Arturo Fuente

Curly Head Deluxe

So to start of, as always, I am an amateur and my nose doesn't work terribly well... I've smoked a few of these previously, and mused that extended humidor time probably won't make much difference. Well, I neglected 2 sticks for an additional 6 weeks so let's see if there's any benefit. Construction remains rustic, if I'm being generous, with a lot of give. Smell remains mild, although I'm getting a distinct cedar off it I didn't get before at a 3 week stabilization in a tupperdor. Prelight draw was loose, with a flavor of drying grass/hay and sweet tobacco. Cut was done with a guillotine since the cap didn't accommodate a punch well. Lighting was uneventful. First third: previously I experienced an assault of burnt toast that never went away. Pleasantly, this time it is still there but much subdued. There's a light nuttiness and cedar that have come up with additional humidor time. It was there before, but the burnt toast overwhelmed everything. Smoke is plentiful and light. I'm sure the marketing dept would love to hear me say creamy, but it doesn't have that kind of body to it. The smoke also smells like a grass fire, which isn't terribly flattering. I get flashes of vanilla on the retrohale, but it comes and goes. Second third: Entering this third I start getting a consistent baking spice on the tongue. I can't tell what it is, but it's there. Burn remains good, but you can tell it's short filler. The ash has trouble holding on longer than 3/4s an inch. The little bit of dry grass/hay is still there and doing no one favors. Instead of overwhelming burnt toast like last times, I have the same taste in my mouth as a major grass fire the next county over THEN the burnt toast on the finish. Some cashews notes peak in and out, but the vanilla flitting about in the first third is gone. Final third: Depth is gone, burnt toast is back, she's angry, and she has a gun. Well, I WAS going to make a point that extra humidor time completely tamed the burnt toast but it wasn't to be. The light cashew flavor, the baking spices, the grassy notes, they're all lying cold and dead at Burnt Toast's feet. Progressing through this third is honestly not terribly pleasant. If you're coming from cigarettes this taste is probably fine, but not from a cigar. Multiple purges aren't alleviating it at all and I'm calling this cigar quits. I was hoping some additional naked humidor time would benefit these and it sort of did. The first 2/3rds was mild and had some interesting flavors, but it seems the acrid burnt toast flavor is just a part of this cigar. Add the aging time and I find it isn't worth it. My personal opinion? Get a better cigar for a few bucks more. If you're up for milds, the Alec Bradley Medalists aren't much more expensive on a sale, don't need almost 2.5 months of humidor time, and taste leaps better. Take a step up to Fuente Gran Reservas if you want something with more body and depth.