Here we have an Arturo Fuente Sun Grown Exquisitos at 4×30. I have had, and not liked, a couple of Cameroon Exquisitos as well as had, and liked, several Maduro Exquisitos. So when I found out a shop a few minutes from my in-law’s house had them in Sun Grown I had to pick up a handful the next time we were down that way.

Exquisitos are a short filler cigar available in the three above mentioned wrappers. The small ring guage and short filler means the cigar needs to ‘sipped’ rather than ‘gulped’ to prevent it from getting hot and harsh. When that is taken into account it makes for a nice 25-30 minute smoke.

The wrapper was a little lighter than the Sun Grown wrapper on the larger Fuentes like the Cuban Belicoso. This one was slightly oily and had a single large vein wrapper around it like a barber pole. The burn was even, leaving light grey, inch-long pellets of ash. This was the last of the five I purchased and the only one with any draw problems, it was a little tight through the first half but opened up nicely after that.

The wrapper left a slightly sweet taste on the lips and I picked up a few hints of caramel through the first half. The second half brought a little bit of spice build-up on the back of my throat which I don’t really get with the Maduros. I’ve been lucky to get to the last third of the Maduros before they get really harsh but the Sun Growns stayed a smooth a little longer.

Given the size it seems like you should be able to smoke one of these in 10-15 minutes, and after smoking lots of Robustos I tried to and found them unpleasant. After speaking with a few more experienced smokers and working on the way I was smoking them I find them a nice short smoke. I’ve still yet to try the Padron tins but plan to give them a try and keep one, or both of these, around for the half-hour ride home from work.