Fonseca No. 1 UTL OCT '17 (MMRW)

[The Squiggler]

Mixed Marque Review weekend (#2):  Fonseca No. 1 - UTL OCT 2017

 

 

For my second review this week I chose the lonely Fonseca No. 1 single that had been sitting in my humidor for the past year or so. It was received in a trade and would mark my introduction to the marque ?, and, after reading @FireMedic's review of another Fonseca #1 earlier this weekend, I was intrigued to break it out and fire it up.  As I removed the outer tissue I was shocked to find a dark, oily, seemingly well constructed beauty of a cigar (considering most of the examples of these I've seen in pictures haven't exactly been beauty queens).  This one might be the exception to the rule, but damn is she purty.  Honey and hay prominent at cold.  Very mild.  Pre-draw is extremetly tight.

 

 

First light reveals light earth and leather.  Charred sugar notes linger on the finish (perhaps reminiscing of the 'toasted marshmallow' notes I've been hearing about) along with a hint of bitter anise.  The draw has opened up a bit at this point but is still hindering the smoking experience.  There is a distinct sweet and salty leather flavor that lingers on the lips after each puff which is quite pleasant.

 

 

At this point I decide to perform a bit of minor surgery.  A drillbit up the rear end (using the 'perfect draw' method) seems to do the trick and the draw is massively improved (if still just a touch tighter than I prefer, but hey, who's complaining?).  The enhanced smoke output adds a touch of cacao and almond to the flavor profile.  The smoke is still a bit thin and ashy, but the new nuttiness mingles well with the salty oiliness on the finish, and I'm starting to enjoy this one quite a bit.

 

 

Into the second third light earth, burnt sugar, and salty tree nuts predominate.  The smoke output seems to have improved substantially and with it the ashy flavor seems to have receded.  There is a distinct oily tanginess on the palette somewhat reminiscent of a mix of fermented sweet chilis and spiced prunes.  The flavors remains fairly mild, yet surprisingly complex and difficult to untangle at this point:  Salty/woody/earthy/tangy, yet somewhat elusive.

 

 

Around the halfway point the core flavors remain mostly the same.  A bit of leather creeps in here and there, and for a while I can distinctly taste flavors of what I can only compare to salted Terra chips (you know, those rainbow chips made from root vegetables: beet, turnip, rutabaga, etc.). 

 

 

Oils/tar being to build on the palette and the flavors begin to muddy a bit into the final third, but not in an unpleasant way.  Charred sugar, beets, earth, sour tobacco and a touch of salt seem to swish around behind a building flavor of ever increasingly warm tobacco oiliness. 

 

 

The nub gets quite hot and difficult to smoke around the 1.5-2 inch mark.  Construction was a consistent yet mild nuisance, but only in the sense that the cigar seemed slightly over-packed.  Once the plug was pierced, however, the performance was pretty nice (up until the last couple inches). Overall this was a very good cigar, though it didn't line up with my expectations based on other reviews at all.  With a bit more age (and with a slightly looser roll) I'd say these could be great.  Too bad I just had the one.  Overall score: 90/100 (with points docked for construction/having to toss the last 1.5 inches)

[FireMedic]

Ah the world of handmade cigars, good review 

[The Squiggler]

9 minutes ago, FireMedic said:

Ah the world of handmade cigars

take the band off and compare this to the one you smoked and you're in two different worlds.  Crazy stuff.  I assume some of the guts are still there ('veins' of consistency, if you will), but this one was a bit meaty.  The box this one came from would have been a good one to test every 4-6 months, I think.