If you read the Curly Head review I ended that review with the Fuente name being an easy and popular name for the beginner to walk into any B&M and that tobacconist being able to recognize the Fuente name and suggestion the next step. Its always a great feeling to plant the seed of the cigar world and see that seed sprout in a new person.

Today I bring you the Short Story from Fuente’s famous Hemingway line. Now this shouldn’t be considered the “official” next step for the new smoker but for one of the bachelors who the Curly Head was their gateway cigar, the Hemingway turned out to be his next step.

It will be almost impossible to find a better constructed cigar. If there is one thing the Fuente name is famous for it is for its perfection in construction. The Hemingway line is no different. The Short Story weighs in at 4 x 48 and features a medium brown Cameroon wrapper with the best Dominican binder and filler available. I consider the Short Story a lunch time smoke lasting 30-45 minutes.

The Hemingway Short Story is a very complex mellow stogie. The Hemingway line is aged for an additional 140 days after being rolled and is one of the few stogies that I consider can be smoked right out of the box. Extremely smooth and very pronounced and distinguished flavor profile. You get a little bit of everything in the Short Story. Its actually pretty amazing that Fuente can pack so many rich flavors into such a small package with none of the flavors being over powering or overwhelming for the inexperienced smoker. Expect to get a nice creamy and nutty vanilla taste with a smooth short spicy finish. The Short Story will soon develop to include a nice sweet nutmeg flavor and aroma. The flavor profile is impressive! Construction of this figurado is perfect. Slow, even burn throughout with a white ash thats impressive to watch form. Its truly one of those stogies that smoke themselves with very little effort from the smoker.

Pricing and availability is inconsistent. Look to pay anywhere from $4-$6 a stick for the Short Story. The Hemingway line offers an array of different sizes. If you’re looking for something a little bigger than the Short Story then there is the Work of Art (4 7/8 x 60) size and I know a few guys who enjoy the Masterpiece (9 x 52) size when playing some holes on the golf course. The most interesting size is the Between the Lines (5 x 54) size where the wrapper has the barber pole style to it. The Best Seller (5 x 55) and Classic (7 x 48) sizes will probably be the size you come across the most as they are pretty standard sizes. If you run across the maduro wrapper versions of the Hemingway line consider yourself a very luck smoker and don’t leave the shop without them in your baggy as these are the rarest in the Hemingway line.

The best advice I can give you for the Hemingway Short Story is to take your time and enjoy the true complex nature of this stogie. Good things come to those who wait. As another old saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover. The Short Story maybe short in appearance but it packs a big flavor profile.