People can say anything they want about a cigar, but ultimately it comes down to whether or not you enjoyed smoking it.

Tim Rollins said...

Absolutely Marcellus. If you enjoy the cigar that's all that matters.