The cigar: Vegas de Fonseca Sobrino (5.25 x 50)
About 6 mos humidor time
The marketing:
CI:
Fonseca’s big brother, Vegas de Fonseca, is a pleasurable, bold smoke.
Consider Fonseca, an extremely well-made, smooth, mild bodied cigar that delivers a satisfying smoke time and time again. Now, take it up a notch by adding a toothy, African Cameroon wrapper leaf and a healthy portion of aged Nicaraguan filler, and you have yourself a bolder, meatier blend. Offering a delicious nutty flavor backed by a complex arrangement of cedar and sweet pepper, this cool burning cigar will surely fit the bill in your time of need.
Cigar Insider’s April ’04 issue raved about Vegas de Fonseca, awarding it with an outstanding ’92’ rating, while Cigar Aficionado held a spot for the line in their top 25 cigars for 2004!
Famous:
The company line is that Vegas De Fonseca Sobrinos cigars are the most ''bold and daring'' of all Fonseca cigars! Made in limited quantity and shapes to ensure consistency, these medium to full-bodied cigars are blended with hearty Dominican & Nicaraguan Ligero long fillers, balanced by a milder, Cuban-seed Dominican binder draped in a specially-cured, African ''Cameroon Deluxe'' wrapper. Complex in flavor, smooth and aromatic, like all Fonseca cigars, the Vegas De Fonseca Sobrinos selection is a memorable and gratifying smoke.
Prelight: A bit rough looking, with a dark, veiny wrapper marked with some water spots. Cap also looks a bit rough. Solidly made, with a very easy cold draw.
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Burn: Lit easily and burned mostly straight, with some wobbling but no serious draw issues. The ash was a firm, medium gray, and it held tightly. Easy draw, with a good volume of smoke. Burn time about 80 minutes or so.
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Wobbled a bit after the first ashing, but settled back down.
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Flavor: Regardless of the marketing, this cigar is mild-med in body and strength. It started with a bit of pepper on top of a woody core. The woodiness persisted, and some grassy notes emerged.
In the second third, I got some more complexity, but the flavors were still pretty light. Occasionally some sweetness, some green tea, some grassiness, building into a smoother, richer nuttiness. Despite the cameroon wrapper, I just don't find the typical cameroon tang.
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Took it down to the nub, but in the last third it got hot and a bit harsh.
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All in, it was a good, solid cigar. Nothing wrong with it, but I can't get that excited about it either. I've got a couple more; I'll let you know if they turn out different.
BlackIrish
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