Arturo Fuentes

[A11]

Now as I said in my newbie post, I'm not too familiar with some of the finer smokes out there. I went to my local terror- I mean... Tobbaconist with intentions of purchasing something decent, but the variety was limited. I ended up walking out with a ten dollar Arturo Fuente "gran reserva." As I got into my truck, I removed it from the celophene packaging to discover that it was rather dry, as the leaves crumpled and fell apart in my hand. I walked back in and asked the guy if he had anything that wasn't so dry, and he told me to select whichever Fuente I wanted, and to keep the one I was unhappy with. Unfortunately, the entire box, though it was in a humidor, contained pretty dry cigars. I chose one that was a bit better than the others, and left with both it and the other less desirable one. I attempted to moisten them up with a damp towel and I placed both in a plastic bag. They've both softened up pretty well and are no longer flaking apart as they were earlier.

I'm curious now, are they even decent sticks in the first place? They have a bit of a squared appearance to them and have the A Fuente Gran Reserva band with the green trim.

 

[tigger]

Fuentes are generally good smokes. It's tough to go wrong with them, although it sounds like you probably got reamed on the price.

As far as what you specifically have, I'd need more info, such as approximate ring guage, length, wrapper color, and whether or not there is a cedar wrapper around them with a ribbon at the foot.

Do a search on "tupperdoor" here at CP for a better storage idea than a plastic bag. And I would hold off for a little while smoking them...the damp towel may have moistened the wrappers, but the fillers and binders are probably still pretty dry.

That kind of imbalance will lead to a less than optimum smoking experience.[/understatement]

Also, depending on how tattered the wrappers are, you might want to try to repair them with "cigar glue" or pectin.

 

[Cigar Penguin]

Not the fuente family's fault.It is the guys humidor set too low.
Usually a retailer will send the cigar back for some kind of credit to the rep.I never heard of them replaceing it and letting you keep the bad gar.

Have you seen a hygrometer in the humidor to see what it is set at and also,is every cigar like this or just that particular brand/vitola?

If all his cigars are dry,stay away from that shop.

Oh,I don't care for these cigars one bit,but thats just me.

 

[A11]

An update...

My buddy just started his first job tonight, so I greeted him outside with the Fuentes. I've been storing them in my "ghettodor" (sealed plastic toolbox with a damp towel in the bottom- I don't care for math, so I don't bother with humidity percentages and just go for what looks right) for a couple of weeks, and they turned out quite nicely. Very easy to draw from, and a good flavor. I noticed a bit of a rich spice to it, but then again my pallette is not very refined yet. The construction seemed to be of good quality as well. I was able to hold a good three inch long ash on it.

All in all, a fine smoke.

 

[tigger]

Glad they worked out well.

As long as it doesn't have a strong plastic smell, and it seals well, there's nothing wrong with the toolbox, but math lover or not, it would be a good idea to find a more balanced source of humidification.

It's likely that if you store cigars that way for any length of time, you'll end up with tough draws/burns at best, and moldy cigars at worst.

Welcome to the obsession world of fine cigars. It's been a great ride for me...