Arturo Fuente Curly Head Natural (ROTT) review
I have a thing for Curly Heads. I freely admit it. A Curly Head was the second cigar I ever smoked, and it was much more flavorful than the first cigar I ever smoked, which was only a few days before. If the Curly Head had not provided enough flavor to offer hope for my enjoyment of the hobby, I might never have even tried that Short Story that got me well and truly hooked.
I also like Curly Heads because they are rolled from the scraps left over after rolling other Fuente blends. I like the idea of using the leftovers.
Over the years I have smoked a lot of Curly Heads, and my general experience is that they get better and better with rest. But I've never documented how much better, so this review is part one of a series of 5, spaced 6 months (or so) apart. Which is to say I bought a fiver at the B&M, and I'm going to smoke one every 6 months (or so) and post a review.
So, I present the humble Curly Head:
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This is not a terribly complex cigar. It opens up with a nice toasty wood and leather combo followed by a heavy cream finish with hintws of chocolate. There was just a slight edge of harshness in the finish, but nothing too annoying for a cigar in the $3-4 price range.
That was pretty much the profile all the way through, except the chocolate waned pretty quickly, and the harshness increased slowly. Somewhere around the last third or so the harshness was pretty bitter, but I could still taste the promising base of wood, leather, and cream. Past experience tells me the harshness will subside in the coming months of rest.
Curly Heads are well-known for burn and draw issues (in my experience, these, too are reduced with time), but this one drew and burned perfectly. Lots of thick smoke, perfect for blowing rings on a still day.
And here's about where I finished. I really didn't care to nub this one because the bitterness was too strong, even with a few gentle purges.
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This is my little smoking buddy, Maxximillian (Maxx), now 6 months old. This picture, of course, was not taken while I was smoking. He's always interested in the smell of my cigar smoke, and he has very discerning taste. He clearly prefers cigars from the Imaginary Island. The smell of the Curly Head was not up to his refined standards, but he didn't turn away from it, either. However, he's recently started noticing how the smoke floats in the air, and he's not sure what to make of that. I'm sure it will be like everything else - he'll see it two or three times and it'll be old hat.
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