Bolivar Belicoso Fino TUE JUL ‘20 (SRW)

[Capn_Jackson]

I decide to sit down with a personal favorite on a Sunday afternoon, about 100 degrees with a tiny bit of wind outside. Slightly cooler on the porch. I love the BBF, and I know this will be worth the heat. Taking a break from preparing my lesson plans for the Fall semester, and enjoying this with a cup of sparkling water and a splash of cranberry juice.

 

The texture of this beautiful smoke is slightly bumpy, and firm with just a little give. Barnyard scent, with a little mineral. The cold draw gives me a light roast coffee, a lot of leather, and baking spices. Great draw!

 

On the opening light, I get a mouth full of hickory, with a tiny bit of salt. Long finish with a slight red pepper. As the cigar opens, that pepper enters the palette to join the hickory, eventually changing to a more dry black pepper. Not too much, not too powerful. It just lingers on the finish in a great way. The retrohale has a slight burnt brown sugar on top of heavy roasted malt, reminding me of the aroma in my garage on a brewing day. As I work through the opening third, a nuttiness starts to appear on both the palette and the finish. Superb draw and excellent smoke output! Also a nice creamy texture to the smoke. The faintest hint of citrus begins to emerge. I’m suddenly reminded of memories from 17 years ago when my brother brought me one of these from Mexico, and I smoked it on Thanksgiving Day. That was my first BBF, and my first Habano.

 

 

In the middle of the first third, the burn starts to get a little uneven but nothing worthy of correcting. A roasty coffee bean begins to alternate with a mild cocoa, while the citrus dies away. The finish still carries nuts and spices along with the hickory flavor.

 

 

I do end up correcting that burn right before the second third, and soon the first chunk of ash falls off leaving a pretty good burn line. Notes of creamy citrus start to come back more and more, complementing the wood and coffee nicely. Not much cocoa at this point. The finish has great notes of baking spices and wood still. On the retrohale, getting a little more orange and some kind of smoked spice like coriander. As the second third develops, hints of hazelnut start to take the place of that cocoa that has gone missing, with orange peel and pepper joining the finish. At the halfway point the burn line has become nearly perfect, with shaggy bits of ash hanging off the end but mostly solid. The orange peel note is becoming stronger, and mixing nicely with the other characters. Mostly, though, I taste nuts and tangy hickory. Tiny bit of dried cranberry as I approach the end of the second third, and it lingers just on the edge of the long finish.

Here’s your selfie.... Cheers from Cap’n!!

 

 

Last third. Draw is still excellent, and the burn seems much better at this point. Strong notes of leather join the mix, and the cocoa has come back to partner with hazelnuts. The finish becomes more syrupy, and a little more charred, though not unpleasant. Red pepper gets strong again on the retrohale, but now dominated by malt. Not one to just sit there and die at the end, the cigar gives me a blast of caramel towards the end, and a much tangier wood note.

 

 

Overall impressions: Great treat, medium to full strength, lots of complex flavors dominated by wood, coffee, and nuts. The orange peel is a note I don’t always get from these, but when I do it’s a great surprise! This smoke gets a 93 from me.

 

Cheers!

[gormag38]

Great review! I too love the BBF! I’m thinking I’m going to have to dip back into my box soon here! 

[Chibearsv]

Well done.  Nice review

[Chucko8]

Nice review and pics. thanks

[Capn_Jackson]

On 8/8/2022 at 3:07 PM, gormag38 said:

Great review! I too love the BBF! I’m thinking I’m going to have to dip back into my box soon here! 

I try to spare the BBF’s and let them rest, but it’s so hard to do! Every time I do dip in the box and enjoy I am reminded of how much I love ‘em, and immediately want another.

[Fezztone]

Nice review! I just posted mine of the same smoke and my particular one was horrible and not what I have come to expect from Bolivar. Glad yours hit the mark. 

[Capn_Jackson]

15 hours ago, Fezztone said:

Nice review! I just posted mine of the same smoke and my particular one was horrible and not what I have come to expect from Bolivar. Glad yours hit the mark. 

Thanks, and I’m sorry to hear that about yours. I’ve had only a few duds from Bolivar in the past, but they’re definitely out there. Hope your next one is a winner!