The cigar: Fonseca Cubano Limitado toro
Nutritional facts:
vitola: toro 6x50
origin: Dominican Republic
wrapper: Honduras
binder: Dominican Republic
filler: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic
Humidor time: 4 months
The marketing:
JR:
Handmade in the Dominican Republic under the supervision of master blender Manuel Quesada, these Cuban style smokes are the boldest of the Fonseca line. Each cigar is blended with rich, Dominican and Nicaraguan ligero tobacco and is finished off with an attractive, dark and oily Cuban seed leaf, grown in Honduras. The hearty dose of Cuban flavors and hints of caramel and spice make these well-balanced, smooth cigars truly something special!
Famous:
Fonseca Cubano Limitado premium cigars are full-bodied, aromatic cigars with a very 'Cuban-like' character. A robust blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican Cuban seed longfiller tobaccos capped in a dark, oily, Honduran Cuban seed wrapper offer a lush, full-flavored and heady cigar that's not overpowering. The burn produces a rock-solid ash, and the smoke has lots of earthy depth with strong notes of cedar laced with sweet tobacco flavors. A 'must-smoke' if you enjoy extra rich-tasting cigars.
Prelight: A looker. A solid, well filled cigar wrapped with dark oily Honduran leaf. Some moderate veins. Barnyard, earth, and hints of spice in the aroma from the foot. Sliced cleanly, revealing an excellent draw with earth and spice.
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Burn: Very good -- mostly straight with just a bit of wobbling; no touching up required. The light gray ash got a bit flaky but held tightly. Lots of smoke. Expect 90 mins from this toro.
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Flavor: I'm generally not a huge fan of Fonsecas; while they're well built, they tend to be too mild for my tastes. I picked up some of the Cubano Limitado line because they're supposed to pack more flavor; JR and Famous describe them as full bodied. They're certainly more flavorful than any other Fonseca I've had, but certainly not full, at least to my palate.
The smoke opened with woody and earthy flavors, not much in the way of spice. Lots of smoke, but only medium in body and flavor. Finish is clean. The flavor builds over time, with the woodiness increasing. Some leathery notes, maybe a touch of caramel, but by and large it's a relatively simple, even dull smoke. I just didn't find the richness or complexity that I expect from a good cigar.
Bottom line, a well made but relatively boring smoke. There are just too many better cigars to smoke. I've got a few more that I'll leave in the coolidor and revisit; maybe some age will help.
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