Before we get started on this edition of Herf’n Heads, I have say, in good concience, that the length of the video below is rather long. In fact, if you thought Mike and I talked for a long time in Herf’n Heads – Featuring the La Aurora 100 Anos, you haven’t seen anything yet. To quote Brian “Stogie Review: Our videos are long, strong, and about to get the friction on with your head.”

Because of the nearly two hours of run time, we are offering this video broken into more manageable pieces. This post, however, contains the unedited version. For the hard core fans that enjoy a long video, go grab yourself a beverage and a cigar before starting the episode.

Aside from discussing our feature cigar, the Arturo Fuente Anejo Reserva No. 48, Brian and I cover a variety of topics. We started the banter with How much variety is necessary in a local cigar shop. This topic branched into How does the size of a cigar affect the flavor profile and How big is too big in terms of ring gauge.

As Brian and I moved deeper into the video, discussion branched out to interesting cigars that Brian had been smoking. The standout cigar being the Monte Pascoal Brazilian Puro. This cigar brought up names like Fuentes Crucet, Sean Williams of El Primer Mundo, and Willy Herrera of El Titan de Bronze.

By this point in the video we were a long way from finishing our Fuente Anejo Reserva No. 48 and had exhausted all of our pre-planned discussion topics. While covering the second third of our cigars, the topic shifted towards how we maintain humidity in our humidors. At this point Brian reveals a genius MacGyver Cigar Hack to recharge Boveda Packs. We then moved on to discussing how we travel with cigars and how to maintain humidity in those mobile containers. We close out this portion of the video discussing Atlanta Cigar events versus Pennsylvania Cigar Festivals as well as the upcoming Nestor Miranda Day and comparing the large cigar companies like General and Altadis to Anheuser Busch and their Budweiser product.

To wind down our discussion and close out the video, Brian and I moved to talking about novelty shaped cigars, Ernesto Padilla in the cigar industry, the creative arm of Oliva in Studio Tobac, and the perks of visiting Buckhead CIgar in Atlanta.

The Cigar

The Fuente Anejo is a line that is often marked up to staggering prices. Due to its limited production and twice per year distribution, demand generally outweighs supply. As a result, it is not uncommon to see this cigar, in our case the Fuente Anejo Reserva No. 48, carry an MSRP of around $13.00 and a marked up price tag of $20.00.

In the event that you are in the market for an Anejo variety, they can normally be found around Christmas and Fathers Day, at the same time that the Fuente Opus X line is distributed to retailers.

Construction

A few years ago, on the cigar forums, there was a lot of debate surrounding the Fuente Anejo line and the likelihood of mold developing under the cedar sleeve. Remembering this debate as I pulled the cigar from my humidor, I began to get slightly concerned about finding a surprise hidden under the cedar. Fortunately, neither Brian or I discovered mold on the wrapper. What we did find was a toothy, rough looking wrapper leaf. Brian’s cigar had a visual flaw while my cigar did not.

After clipping, Brian noted that his Anejo had an effortless draw while mine was a bit on the stiff side. Flavors on the cold draw were reminiscent of chocolate while the wrapper smelled of the spanish cedar sleeve.

Flavor

The most common flavor between my Anejo and the one Brian was smoking was a creamy chocolate flavor. Through the sinus I was able to pick up the aroma of spanish cedar, however, this aroma was not nearly as heavy as I would have expected from a cigar encased in cedar for a prolonged period of time.

The texture of the smoke was creamy with a touch of spice. The body was in the medium to full range while the flavor level was about medium.

Smoking Characteristics

Despite the draw on my cigar being a bit stiff, it produced a good supply of dense smoke. Brian’s cigar, although not stiff, also seemed to provide plenty of palate coating smoke. From time to time Brian experienced some waviness in his burn while my cigar burned perfectly. The ash on both cigars was well shaped and held on for more than an inch before dropping.

Final Thoughts

Brian and I both felt that the Fuente Anejo Reserva No. 48 is a fun cigar. If you have the opportunity to get your hands on one at suggested retail price, we would suggest picking up two (which is most likely all you’ll be able to buy due to purchase limits set in place by many retailers). I’m not so sure about Brian, but if it were to come down to smoking an Anejo or an Opus X, my choice, nine times out of ten, would be to reach for the Anejo.

In the event that you do not have two houts to watch the episode, we have broken out the discussion topics. Each post below features the banter in between us talking about the Fuente Anejo and wound up being four parts. Video length varies from video to video.

• Herf’n Heads – Discussion Breakout – Part 1
• Herf’n Heads – Discussion Breakout – Part 2
• Herf’n Heads – Discussion Breakout – Part 3
• Herf’n Heads – Discussion Breakout – Part 4