TX Duo Review - Don Carlos Sangre de Toro Puro Cojones

[Çnote]

@Capn_Jackson

Chocolate, earth, and leather. I usually don't like these things this savory, even in Fuente, but this is very well done. Extremely young, lots of promise, kinda monolithic. Nice transition into smooth leather going into the 3rd3rd. Woodsmoke and coffee come thru in the nub. The bands had just enough glue, incredible construction, incredible burn given this is so fresh.

I'm hoping by the time the corona is released these are a thing you can just get a box of at msrp, but I can't justify 2ndary when there are other things lurking out there at disco. I'd probably be better off just waiting for a BR release in a corona-ish size than chasing these around. Opportunity cost is looking high on Fuente these days.

Easy 92, could be 96 down the road

Another great Fuente really

 

[Capn_Jackson]

Lovely darker wrapper on this smoke, and I’m looking forward to trying out this blend with a different wrap. Intrigued might be the better word, as I do enjoy the usual Don Carlos Cameroon wrap. Cold draw gives me dark notes, plum wine and cocoa, a little medium roast coffee bean. The light-up is very flavorful, some more cocoa and coffee, along with raisin and oak wood.

Going on, the oak wood is very prevalent here, along with some umami and more than a little leather. Flitting in and out, I get notes of candied bacon. Interesting and unexpected from a Don Carlos.

Second third ramps up in sweetness, with some caramel-dipped cashew, and a fair bit of citrus crème. The finish on this smoke is leaving something to be desired. A little ashy, not as velvety as I’d expect from DC. Past the midway point, citrus disappears and is replaced by something like huckleberry. Earthy, rich, strewy. More coffee in the mix here, and some chewy damp earth.

The last third goes very dark. Molasses, rum raisin, umami, but unfortunately some bitterness. It’s not constantl, and it’s not overpowering. Just like when you’re munching on freshly shelled pecans, and find a bit of gritty shell stuck in one of the dimples but you eat it anyway. The nub is more sweet, darkly sweet still, but almost dessert-like.

I would like to try this stick again in a few years, and I think it’s got the legs for it. Gets an 88 from me today. Not great, but it’s headed in that direction.

[Capn_Jackson]

@Çnote I don’t think this one grabbed me quite the same as it did you, although we do share some profile perceptions. A good stick, just not really one I care to repeat, at least without a couple years’ downtime maybe.

[Çnote]

44 minutes ago, Capn_Jackson said:

 I don’t think this one grabbed me quite the same as it did you

I really wanted to like this and my writing shows. I think Anejo is a better cigar and we'd probably both agree. I did think you'd think this is a little MC-esque, ie boring.

Pretty much the exact opposite of the EotB as I recall.

We are lucky to get to have damning opinions here, I'd say.

[Hoosh]

Smoked this cigar last week, and felt about it as I do most Opus X cigars…meh. The most important thing about this cigar that went unmentioned here is the fact that it used a San Andrés wrapper - a first for AF. I was super stoked, as I love, no, I purposely look out for, cigars that are earthy and spicy in flavors; that wrapper holds the crown for such flavors where all other “Maduro” wrappers fall short. 

Disappointingly, it’s as if the wrapper wasn’t even part of the cigar. Except for the initial third, where a big blast of spice started the cigar, it fell behind the typical DC flavors of dark cherries, chocolate, and coffee. Don’t get me wrong here - the DC Eye of the Bull is one of my favorite smokes, fighting for smoking time against the Personal Reserve, but this cigar was literally hyped (“Blood of the Bull” is indicative to anybody with a smidgen of logic that it would be a spicy, earthy forward cigar ) over the use of the San Andrés wrapper. Then, AF failed, IMO, to actually use it. 

But, they did succeed in the marketing department, and for their bottom line (read: making money), they capitalized on the fan boys; It’s tough to find the cigar anywhere. I paid more $25 each for three of these cigars, but I learned my lesson. The next time, I’ll go ahead and buy the much better Padrón 1926 90th for about the same price and have a cigar where the hype meets the road.