Review: Bolivar Belicosos Finos

[Puros Y Vino]

Cigar Review: Bolivar Belicosos Finos.

Date smoked: Oct 28, 2010

Venue: My back deck on a decent Toronto Autumn night.

Drink paired with: 2003 Chateau Brane-Cantenac Margaux Medoc. Celebrated the wife's bday. I've been saving this bottle for many years. I should write a review on this wine alone. From the moment I pulled the cork the dining room filled with fruity, floral aromas. Not a cheap bottle, but wow! Now back to the cigar.


This is my first "official" cigar review. As I'm am not a voracious smoker, any opportunity I do get to savour one gets my full attention. Doing a review I find adds some pressure and takes away from the enjoyment I get out of it. However, since so many of my fellow FOH's take their time to do reviews, I thought"d I'd bite the bullet and contribute. I'll learn to balance both activities over time.

My cigar reviewing method is similar to most. I'll break it down into thirds. I tend to write down what I taste or observe with every puff vs a synopsis. So what you see below, broken down in thirds is pretty much a play by play of the cigar I'm smoking. Basically with every comma you see there's a puff.


Vital Stats:

Vitola: Pyramid
Dimensions: 52 * 140

Wrapper: Slight texture to it. Nice milk chocolate brown with some dark tones

Overall, beautiful construction. Passed the "pinch test" with flying colours. Very spongy at the foot. No soft spots. No ideas as to box date as I bought four of these as singles from the Czar.

Pre-light observations.

Aroma: Very pleasant tobacco smell, bit of earthiness to it. Some leather.

Cold draw: Good airflow, tastes of light honey, sourdough.

First Third

Baking spice, dry orange peel, great burn, zesty flavours, hints of leather, pepper & toast, gentle tanniny flavours (perhaps the wine?), mild medium flavours to start, muted citrus tones, good draw throughout, hints of cocoa (slight dry bitterness on the tongue)

Second Third

Pepper & toasted tobacco, light coffee, medium bodied at this point, burn goes a bit askew, tanniny feel again, lush creamy coffee, more pepper, powerful bread flavour, ash falls nicely from cigar (almost 1.5 inches), baking spice, citrus, toasted tobacco

Third Third

Richer meatiers flavours come out, coffee bean/espresso, lush smoke, nutmeg, pepper, dryness & light tannins, sourdough, pumpkin, tangy tobacco, citrus, pepper & pumpkin, rich toasty tobacco flavours to the end, orange peel, stronger pepper, creamy smoke, coffee grounds, nicotine/tobacco buzz or 2/3's of a bottle of wine buzz? Perhaps both?


Where I sit and smoke, weather pending.

[Dbone]

Great review dood. That BBF sounded wonderful. Pictures show a nice evening. Happy bday to the wife

[Habanos2000]

sounds like one hell of a cigar you had there. thanks for the review!

[CigarmanTim]

Good review.... wish I had a BBF that good.

[CanuckSARTech]

Awesome, Frank! Well done on your first review then, senor!

Great pictures. You captured our true Canadian cigar enjoyment - banished out to a cool deck in the fall, with the colour of the changing maple trees, and the falling leaves and maple keys all around you.

Sounds like one heck of a time. Hope your wife enjoyed her birthday as well - hope it wasn't all your fun, out on the deck with wine and a cigar!

[Puros Y Vino]

Awesome, Frank! Well done on your first review then, senor!

Great pictures. You captured our true Canadian cigar enjoyment - banished out to a cool deck in the fall, with the colour of the changing maple trees, and the falling leaves and maple keys all around you.

Sounds like one heck of a time. Hope your wife enjoyed her birthday as well - hope it wasn't all your fun, out on the deck with wine and a cigar!

That's exactly what I was hoping to capture. The abject sadness of our Fall/Winter. Usually, she joins me for a smoke, so I keep RyJ Cigarillos on hand. As an ex cigarette smoker, she doesn't want to fall back into the habit. But for a few times per year, she'll sit outside, sip a Cognac and make some smoke rings.

[Ginseng]

Wonderful review. The BBF is one of those cigars that is impossible to forget. Great, poor, new to cigars, old hand: the BBF is a genuine character. Love the impressionistic night shot.

Wilkey

[Puros Y Vino]

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the review. I'll try to get in a few more before the weather drops to freezing thereby putting my cigar smoking into hibernation.

[LeafLover]

Fantastic review. I've backed off off of the BBF's this year and the end of the last year as they were off to me. Will revisit them in 2011 and hopefully they will make a comeback.

[cubanmule7]

great review, Ihad one thanksgiving night and while I can't say I tasted all the stuff you did I still found it to be a very well rounded smoke. I'll be buying these soon and storing them for a while longer to see if they evolve a little more.

[mazolaman]

I bought 25 of these two years ago,but they were far too young to be smoked.

They have gradually improved to the point where now they are as you have described,with that famous little bit of licourice.

They are now a beautifull smoke.

[scottkenda]

Exellent review of a classic Belicoso, probably my favorite. Loved the pics, the one picture of your building, for some reason reminded me of our summer vacations spent around Kingston, Ontario. Love the place.

[Quint]

Great review thanks. Love this cigar one of my favorites can be matched with strong coffee, full body beer, scotch, red wine mmmmm mmmm mmmmm

[Justin01]

Great Review,

I've been trying to decipher what area you live in, it looks so familiar but can't put my finger on that building. lol. I'm guessing Davisville and mt Pleasant area tho.

Cheers,

Justin

[Puros Y Vino]

Great Review,

I've been trying to decipher what area you live in, it looks so familiar but can't put my finger on that building. lol. I'm guessing Davisville and mt Pleasant area tho.

Cheers,

Justin

Pretty close. Off of Mt Pleasant.

[celt1888]

Great review and nice pics, the bbf is one of my all time favourites i also get a toasty flavour from it.to me its like butter and toast with a hint of coco powder.and sweet cedar through the nose.Cheers