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Arturo Fuente King B

H311oLHD

Active Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
1,768
I'm not too sure how old this King B was, but I know that I purchased it from a BOTL over on CigarWeekly over a year ago. Originally I purchased a fiver of these for a fantasy Nascar league (that I sucked terribly at), but I managed to save a few so that I could try them out. For some unknown reason, tonight was the night that I decided to light up my first AF King B. Tonight was the perfect night for a cigar, the cubs were playing the Tampa Bay Rays, so I turned on the radio and headed outside to a nice 65* night.

Cigar: AF King B
Setting: Back patio
Entertainment: Cubs vs. Rays
Drink: Diet Coke
Total smoke time: roughly 1 hr 40 min.

I've always thought the presentation of this cigar was very classy. I love the gold lettering and how it actually says the name of the cigar on the cello (makes it easy to know exactly what you're smoking!) The wrapper was a nice sungrown brown in color with a reddish tint to it. I noticed that there was one prevalent vein running down the center of the cigar, but otherwise the wrapper was free from any other blemishes. After lighting the stick, I was immediately hit with a very spicey, but somewhat harsh taste. Right from the get-go I knew this was going to be a full bodied cigar! After the first 1/3rd of the cigar, it really settled down and I was hit with a more smooth spicey flavor that had a surprising 'bite' in the after taste, which was quite odd. What I mean by that is the initial aftertaste was very smooth, but once I swallowed I was hit with a burst of spice. The cigar didn't change much from the flavors that I received after the first 1/3rd was over until the very end, which was fine by me because I was really enjoying it! At about the 3/4th mark, the spice picked up once again and so did the strength. Throughout the cigar, the King B gave off a very distinct and pleasant cedar aroma.

As far as construction goes on this cigar, I was very pleasantly surprised at how well it performed. I didn't measure my ash, but as you can see in the photos, I only had to ash once the entire cigar! The cigar never really burned too straight for me, there was almost always one side lagging behind the other, but I am pretty sure the wind played a factor in this. I gave the cigar two small touch ups, but nothing too major.

Overall: I was really impressed with this cigar and I enjoyed seeing it be able to calm itself down after the first third. I haven't smoked too many Opus X's, but I had a hard time not comparing this cigar to the Opus' that I have had in the past. Could this be a poor man's Opus? I realize that the strength nor the construction (read: burn) were up to Opus standards, but the overall flavor reminded me a lot of Opus. That being said, I am a huge light weight for strong cigars and this one almost put me over the edge. I was definitely feeling the sickness after it, but it was well worth it! I think a bit more rest would do this cigar wonders, and possibly even eliminate that harshness I have been referring to. I would absolutely love to pick up a few more of these cigars with some age, but I'm not sure that I would purchase a box of these. I would have to build up my tolerance, that's for certain! Rating: 87/100

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Nice review. I'm a big fan of the King B.

Stinki
 
Bought a bunch of KingB's about a year and a half ago. They were decidedly underwhelming. Almost "bland". Your review reminded me that they've been sleeping for a while and one of them probably needs to see the light of day.... :cool:

Good review - thanks again - B.B.S.
 
Very nice review Aaron.

These are a hit and miss. Some like them and some think they are terrible. I don't get any comparison to Opus BTW.

Brian
 
This much maligned cigar is a pretty decent cigar, IMHO. Thanks for the review and pictures. I always keep these available.
 
Very nice review Aaron.

These are a hit and miss. Some like them and some think they are terrible. I don't get any comparison to Opus BTW.

Brian

Brian, you are probably correct about the Opus comparison as you're most likely more experienced with them than I. It would be interesting to smoke them side by side..but I would be under the table puking my guts out :laugh: .

Thank you for the compliments on the review. Reviewing is a huge challenge for me (getting my thoughts out properly and clearly for example), but I hope to get better at it with more practice!

-Aaron
 
Really good review. I really like King B's, have a few aged. I've found them medium to full bodied, but nowhere near as full as an Opus. Thanks for the review, great job!
 
Thanks for the review.

I've got a King B in the humidor. I think I'll let it sit a while before I try it though now.
 
Thanks for the review.

I just purchased 2 samplers and each one contained one of these. I may smoke one of them in a couple of weeks and then let the other one sit for a little while and see if I taste any difference.
 
Thanks for the review. I have one of these lying around. Maybe it's time to bust it out.
 
Bought a bunch of KingB's about a year and a half ago. They were decidedly underwhelming. Almost "bland". Your review reminded me that they've been sleeping for a while and one of them probably needs to see the light of day.... :cool:

Good review - thanks again - B.B.S.


I had the same experience. Excellent review, BTW, and great photo's. Looks like I'll have to dig one of these out (your review peaked my curosity as to how these have evolved).
 
I just got a few of these. Based on this review I'd better let 'em sleep awhile. Thanks for the tip!
 
This much maligned cigar is a pretty decent cigar, IMHO. Thanks for the review and pictures. I always keep these available.


Well maybe if the taste didn't swing so wildly from box to box, more people would like them. I've had KBs that have rocked my world and then others that made me go "blech" and toss them a few inches in.

And thats really the whole problem with the line, I'm not going to buy a box when there is a good chance I'm going to get dog rockets.
 
This much maligned cigar is a pretty decent cigar, IMHO. Thanks for the review and pictures. I always keep these available.


Well maybe if the taste didn't swing so wildly from box to box, more people would like them. I've had KBs that have rocked my world and then others that made me go "blech" and toss them a few inches in.

And thats really the whole problem with the line, I'm not going to buy a box when there is a good chance I'm going to get dog rockets.

Funny this should pop to the top this morning. Decided to smoke my KingB last night...see above in bold. :blush: ???
 
Whopper,

I hope you don't think I steered you in the wrong direction!! I'm really sorry that yours didn't smoke well. :blush:
 
Whopper,

I hope you don't think I steered you in the wrong direction!! I'm really sorry that yours didn't smoke well. :blush:

Nah, probably just got one that was an aberration. I'll have to try some more to see.....
 
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