Trinidad Fundadores

[Mark Twain]

Size

7 5/8 x 40

This is the most impressively flavored cigar that I’ve smoked to date. I’m still fairly new to smoking, and tend to gravitate toward more robusto sized cigars and seem to avoid most vitolas with a ring gauge of less than 40. I split these with Mike33 and just might have to steal the rest off him.

Pre-Light impression

The cigar is beautifully constructed and firm to the touch. The wrapper is nearly flawless in appearance and looks like a milk chocolate twix candy bar. It had a swift trip and only rested for a day in my humidor before I decided to burn this baby. The smell was gorgeous. Dense, naked tobacco filled my nose and I was practically drooling over this baby.

I'm loving this thing!

Mike33 ready to fire his cigar up

Cut

I used my Xikar cutter and popped the cap off as gently as I could. This cigar was beautifully constructed, and there was no problem with loose tobacco unraveling. It drew well which was an immense relief after all the horror stories of smaller ring gauge cigars being plugged. I’m glad those days are behind us and hope to never hear of them again.

Initial light

I toasted the foot for a good thirty seconds with my butane lighter before I finally began the smoke. The foot burned evenly and the entire cigar only required one touch up during the smoke. The first 20 minutes were very light and indistinct. I picked up a lot of flavors but nothing really popped out at me.

The Smoke

After the first 30 minutes the flavor profile of the cigar settled down into a consistency of light wood tones masked with leathery earthy notes. The cigar was a solid medium body smoke. The ash lasted several inches before I flicked the foot away. The smoke was very light, almost mild compared to the full-bodied cigars that have come to dominate the NC market. The flavor really was the most standout feature that the Fundadores offers. Half way through the smoke the flavor profile began a gentle change and started to reveal a rich core of vanilla that left a finish to die for. The last part of the cigar was by far the best and contained the most revealing characteristics that really exemplify Cuban cigars over their NC counterparts.

Overall

Yeah, this was pricey, by far the most I’ve spent on any cigar, but it was worth it. I really am starting to fall in love with thinner ring gauge cigars that are absolute flavor bombs. I recommend this cigar to those that are drawn to more elegant cigars. The rest of these are going into storage to see what a few months/years does to them. I gotta say that the ’06 Cubans are smoking beautifully.

[Tampa1257]

Could you not find a clean ash try to celebrate the enjoyment of such a nice cigar with? :-|

I have often found the Trinidad Fundadore smooth and elegant with a medium bodied tobacco flavor. I would consider it a very complex and balanced cigar. I have tasted many notes of citrus boarding on a floral tone. Experienced an extreme amount of complexity because of the changing of directions flavors of wood, earthiness and sweet spiciness. I love the notes of vanilla bean and light mocha.

The real trick with thin ring gauge cigars is to smoke slowly and not burn the cigar too hot as well as keeping the head of the cigar as dry as possible. When the head of a cigar becomes wet, it gathers the bitter tar, oils and nicotine that can make the final portion of the cigar harsh and ruin the finish of such an elegant cigar.

[cigardawg]

Great review! Love the pictures.

The Trinidad Fundadores has got to be one of my top 10 cigars if not among my top 5. I have yet to have a bad one. I find them to be some of the richest cigars available. While my palate does not detect the citrus notes that Chuck's does, I do get rich spiciness, woody flavors, coffee, and sweetness from this cigar. One of Cuba's best.

[Sir Diggamus]

Great review! The pics were an excellent addition.

I have two of these in my humidor that I plan to smoke with my father-in-law during Christmas weekend. Sounds like they will be ready by then.

[cfheater]

You guys looked really relaxed in the pictures. I have to get some of those.

[andymiami]

» You guys looked really relaxed in the pictures. I have to get some of

» those.

Great review. If you haven't try the Trini Reyes. It will dispell EVERYTHING you could think of a small cigar (PC) lacking flavor or the ability to satisfy a big cigar craving. The Reyes are TOPS in my book of PC's and even in the top 10 of all cigars I've smoked.