This stick was gifted to me by cls515 on the condition that I do a review on it.
This is my first AF so I don't have much to compare it to. It smelled to me like most other cigars tend to smell, barnyard like. The cap came right off with my double blade cutter and i was ready to go.
Construction was very good, like most fuentes I've read about. The ash was white/gray and fell off about every inch. It burned dead even the whole way.
Prelight draw was pretty mild, a bit of a toasty taste.
Lit it up with matches and was hit with a lot of spiciness right away. It burned when exhaling it through my nose.
After about 1/2 inch it mellowed out and the spiciness was mostly gone, I caught traces of it every once in awhile. It stayed pretty mild with a woodsy taste until about an inch from the band, when the woodsy taste left and it was more of a plain tobacco taste.
Removing the band was somewhat difficult, I got my first taste of the AF superglue. It came off though, only causing 2 small tears in the wrapper.
The strength of the cigar picked up as I was smoking where the band previously was, and it even got a bit harsh. I hadn't taken a drink of water since the first 1/2 inch, but in the last inch or so of the cigar I finished a whole glass.
Smoke time was about an hour and 15 mins, I tend to smoke quite slowly. Being a noob I would definately recommend this to other noobs, its not completely one dimensional but it won't knock your socks off either.
-boom
