Arturo Fuente Rosado Gran Reserva

Travelling always calls for a nice evening cigar as I look to unwind from the days activities.  The weather hasn’t been particularly cooperative in southern California the last few days, but finally we get a nice night.  I looked in the travel humidor and found a nice stick from A. Fuente.  It was a Rosado Gran Reserva.  Unwrapping the cellophane I discovered a beauty.  it had a nice reddish brown wrapper with light veining.  After a little research I found that this was an integral part fo the cigars creation.  Fuente had aged this Ecuadoran wrapper for about 8 years.  The time was well spent as it had a beautiful look and a smooth elegant feel.

The cigar took a few tries to light smoothly but had a smooth draw.  The first flavors were a bit strong, mostly of pepper.  It quickly mellowed and had a smooth taste.  Fuente makes a borad range of cigars and this is typical of a well made medium bodied cigar.  If someone was looking for a classic definition of a medium after dinner smoke this would be it.

After about 20 minutes, I was a good quarter to a third of the way in and had yet to drop the nice tight ash.  The flavors were consistent with a nuttiness coming through.  Without in any way being cloying the almond flavor reminded me of an Italian macaroon.

Staying at a hotel generally leaves me smoking outside and sometimes that brings negative comments.  Tonight, a gentleman with a dog stopped to inquire about the nice smelling cigar.  I explained that I was reviewing a good cigar and he asked about.  Fortunatley, there was one left in my travel humodor.  Sadly he declined, but sat chatting with me as I finished my smoke.  Despite payin more attention to the conversation than the cigar, it remained well lit and continued to burn evenly.  Flavor intensified and I noticed I was close to finished.

I think that this cigar is a good value.  it sells for less than $7.00 and provides an hour of pleasurable smoking without demanding much attention.  The smoke is not heavy and full bodied nor is it flavorless.  It is a rich sweeter cigar that provides ample flavor without lots of complexity.  If you are looking for something that won’t distract you from the company of non smoking friends this is the ticket.