2018 Bolivar Belicosos Finos

[DrStogie]

This is a new cigar for me, only my second BBF stick, which I figured would be a good time to give my two cents with a fresh perspective. 
 

These were always talked up so much to me and I’m happy to confess they not only lived up to, but also exceeded the hype. 

 

The wrapper is Colorado Claro and not too oily or with too impressive of a sheen and relatively veiny, but not excessively. The stick appears perfectly filled and an angled cut produces a perfect draw. 
 

Before the light, it has a milk coffee character in aroma and cold draw with some cedar. 
 

This cigar is medium-full bodied, but medium-under in flavor, that is to say it’s not in-your-face but the flavors are nonetheless vivid and there’s an abundance of them. 
 

In the first third there’s tons of creamy milk coffee, which persists throughout. You could definitely compare this to a Monte 2. The mouth feel is buttery as is the flavor. More butter on the front, coffee on the finish. It’s somewhat Juan-Lopez like in this aspect. The draw is perfect.
 

A delightful, hoyo de monterey grassiness seeps in towards the back end of the first and continues throughout the cigar. A very light and elusive baking spice makes a few appearances as well as a light cedar and moments of milk chocolate. I enjoy these kinds of flavor teases accompanied by the persistent creamy, buttery, milk coffee grassiness marca characters. The masterful construction is apparent as the ash holds for half the length of the cigar. 

The final third continues much the same with the addition of some almond and macadamia nut. I even noticed a bit of cheese and leather just for a second here and there. 
 

All and all it’s a fantastic stick. It definitely has Montecristo,  hoyo de Monterey and Juan Lopez elements but not without a plethora of its own supremely unique qualities. At 4 years of age, it really is perfect. I’ll be looking for a box as soon as I can. Well done Bolivar. 

 

[Akela3rd]

That's encouraging. I've had a few over the years that were alright, no more, but plumped for a box of the late 20 production after all the rave reviews. Plan is to crack the box at the end of this year when they've got two years on them.

Sent by spooky action at a distance