Cigar Review; A. J. Fernandez Bellas Artes Maduro

 

I have been away from writing for some time, had closed my review site as well as other writings and called an end to it. It is odd however, that something you enjoy, such as cigars, can cause your mind to drift into thoughts and words to visualize the very experience of the object at hand. With this in mind and with a plethora of new cigars, others have asked me to restart the pursuit of encapsulating in words the thoughts of the mind as the smoke from a fine cigar rises.

To begin again, I sat in my office at home and went through files and tapes, photos and more from over the years. I selected an A. J. Fernandez Bella Artes Maduro Toro to enjoy while plundering like a drunken pirate through a file cabinet and photo holders.

The Bellas Artes is a beautiful cigar, with an equally beautifully done band. A dark rich maduro wrapper with a nice oily sheen to it covers an immaculate blend of tobaccos that await the torch to alleviate the mind of todays stress and bring relaxation to the forefront. One cut I set the torch to work and smiled as the cigar began with a nice hit of spice and shortly began to give the grand flavors of cocoa, fresh earth and still keeping a touch of spice to round it out. Rich coffee began to show through, mixing in a succulent manner with the cocoa and spice as the earth backed off. The smoke of the cigar was plentiful and gave the room an amazing aroma.

As I sat pouring over things collected over the years, I find photos of friends in the industry at shops, conventions, etc., all showing the grand culture and friendship around and object created from a plant. At this point the cigar was full stream into the second third, the cocoa became richer in flavor and the coffee moved up to more of a coffee and chicory mix still retaining the spice but in the background a hint of smokey wood began to show. The main flavors ebbed and flowed together perfectly causing one to stop and draw deep on the cigar that one may partake of the deepest essence of the depth contained in the blend.

Still working on things for the new/old website, I put on some ZZ Top to shut the world temporarily out and focus on the task at hand. The music filled the room and the cloud of smoke moved and danced across the room as whiffs of air touched it. By now the cigar was in its final third and the flavors shown in the second third ramped up with a touch more spice and the addition of a slight touch of leather. The focal point was still the rich cocoa and coffee and chicory mix which the spice blended together in a grand manner.

If you have not tried the A. J. Fernandez Bellas Artes, you are missing out on one of the most flavorful maduros on the market. Get a few and see what you taste.

 

Peace and Smoke,

Gator