Cigar:            Arturo Fuente Anejo Reserva Xtra #46

Size:             46 x 5 5/8"

Country:          DR

Wrapper:          CTBL, M

Binder:           DR

Filler:           DR

Flavor Strength:  Medium

NicotineStength:  Medium

Date Received:    2005-02-07

Suspected Age:    Unknown

Vendor/Price:     Makule Guy, gifted while visiting Maui.  Thank Bill!

Beverage(s):      Water, La Conner ESB

Smoke time:       1:45

Date:             2005-07-03

Posted to ASC:    2005-07-03

Overall score:    4.8/5.0

Overall:    Very good and worth a box if you can find one.  Beautifully presented and constructed.  Initial tight draw opened well.  Flavor started leather and pepper, then cedar entered, pepper exited, then cocoa entered.  Stick ended mostly cedar.  Held the tight white ash a long time, only ashed twice.  Thank you, Bill.  A memorable stick.

Ambience:   Deck time.  Late afternoon, cloudless blue sky, defying the weather forecast of yesterday.  B-24 Liberator and a B-17 Flying Fortress were flying around Puget Sound today.  The sound of all those big radials is unmistakable.  They are part of the Collin's Foundation collection and are on a national tour.  Also in the area were our resident hummingbirds, clicking and sipping nectar from the potted crocosmia, and putting on either a mating or territorial flight display.

Appearance: Nicely presented in a cedar wrap from band to foot secured with a red ribbon at the foot.  Dark, somewhat mottled, and very toothy maduro wrapper.  Small veining and uniformly firm with some longitudinal structure felt under the wrapper.  Short cap.

Cut & Prelight:   Sweet cocoa and leather aroma.  Cut very well.  The draw was the tightest I have ever encountered.  Cut again.  Still very tight, so massaged and faux smoked it awhile.  Draw flavor was blackstrap molasses though not sweet.

First third:      What the hell, despite the draw, lit it up.  Meager smoke at first, then it picked up and the draw opened nicely throughout the smoke.  Initially pepper and leather.  The dark stick and white ash looks good.  Cedar entered the mix, and pepper exited.  Finish is slightly sweet leather and cedar.  Cocoa enters.

Second third:     Smoke volume up and draw opened.  Ash is white and compact, dropping at over 2".  Various amounts of leather, cocoa, and cedar play on my palate and in the finish.  Yumm.  Progresses to more coca and less leather.

Third third:      Nicotine buzz apparent.  Flavor profile continued to evolve from leather to cocoa to cedar, ending with cedar dominant.  Dry finish.  Abandoned at less than 1".