Newbie Review #11 A Fuente Grand Reservo Rothschild
Newbie Review #11 A Fuente Grand Reservo Rothschild
I took the dog for a hike this morning and it was such a nice day that I decided to bring along a smoke as well. Thinking that I wasn't going to be out that long I grabbed the smallest cigar in my humidor, an Arturo Fuente Grand Reservo Rothschild. At only 4 1/2" long I thought it would be a quick smoke.
Well that sucker was a surprising cigar. It lasted well over an hour and I was puffing it pretty often to keep it lit in the breeze.
I lit it up on the trail with a disposable butane lighter. Had a bit of a problem keeping the lighter lit in the breeze and I didn't get a perfect ring of ash, but it wasn't too bad. Despite my poor lighting technique the cigar did it's best to burn evenly. The draw was easy but not too easy. Just about perfect for my taste.
1st third: Pepper was the first thing I noticed. But this time it was a combination of black pepper and spicy peppers like a Jalapano. Beyond that there was the standard tobacco flavor, but I didn't notice a lot more. However, unlike the C.E.Beck I had which was overwhelmingly peppery this cigar had a nice balanced flavor to it.
2nd third: I was puffing more often than I usually do because the breeze and my sketchy initial lighting conspired to let it go out. At one point I had to touch it up with the lighter and immediately it started getting really harsh. So I purged it by lightly blowing through the cigar with a lit flame in front of it. For just a second I got the big yellow flame that says "You purged it!". From that point it was suddenly a different cigar. Now I can taste some chocolate overtones and something that was a little bit like a BBQ'd steak. It was pretty darn good.
Last third: By this time Thunder (my dog) and I were ready for a break and some fresh water. About 2 1/2 miles into the hike there's a big fire ring with some logs placed around it to sit on. I let Thunder chase birds in the meadow while I smoked it to the nub. It didn't start getting harsh again until it was short enough that I was almost burning my fingers. So I tossed it in the fire ring and doused it with some water.
Thunder and I chased each other around the meadow for a while and then had another drink to get ready for the return half of our loop in the woods. It was a great day, the birds were out, the sky was blue without a single cloud and it had warmed up to the low 50's. We had a great hike and the cigar was a nice addition to the day.
Overall rating: On a 1 to 10 scale I'd call this a 7. I'd certainly smoke it again. It would be interesting to see how I like it if I smoked one while just sitting outside reading instead of hiking up and down hills. It was a nice, enjoyable smoke.
Newbie Appropriateness: It may be too spicy for a first cigar, but I don't think your pallet would have to develop too much before you'd start appreciating a spicy cigar. I tend to like the chocolate/sweet cigars but this one could really grow on me.
