Today, I smoked an old favorite, the Fuente Double Chateau Maduro. It is a medium-light/light-medium body cigar, that gives good flavor.
Since O’Banion’s is closed because of COVID-19, I smoked it in my car and while the wind made it a bit interesting, it worked. Really looking forward to better weather where I can smoke on the back deck as smoking is not allowed in the house.
The cigar I smoked today had a good sheen to the wrapper, which is a sign to look for. If you get a cigar and it is dry, the wrapper flaking, etc. it has not been stored properly and is one you should return. You will notice the sheen more on Maduro and other dark wrappers, but even light wrappers should have that bit of oily sheen that tells you it’s done right.
It got off to a fairly solid start, with a woody center (cedar) and notes of dark chocolate and leather to the sides. On the finish, there is a sweetness high in the mouth. There was some pepper in it, and as I smoked some additional notes of nutmeg and clove came out for a bit. I punched this one (intensifies the flavors) rather than cut, and was glad I did so.
It paired well with some bourbon, though the bourbon cut into the notes a bit. As it progressed, the second third seemed to solidify a bit with a solid mouthfeel. More pepper came out, and dipping the cigar into the bourbon really brought out the sweetness on the finish.
The bottom third was strong, and had a strong finish. For me, the dark chocolate came out more, perhaps with some dark coffee notes as well.
For a medium/light body cigar, it is solid. An old favorite, I’m glad it still held up well given how I like fuller-bodied these days.
Recommended.
