AF Exquisito Maduro Review

7/18/2014

Cigar: Arturo Fuente Exquisito Maduro
Size: Cigarillo, 4.6”x30
MSRP: $2.50
Strength: Mild-Medium
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Origin: Dominican Republic

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Prelight: This is a nicely constructed cigar with an unfinished, shaggy foot and a belicoso type head. The wrapper looks delicious and it’s been a while since I’ve had an Arturo Fuente cigar, so I’m excited about this little treat.

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1/2: The first half is woody and a little spicy, both in the pepper sense and baking spice sense. I am also picking up a hint of vanilla and it is delightful. The burn is straight and the ash is decent, but I’m not sure if it’s short-filler, so instead of wagering with a hole in my shirt or pants, I ash every ½” or so. Suddenly I notice that the mouth feel of the smoke is oily. The taste is a bit oily as well. Then I look and the little bugger is emitting tar from the head. I purge, wipe with a paper towel and start back up. It’s still predominantly woody in flavor.

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2/2: The second half is…I couldn’t tell you. I had to chuck it. The tar just kept coming. It was disgusting. I was over the battle.

Overall: Before this, I said “I’ve never had an Arturo Fuente I didn’t like.” Well, now I have. I’ll give it one more try though, as I liked the flavors before it decided to do horrible things inside my mouth. I guess these things happen every now and then, so maybe I just got a dud. Someone please tell me there are good Exquisitos out there…

There are some good Exquisitos out there. I've smoked a few, and just grabbed another 5-er of the maduros a month or two back. No bad experiences here, yours unfortunately sounds like one of those random tar moments.

I think these are a great short smoke for the price.

The only Exquisitos I had was a Maduro a buddy found at the bottom of his humidor, it had a couple years on it and I thought it was pretty good!

I love the maduro exquisitos! Don't give up on them...I never used a punch on them though.

I've been curious about this stick. It might be a pass for me know.

Thanks for the review.

Big fan of the Hemingways....these on the radar....Thanks...PS

Smoked one of these tonight. It was fantastic. Best short smoke I've had. Wife loved it too (uh oh).

Yeah, you had a dud. I have smoked several of these without ever a problem. The last one I smoked was a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it for what it was. It is a far cry from being what the best of Fuente offers, but for a quick $2 cigar they are good.

Another vote for a dud from me. Smoked a few of the naturals and the maduros before and while the natural was a bit flat for me, the maduros were quite tasty and never had any tar issues. Cheers for the review!