Fonseca Habana Seleccion

Size: 7 x 50 - No. 1
Wrapper: Nicaraguan-grown, Habana Criollo ’98
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican Seco & Ligero
Body: Full
Strength: Medium-Full
Humidor Time: 3 Months


This cigar came to me by accident from an online retailer, I must comment on the color of this cigar’s wrapper, it sports a lovely brown with a reddish hue. The wrapper is a Criollo 98 leaf, the cigar is soft with a fairly smooth wrapper with only a couple of noticeable veins, the largest one is seen in the photo near the palm of my hand. With the cap cut, the cigar does not have a loose draw, it is a bit firm. The wrapper is a toothy velvet on the lips. As I think about this cigar before lighting, I am again wondering why I am going to smoke a 7 inch cigar, hopefully it will be time well spent.

The first initial draw on the cigar after lighting, I was instantly greeted with a creamy rich smoke that was thick, yet light at the same time. I am impressed with the smoothness, it is obvious that Fonseca used quality tobacco for this cigar. I notice a salty sour tang the head of the cigar, the first flavors I am given is a woody coffee. Exhaling through the nose is easy with this one, I am picking up some wheat flavor with a varnish finish.

Into the body of the cigar, this is smooth, the ash is white and holds for half an inch, the burn on the other hand is having trouble burning straight. The aftertaste is a pleasant toasted flavor. The aroma is similar to pipe tobacco, it is appealing. I am tasting that wheat flavor with a roasted bean touch. Before long the burn has evened up with some careful rotating, it is close to being straight. As I continue on, the flavors become bold and robust, I am getting a taste of burnt coffee, this cigar is really out to trick the smoker. In the background of the smoke, a sweetness is pleasant, not sure if I really like the burnt flavors, but the sweetness keeps me hanging on and wanting more.

As I reach into the second half of the cigar, the burn has decided to creep up one of the more prominent veins (the one seen in the photo), so it is no longer even. The flavors are still robust, giving off a brunt coffee and wheat flavors with a sweetness in the background. I am also still getting a salty citrus touch on my lips from the wrapper. The cigar stays lit very well, I had to run up to get my laundry out of our shared laundry mat at our condominiums and when I returned, this thing was still burning.

This is a very consistent cigar, not at all boring, with each puff I get a heady robust taste and a sweet finish. As I near the end of the cigar I am pleased to have devoted the two hours needed to smoke it. The body is full and the cigar finished in the medium to full range. The wrapper cracked under the bottom band as I clumsily removed it, the top band came off fine without any problems. The crack did not expand or cause any problems in the burn.

My final thoughts. I was impressed with this cigar, it is my first Fonseca and I enjoyed it. I do not care much for a burnt flavor, but with a sweetness hidden within, this was a delightful smoke. I do recommend this to those looking for a robust cigar that is rich in smooth flavors. The strength of this cigar will creep up on you if you are not careful, smoke it slow and enjoy what it offers. One final note, this cigar will make your breathe smell like a dead cigar, not very nice at all.

Appearance 2- I Like It
Construction 2- Soft and squishy
Burn 1.5- Took a while to burn straight, then picked up a vein and burned uneven again
Ash 1.5- Drops too easily
Flavor 3.5 - Very interesting
Smoke Profile 2- Smooth Easy and Nice
Aroma 2 - Enjoyable, this is not overpowering, nice and mellow


=14.5 Points

CAO CX2 - Belicoso

Size: 7 x 56
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaraguan, Columbian
Body: Medium-Full
Strength: Mild-Medium
Humidor Time: 5 Months

My experience with Cameroon wrappers is not enough to distinguish if I enjoy them or not. From what I can remember I have had a couple, but I do not remember if I liked them or not. With the experience I have had withCAO, I am now questioning as to why I decided to pick The CX2 to review for a Cameroon cigar. I will go with the excuse that since this is a double wrapped Cammie, I will get a good grasp of flavors and decide whether I like and will look for other Cammies to smoke. With this being such a long cigar, this will probably be a long entry.

From the start I am impressed with the looks of this cigar, the wrapper is flawless, the torpedo head is perfect, the scent is a mellow cocoa, and the stick is firm with a nice springy bounce. There is a mild spice on the wrapper and it feels toothy on the tongue. This cigar is packed with a lot of tobacco, the cap was a bit tough to cut through and the draw is firm. The prelight draws presents a lot of grassy flavor. As I look at the cigar before lighting, I am thinking to myself that this is going to be a long smoke.

With the first draw after lighting, I get a distinct charcoal flavor, but I am surprised with how smooth and creamy the smoke is right from the beginning. The aftertaste is very pleasant reminding me of heavily creamed coffee. Even with a firm draw I am able to get an abundant amount of smoke out of this cigar. This guy is really presenting a strong flavor profile, it definitely is not lacking. I am not used to lighting a larger ring gauge cigar, so I had to reapply the flame twice to make sure I am starting off with a nice even burn.

With the burning starting to reach the body of the cigar, I am getting a great amount of woody coffee flavors, hidden in the background is a sweetness and lingers after exhaling. The ash on this is white and holds well as I tap it off at one inch, as of this point the burn is even. The smoke is really thick and mellow, at this point I am not getting any acrid flavor I usually find in CAO cigars, also I am finding this cigar quite enjoyable.

Into the body, the smoke becomes rather toasty and robust. I keeping getting a flavor I am unable to figure out. The smoke of this cigar is strong, trying to exhale through my nose proved to be a bad idea, but I was able to find out what that mysterious flavor is. I am getting a caramel touch, which is the sweetness I have been enjoying in the smoke. The toasty flavors are remaining strong without ever turning.

The background flavors have been turning on and off between caramel and coffee. As I start to enter the half way point in the cigar, I am starting to pick up some of the acrid flavors that I have found in CAO cigars. Purging the cigar helps, but the acrid flavor does not go away completely, instead it hides out with the background flavors, which is okay as it does not disrupt the coffee caramel, it is allowing me to continue to enjoy the toasty woodsy flavor.

Final third of the cigar, I am still getting the acrid flavor and having to purge often, but after the purge the flavors are still good. This continued through the end of the cigar, take a draw, purge then set it down, and I would repeat the process, doing so I was able to avoid any unpleasant flavors.

My final thoughts: If I had let this cigar sit for a few more months, the CAO acrid flavors may have been avoided. I am not all that bothered that I did not wait longer, I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar. I had to devote over two hours of my time to be able to smoke this monster and I am pleased that I did. I have read that Cameroon wrappers have some spice to them, but I did not pick any up during the smoke. This was a medium to full body and mild to medium strength cigar, mid afternoon to evening is a great time for this one, heck during a herf would be great as this will provide lots of flavor and not much is needed to keep it going. The burn held straight for the whole smoke, never needing a relight and it never smoked hot, even with multiple draws. I recommend this CAO CX2.

I like this Cameroon Wrapped Cigar.

Appearance 2- I Like It
Construction 3- Excellent
Burn 2- Perfect
Ash 2- Solid
Flavor 3.5 - Not quite perfect, more time was needed in the humidor
Smoke Profile 2- Smooth Easy and Nice
Aroma 2 - Enjoyable, this is not overpowering, nice and mellow


=16.5 Points!!

McClelland Dark Star - Pipe Tobacco

This tobacco is Virginia and Carolina leaf, dark dark black color with a touch of tan here and there, looks to be very oily. Reading the description of this, McClelland ages this tobacco for 3 years before selling, well this tobacco was gifted to me by IHT with a date of 2000. So I need to note that this probably does not taste the same as a fresh open tin.

The aroma is pungent, and hits the sinuses with a tingle. The tobacco is in flake form, it crumbles easily as I prepare it for my pipe. Normally with flake I do a little folding and packing, crumble the top to get it lit, but for this review I am rubbing out the flakes.

For me, the tobacco is a bit more difficult to light with it rubbed out, I got it going though. This burns warm for the start, the smoke is clean and light, but abundant.

First this I was presented with was a vinegar and hickory. For some reason I really did the vinegar taste, I like pickles and I like Zots candy, so what can I say? Into the bowl the taste was still sour and picking up some leather tones. The smoke was consistent throughout the bowl, light and clean with a bit of citrus in the background.

There was not a lot of complexity or flavor changes, the smoke developed a woody taste and it seemed like fermented berries were hiding in the background, kind of like a liquor touch. This tobacco burns warm, never getting too hot, the flavor was still sharp and at times a sweetness tried to emerge but was never able to come to the front of the flavor profiles.

The aftertaste is very woody, it is not overbearing on the senses. The aroma this tobacco produced is like burning berries, kind of sweet with a touch of a charred scent.

My final thoughts. I really enjoy this tobacco, I have just enough for one more bowl and then it is gone, I need to purchase a couple of tins to keep around. This tobacco burns warm, doesn't bite, the smoke is smooth and clean. I find this burns easier if the flakes are not rubbed out. I would say this is an acquired taste and I will have to make sure I always have some on hand. I cannot wait to try a fresh batch too. This is a medium Body and mild strength tobacco.

Thanks IHT!!!

Camacho Triple Maduro

Country: Honduras
Size: 6 x 60 Torpedo
Wrapper: Maduro
Binder: Maduro
Filler: Maduro
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Humidor Time: 4 Months


I have been patient trying to wait longer before lighting this cigar, but after looking at this cigar for 4 months and the beautiful silver band mocking me every time I opened my humidor, today is as good as any other to light this one up. I enjoy Camacho cigars and since the release of a triple maduro, I looked around fervently for some time until I was able to grab this beauty at a B&M in El Toro. This stick is solid, I would figure so since maduro tobacco is thicker than the average natural wrapper, but when I mention solid, do not under estimate that statement. The wrapper is a very dark brown with long thin veins flowing around the circumference of the cigar. I can see different color tobacco in the foot, the scent is rich and grassy.

Before lighting I moistened the cap and tasted a strong and rich cocoa flavor. As I have learned in the past with a dark maduro cigar, I took the moistened cap and wiped it with my finger, sure enough some color transfered onto my skin. So I moistened some more and wiped the cap until I could no longer see any color coming off the cigar. I do not want to look like I have chocolat eon my lips.

The cap was a bit difficult to cut, it was like I was trying to cut a branch with my cutter. The draw is surprisingly loose, considering it felt like I just cut a branch, I figured it would be like trying to breathe through a branch. The pre light draw gave me flavors of coca cola and grass. While lighting this cigar smelled like burning grass.

This cigar starts off with a whole lot of smoke, it draws easily through the cigar producing a thick amount to be enjoyed. At the start I was presented a mild spice with anise, the spice backed of some by the third draw and became more of a pepper tatse that lingers well after exhaling. Before getting into the body of the cigar I detected some cocoa flavors but not much, just a slight touch mingled in coffee.

Once I finally started into the body, the pepper backed off some more and the cocoa flavors really started to stand out, I was even picking up some almond flavors with that almond sweetness in it. The burn is not perfect and slightly wavy, the ash very white from the outside to the inside of the cigar and is not holding longer than a quarter of an inch.

The after taste leaves a burnt cocoa flavor in my mouth, the smoke is thick, but does not linger much at all after exhaling. The flavors pick up some, really not turning much, just s nice cocoa flavor, some good coffee and almond touch, but the sweetness turned a bit to toffee. So now I have toffee-coffee-cocoa-almond-root beer (anise) tasting cigar, sounds like something new for Starbucks to invent.

This cigar is burning extremely slow, I am only one inch into this stick, I started at 5:15 pm and it is now 5:40 pm. One inch in 25 minutes, I am going to be here for a while. The cigar has a lot more resting smoke than other cigars I have smoked, but it is not affecting the burn time at all.

The ash is holding better now it is almost 3/4 of an inch long, I decided to drop the ash at this point as I do not want it in my lap. The pepper and burnt after taste is completely gone, leaving a nice mellow flavor with a mixture of anise. I noticed at this point I have a salty taste on the outside of my lips from this cigar. The cocoa continues to slowly increase in strength. This is a full body cigar but the strength is very powerful, I can tell this can be dangerous if I smoke any faster, so I am going to stay at this pace, I am tempted to say this is stronger than the Camacho Corojo and certainly stronger than the Flor De Dominicana Double Ligero Chiselito. I can feel the nicotine trying to hit me like a Mack truck.

The burn has evened up and is almost razor straight. Just before I reached into the second half of the cigar I tasted a strong fruity flavor, I was not able to pin point the flavor exactly as I had only two puffs with this and I was jazzed to get a new flavor, at that point I was hit with a strong citrus. So now I am encountering new dimensions and this cigar continues to pour out a lot of the flavors mentioned above.

The smoke has remained smooth through the entire body of this stick, I am two hours in and still have one and a half inches left of this monster. I was given some tanginess in the smoke which I can still describe as citrus. The pepper background is starting to return as it once began. Through out the cigar I was picking up a trace of earthy leather that would show up then back off. I never had to relight this cigar. I am feeling this as I near the end, this is a powerful smoke, I am being cautious to not over do the puffing so I do not end up over the porcelain throne cursing the Cigar Gods.

Wow, what a cigar! This is not one to be tried by the uninitiated. After a solid two and a half hours of smoking I am near the end. Still not quite done yet, but I will add my final thoughts now. I strongly recommend this to those who love a powerful maduro smoke, be prepared and take it slow, this may burn faster, but I was not going to be trying at all. Smooth, rich, cocoa with sweetness and a mix of flavors. I wondered if this was going to be a waste of money, but I am pleased to say it was worth the $12 spent. I swear this cigar tried to kill me.

Easy to enjoy and also easy to give in to, did I mention this was a strong cigar?

Appearance 2- I Like It
Construction 3- Excellent
Burn 2- Perfect
Ash 2- Very Nice
Flavor 3.5 - Not quite perfect, but very complex and enjoyable
Smoke Profile 2- Smooth Easy and Nice
Aroma 1.5 -Almost Enjoyable, this one is strong


=16 Points

Anejo - Arturo Fuente (Shark) #77

Size: 5 7/8 x 50/64
Wrapper: Connecticut Broad Leaf
Binder: Chateau de la Fuente Dominican
Filler: Chateau de la Fuente Dominican
Body: Med-Full
Strength: Med-Full
Humidor Time: 4 Months

For some reason I was drawn to smoke this cigar today, I was looking through my humidor wondering what I should have and this one stood out. Mind you that this stick was sitting on the bottom of my humidor with others stacked on top of it, but this one called out to me. The brown wrapper on this square pyramid cigar is toothy, the cigar is squishy and though it has a square shape from the mid body to the foot of the stick, it is not all that square. It does not look to be evenly rolled, when I removed the band, I can see that the band was placed a little tight causing a slight hour glass shape where it was on the cigar.

The wrapper smells like cedar, dirt, and desert grass while the foot smells strongly of maduro cocoa. Upon removing the red band on the foot of the cigar, I see it was covering some cracks in the wrapper. The cap on the cigar is a good size leaving room to cut and not worry about taking to much off, before cutting I moistened the cap and tasted a cocoa sweetness with spice. With the cap removed, my tongue tastes a sweetness and a salty flavor in the tobacco.

I just realized that the one cutter I own and am using, costs less then the cigar I am cutting. Also my lighter costs about a tenth of what I paid for this cigar, sad that the tools which will be around after I finish the cigar costs less total than the stick I am about to burn.

The cigar lights easily, the smoke is abundant and the aroma smells like a cigar shop. The smoke itself is smooth and thick with no spice or acridity I associate with many Arturo Fuente cigars. The first flavor I get is dirt. The draw is a tad tight, but not restricting a great amount of smoking coming through the cigar. A sweetness is hidden in the smoke with the salty touch.

The smoke is dry, the burn is rather straight and the ash is a very light gray holding only about 3/4 of an inch before falling.

As I was into the body I was picking up a nice light cocoa flavor and an acrid taste, which does not surprise me coming from an Arturo Fuente cigar. I cut about an eighth of an inch off more of the cap, it was a bit too tight for my liking, I am pleased I did so as the draw loosened right up as I prefer and I still have another eighth of an inch left of the cap on the cigar.

I was given a sharp flavor like Sumatra coffee. The burn has decided to do as it pleases and has become wavy on one side and starting to canoe on the other. I continued to get a nice coffee flavor, and as I was nearing the halfway point I tasted walnuts. With some rotating the burn self corrected and burning straight.

The acrid flavor is still there and getting in the way of a good maduro ciagr. Continuing on through the second half of the cigar I was given a nice woody flavor, an earthiness that is a good change of pace. The smoke is a tad harsh in the back of my throat, there is no spice to taste, but felt it. The flavor developed a bit of sourness but still creating strong coffee, cocoa, and the acrid touch is backing off slightly.

Into the final third the burn remained straight, the acridness has picked up a whole lot getting in the way of the other flavors this cigar is capable of. With just under two inches left I continue on for the sake of the review, but I am really disappointed so far with this cigar. I never did get another touch of harshness in the smoke expect that one time.

Okay, so after another half inch, I decided to put this cigar to rest, it was still acrid and not getting any better.

My final thoughts. This is certainly an Arturo Fuente cigar, that acrid taste is terrible and I notice it in a lot of their cigars. So far I have only enjoyed the Opus X they make, all the others have been a waste of my money. I can find other maduro cigars that I enjoy and do not have that bothersome flavor. I do not recommend this cigar for two reasons, 1) the acrid flavor gets in the way, and 2) the price for this is not worth the money. In my opinion this cigar is over rated, over priced, over hyped, and does not taste good.

I have one more Shark and one Churchill to smoke, we will see what happens in a year or so, but it will not be any time soon before I want another Anejo.

At Least I still have my cutter and lighter.

Appearance 1- Average
Construction 3- Excellent
Burn 1.5- Near perfect, just a minor wavy here or there
Ash 2- Very Nice
Flavor 1.5 - Many nice flavors, but all lost due to acridity
Smoke Profile 2- Only once did I question the smoke, as such it is not enough to affect the rating
Aroma 2 - Nice and not overpowering, Aromatic, enjoyable fragrance


=13 Points

Classic Vanilla - Altadis - Pipe Tobacco

On the package this tobacco is described as an “all burley blend topped with vanilla” though as I was looking for more information, I found on the Altadis website that this Classic Vanilla blend is described as “We make this blend with only the choicest Burleys, Golden Cavendishes and Virginias available”. This package I have is just over two years old, so it is possible that they have changed the blend from straight burley tobacco to now include the “Gold Cavendishes” and “Virginias”.

As I looked this bag I saw a different colored tobacco leafs, from tan to brown to black. I do question the blend described on the package as to what is on the website. The tobacco is not heavily scented with vanilla, I was a bit surprised as I would have thought the aroma would have been much stronger, as that has been my experience with vanilla flavored tobacco up to this point. This tobacco seems light weight, there is not a lot of heft to it and it is soft in texture. I carefully placed it into the bowl of my Amadeus 2nd pipe.

From the beginning this tobacco lit up easily giving off a rich amount of creamy smoke with just a touch of vanilla flavor. This is not an overly flavored tobacco and is lightly sweet. I can distinctly taste the nutty flavors of the Burley tobacco with just the slightest bit of spice.

The aroma of this blend is a mellow vanilla and caramel. The tobacco burns really well, never needing a relight during the entire bowl.

As I was nearing the last half of the bowl a caramel flavor emerge and with a touch of oatmel in both taste and aroma. This blend is soothing and easy to enjoy. There is not much in the way of complexity, the smoker can plop this into a pipe and go mow the lawn without much forethought.

The tobacco smokes cool, it was not until I was reaching the final end of the bowl that the pipe started to heat up, even then the pipe is not hot, just warm. As I puffed on I was given a woody touch in the smoke, the aroma still drifting into my nose is still just as pleasant, this picking up in vanilla aroma.

My final thoughts: This is a nice mellow vanilla blend, the body was in the mild-medium range and the strength was in the mild range. This is a nice aromatic for beginners and even experienced smokers.

Fox and Hound by Altadis - Pipe Tobacco

This blog is dedicated to reviewing tobacco smoke, as such, I have decided to also start including pipe tobacco as well. It is another little pleasure of mine, more cost effective than cigars, and is just as much fun to smoke. Also, pipe smoking is not as much of a turn off to nonsmokers as is cigars, the wonderful aroma stemming from pipes is more pleasing to a nonsmokers nose. Though it is still tobacco, I have heard many nonsmokers compare it to incense, potpourri, etc. My wife enjoys it more too.

For my first pipe tobacco review I present you with Fox and Hound by Altadis.

Distributed by Altadis USA, this 1.5 ounce bag sports a green and black label with a brass bugle in the center. On the bag, is states the mixture is Red Virginia, Turkish, Burley, Latakia, and Perique. My first thought would have to be “wow, that is a lot of different tobacco in one bag”. I am a bit excited, I like a nice five country cigar, so I have some high hopes going in to this bag.

Upon opening I notice in small print the cancer warning, I always feel a bit better seeing that, for some reason it makes me wonder if I will ever see a danger label for fluorescent light bulbs containing mercury. Before I even see the tobacco I can smell the Latakia, the hickory smoke is strong and gives off a hint of citrus. Once I look in, I see four main colors, dark brown, tan, brown, and black strips of tobacco.

There is still moisture in the tobacco, I loosely packed it into my new corn cob pipe and gave it a light, surprisingly, I did not need to tamp and light again as this tobacco was already going strong. The burn was really good, I only relight twice due to me not paying attention and spending too much time on notes and not puffing.

The aroma was wonderful, sweet and mild, it added a calmness to my surrounding area.

This tobacco started off really quickly with a lot of flavors, I could not write fast enough. There was a definite cocoa, light coffee, creamer, and sweetness right from the start. Also there was a nice mellow flavor I could not pin point. I was pleased to have put this in my pipe.

Reaching into the middle of the bowl the tobacco remained creamy and it coated the entire mouth and was really chewy. I enjoying this tobacco, the aroma before lighting is far different than the flavor, it is a nice switch-a-roo and unexpected. The flavors continued as they began, picking up a buttery taste and texture to go along with it all. Also that unknown flavor was still there boggling my mind as to what I was tasting and enjoying so much.

I was nearing the middle of the bowl when I figured out what that mystery flavor is. Too my surprise it was fresh homemade bread, the kind Mom used to make.

As I reached the final third of the smoke, I was able to notice the Perique tobacco, giving off that fruity flavor mixed with the Red Virginia tobacco, this was standing out nicely. Once almost done, I was given the slightest bit of sweet spice which I figure was coming from the Turkish tobacco inside.

My final thoughts. I am impressed, this blend is really, really good. It tricked me, I was expecting a bolder smoke, instead I was given a nice medium body and strength experience. What I enjoyed was this tobacco coats the mouth so thick that it gave me the impression I had full body flavor without all the nicotine, it seemed like more than it should be. This is just right for anyone wanting to get into an English tobacco. I would recommend this in a heartbeat. If you get a chance, do not pass this up.