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A Newbie's Take

Nice review, but you may have to recalibrate your 1-10 scale...LOL. That cigar sounds like a Bachilleres, which is a tres petit corona. I've never had one, but I have tried a two year old Non Plus (a PC) and really liked it.

I smoked it sitting on the steps of the North Carolina state capitol a couple of weeks back on a pleasant southern summer evening and thouroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The cigar was smooth and creamy and produced plenty of smoke for its small stature. I got a hint of chocolate on the palate and more complexity than I thought possible in a small cigar. The burn was a little ragged, but acceptable - it wasn't bad enough to be annoying. The key, imho, to smoking a small cigar is to take your time. Smoking it too fast causes it to burn hot quicker than a larger one. This is what I did with the Non Plus and the reward was a very memorable smoke on a beautiful summer's eve under the oaks in the center of Raleigh.

And Gil, if you're reading this, this was one of the 'gars I bought from you. Thanks guy, these are smoking just perfectly right now. :thumbs:
 
Today's review: the Ashton Maduro.

Hard to believe that I have had 2 VSG and 2 more in the humidor and still hadn't tried the regular maduro line of Ashton so last night was the night. The setting was pretty simple, a cigar while watching a movie last night and my second cigar of the night.

At 6 1/2" x 44 it was a nice firm and long cigar taking about an hour and a quarter to smoke. No lighting or burning problems whatsoever this cigar had a combined sweet maduro and bitter coffee taste with an underlying coffee taste and a sweet chocolate aftertaste. In many ways this cigar reminded me of a sweet Onyx Reserve. Rated a 7-8 in my book.

Sam
 
Being on a budget I save the Padrons for special occasions. I've had Don Tomas, Don Mateo, La Finca, and Punch the last couple of days.
 
The setting... An early eveing on the couch, watching the great movie on DVD: Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring. Tea, humidor, accesories and cheesy poofs nearby.

The cigar... freakin` huge, dark brown, oily wrapper. 7 1/2 inches long, ring size 54, this was gonna be one long smoke for one long movie.

The light and draw.... tougher than I anticipated actually. I never realized how small my torch was until trying to light this mammoth... the draw was good however but with this size of cigar I did have to relight a few times after the first third.

The taste... sweet berries with a strong undertone of bitter chocalate, nutty aftertaste. Expected some spicy and pepper taste but got neither. Volumes of smoke in a full body heavy taste.

Overall rating... 8-9 out of 10.

The cigar... The Ashton VSG Spellbound.

The movie: Rocks!

Until next time!

Sam
 
Good review Sam! The Spellbound is probably one of my favorite VSGs.

Picking up the DVD today and will set aside Saturday night to watch it.
 
I'm sure you've seen the movie - but if not your in for a treat! Nov. 12th the "director's" cut comes out with 30 additional minutes for the movie ;)

Sam
 
This will be my first viewing. I don't like going to the theatre with all the noise and interruptions. I'd rather wait and see it in the comfort of my home where I can relax, drink and smoke. :thumbs:
 
Your in for a real treat then my friend, get the popcorn, the soda, the cigars, etc etc and enjoy. Afterwards if your like me (or more likely on another day LOL) go through the special featurettes as this will even inspire you more about what it took to do this movie (least it did for me).

Hit me me back with how you liked it/didn't like it (would be shocked but hey LOL).

Sam
 
Been looking forward to this since I first read the books some 30 years ago. :0
 
Awesome reviews!! Keep 'em coming!

I have been dying to get a DVD player! May have to ask for one for Christmas!! :D
 
Lee, I just got mine about a month and a half ago and I love it. What a difference between DVD and tape!
 
Yeah, I'm trying to convince the boss it's better! She ain't buying it!!!
 
Wow! and I thought I was the last person in North America to buy one. Guess I'm not as behind as I thought. Lee, you oughta get one. Mine's a 5 disk changer so it replaced the CD player in my entertainment center.
 
FatherTiresius said:
Wow! and I thought I was the last person in North America to buy one. Guess I'm not as behind as I thought.
Click to expand...
I'm very behind - I am the last person in the US to not have a cell phone. That's right let the teasing begin - I work in corporate america even and I don't have a cell phone - for that matter I also don't do direct deposit (I like to hold my money in my hand before it all goes away LOL).

Sam :p
 
One of my simple pleasures as a Newbie to cigars is finding a cigar I like very much and coming back to it when I can and experiencing it again and noting sublties I missed before.

Last night was one of those nights. A couple weeks ago I had my first Hemingway Short Story and last week I found a couple at the cigar shop for $4.95 a pop. Last night I went ahead and lit one of them up and ohhhhh the difference in tastes sensation! My palette was on last night and I believe I captured the tastes of heaven.

The burn and draw of this baby was perfect and lasted around 45 minutes. Sweet cream and cinamon start blended into creamed coffee and spices mid way through and finished with spicey and peppery finish.

This cigar with it's many tastes, even burn is simply an excellent cigar and rates another 9.

Now to find that all elusive Short Story maduro....

Sam
 
Just an update for the "fans" LOL. I have been smoking but going over smokes I have smoked before and didn't do another review or those that have already been reviewed here already.

Get ready for a lot of reviews coming up though as this week I have a couple packages coming in with what is looking to be out of this world! I will be dividing this thread though... domestics will still be covered here and ISOM cigars will be covered in another thread.

So stay tuned.... another great review should be coming out tomorrow morning!

Sam
 
Smoked a cigar last night that I felt was worthy of a review.

Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Sun Grown
Shape: Robusto, Size: 4.5 x 50, Wrapper: Ecuador Sun Grown, Binder: Dominican, Filler: Dominican

Appearance
I slipped the cedar skirt off to reveal a beautiful dark, almost maduro, sun grown wrapper. Like every AF cigar I've ever come in contact with, the construction was flawless. Maybe they make a poorly built cigar, but I haven't seen it yet. Sniffing the wrapper and foot gave me a sweet tobacco aroma; it was very similar to the smell of a VSG. No way this could be as good as a VSG.....could it? The head clipped cleanly and the pre-light draw was excellent. I got more of the sweetness...like molasses. Score: 10/10

Burn
It lit easily and burned fine until about half way when it hit a section of wrapper that didn't want to burn. This caused an uneven burn until I corrected it, but it stayed corrected after that. The draw was ideal the entire way and I never once relit it. Score 9/10

Taste
The first few puffs told me that I was in for more than I expected. The initial taste was a sweet woodiness and molasses with a bit of pecan shell, just like the pre-light aroma. I thought I was smoking a VSG. These initial flavors never really went away, but as I smoked it, other flavors would check in, adding to the complexity as I went along. The first new flavor to make an appearance was the trademark AF pepper which showed up about 5 minutes in. Now it was like a cross between a VSG and a short story. The pepper flavors grew and grew and threatened to take over, but never quite did. At this point I began to realize that this was a fairly strong cigar as well. Didn't get dizzy or anything, but I certainly felt the effects. By the second half of the cigar, pepper was the dominant flavor but the molasses was still there in the back and a new nutty flavor had begun to make an appearance. As I smoked it down to where the band had been, all the flavors intensified and evolved with the pepper still dominating, but not quite out of balance with the others. Another flavor hopped on the wagon at this point. I couldn't quite place it but it was a spiciness that wasn't peppery....like clove or cinnamon maybe. The taste never got hot or bitter right up to the end and I found myself wishing it was longer by the time it was done. Score 9/10

Overall
I'm not sure how a cigar can be better than this for under $4 a stick. The Chateau Fuente SG stacks up well against others that cost 3 times more. If you want to experience some of the flavor profile of OpusX or VSG at a much more reasonable cost try this cigar. I'm not saying it's as good as an Opus, but the flavors are in the same direction mostly. Highly recommended!. Score 9/10
 
Tiresius, I have had about 3 A Fuente Sun Growns and another one in my humi. It is a GREAT cigar - and great review. This one is quickly finding itself as one of my top cigars that I can afford to smoke regularly - when I can find them.

Sam
 
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