I won't go in to the long and laborious rise of Rocky Patel and the impact he's had on the cigar industry. That's someone else's job. I wanted to explore the start of Patel's cigar journey with the Super Fuerte. Hell, I don't even know what "fuerte" means. Okay. I did a Google search and found out that it means "fort" or "strength". That makes sense considering this is supposed to be a medium to full flavored cigar.

I received a bundle of Super Fs (I'm not going to spell it out any more) as a freebie for ordering some other stuff. I was pretty excited because (1) I've not had one of these before and (2) there are a lot of rabid Super F lovers out there that still swear that these are the best cigars that RP has made. Not that he shouldn't have moved on, just that these are still the best.

So these Super Fs have been in my 'dor for two days now. And I have plans that one lucky little guy is going up in smoke after work today. However, my boss had a two hour meeting after lunch, so I took that as a sign to go outside and enjoy the nice day with my Super F. So I grabbed my coffee and I left my coworkers to enjoy the fluorescent lights for a while. What a great day. It's sunny and in the mid-40s. The snow is melting and I can actually hear some birds singing.

The first appearance of the Super F is pretty good. Dark brown maduro wrapper, firm in the hand, and I love the box-pressed shape. It has a few veins in the wrapper, but you have to look for them. Damn, it looks like a candy bar. It smells great. A little spicy and woody. Not like chopped wood, but the way the woods smell when you walk through the trees.

Snip... A clean cut. Pre-light draw is good and clean. I toast the foot and start to get that dark gray ash. It lights like a champ. The first few puffs produce gobs of dark blue-gray smoke. And you know I like the smoke. The first third of the 'gar is smooth with a medium body. It's good. At one inch, the ash falls on my shirt. Crap. I hate that. It was so pretty too. Gray-black with a few flakes.

The second third brings on a little spice and the chocolate flavor comes around. My lips are tingling a bit and the strength picks up. This is definitely what I remember hearing others talk about. It burns evenly, no need to relight or touch it up at all. I'm more careful with the ash now. The construction of the 'gar is solid, but the ash is not as firm as a Punch or a Padilla. The thick smoke swirls around me and hangs in the air with each exhale - until the barely imperceptible breezes pushes it aside.

The final third stays solid (but I wouldn't call it strong), and the tobacco/chocolate flavor and spice are still coming. I smoke it to the nub and I'm glad it ended when it did. I would have liked to have had more, but I've been outside for almost 55 minutes. This robusto is a great one-hour killer. The coffee really complimented the chocolaty goodness.

My overall impression of this smoke is very good. One thing that I liked about this smoke is that you never forgot you were smoking a cigar. There was none of the fancy-schmancy butter/nutty/toasty/whatever flavors that I occasionally enjoy with other cigars. Don't get me wrong, I like those flavors as well, but this smoke reminded me that a cigar is still (when you get down to brass tacks) good ol' tobacco.

I imagine that these fellows will get better and better as they nap in my 'dor. I think these Super F fanatics might be on to something. Spring is coming and I look forward to more afternoon outings with these smokes. I've just gotta keep my boss out of the office.

I'd like to think of something witty to say in order to wrap this up, but I'm drawing a big blank. How about a movie quote? "We were raised by television to believe that we'd be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars - but we won't."

Cheers,
Michael

And that is my second review.
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So this is for the Super Fuerte Maduro?

Great review, thanks! :-)
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TT,
Dang. I did forget to mention that didn't I?

I would fix it, but I don't know how. There's no "edit" button on my original post.

Thanks,
Michael
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Have tried both the Super Fuerte naturals and the Super Fuerte maduros and I much prefer the maduros. I try to keep a few of these around at all times.

Thanks for the review.
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The SF Maduro is one of my regulars. I love this smoke.
Nice review! :-)
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Nice review. It's funny how different people's tastes are as I find these virtually unsmokeable. :-) But I'm sure many people feel the same way about some of my favorites. :-)
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Good inexpensive smoke. great review:-)
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Ratters,
Isn't it funny like that?

Of course no two people taste the same. But the fact that you personally don't like these, yet you took the time to read the review and leave a note, means you're a bit more open minded and recognize that we all have different tastes.

Thanks for that.
Cheers,
Michael
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Very nice review!!!

I happen to like these a lot!!!:-)
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I got one of these Super Fuerte Maduros in a sampler pack, and it had a nice rest in my 'dor because frankly, I'm more of a medium fan and the name and dark wrapper put me off. However, I had it the other day and was impressed by it. It was much better than I expected and I would buy them again. I think you described it pretty well, and I also smoked it to the nub. My friend who was working on a 5 Vegas Miami had a puff and commented that he liked it as well.
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Yeah, the El Mejor Espresso for instance.:-):-)
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just traded for most of a bundle of these and cant wait to try one.

thanks for the review!
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I really liked the SF Natural, but the Maduro was a let down, and I am a big maduro fan.
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:-)
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Funny thing, I was thinking of that cigar when I wrote it. :-)
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:-)
Me too bro. Me too. I smoked two 5'ers of different sizes of them because I wanted to like them... and I just don't.
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Indeed sir, it was a nice smoke
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ITSF's are GREAT!!!! both the Maddy's and the Natural's. In fact I had a natural last night that was kicking around for about 3 years! Cinnomany, earthy, oaky delight. Burned perectly too. I paired it with a Pommagranin Wheat bear. Gets an A and an A+ if you factor in the cost!
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