After a much needed short vacation, I return this week with a Review of the Arturo Fuente 8-5-8 Maduro. I picked up a few of these sticks to try a few months ago while stopping into a local B&M. With a price tag of $3.75 I decided to give them a shot.
During my initial inspection I found the cigar to be a little rough in appearance. The wrapper color varied from light brown to dark brown with lots of spots in between. The texture was lumpy with a firm feel when pinched. When clipped, I found the draw to be a little firm but produced a smooth and sweet pre light flavor.
After a quick toast and light I had the cigar burning evenly and producing a good volume of smoke. The body started off in the medium range and produced a smooth but dry finish. The base flavor to start was that of a typical Maduro. The initial flavors were a rich, natural tobacco flavor with an enjoyable sweetness as an aftertaste. The resting smoke was light and aromatic while the burn line was thin and even.
The second third of my cigar was very consistent to the first third. The body remained about medium and provided me with a smooth and short finish. Even though the finish was both short and smooth, I found it to be a little dry but not too bad overall. The base flavor remained a rich, natural tobacco flavor with a nice Maduro sweetness. The draw was getting a little tighter as I smoked but remained bearable and produced a decent volume of light colored smoke. The ash was light in color but would not hold on after a half inch or so.
As I smoked deeper into this cigar, and into the final third I really began to enjoy it. The body raised slightly, but remained a solid medium bodied smoke while the finish lost its dryness and became smooth and creamy. The base flavor continued to be a rich, natural tobacco flavor with an added Coffee and sweet flavor that rounded out the smoke well. The draw loosened up considerably with a bit more handling to loosen up the tobacco. The ash remained fairly light in color but consistently dropped before getting longer than ¾ of an inch.
Overall I think that this was a decent smoke. I didn’t care for it too much until the final third when it just opened up and became a new cigar all together. For $3.75 at a local shop, I think that this was a good buy and definitely worth a try if you enjoy Maduro cigars. If this cigar would have opened up earlier on, and been as enjoyable in the beginning as it was in the end I think that this would be an excellent cigar and not just a decent one.
Walt,
Glad to hear you had a fun trip.
Sounds like this is a good one for a new smoker, So many smokers give up before the last third and would miss this cigars ‘sweet spot ‘.
Nice review, but this is one I’ll probably pass on
Bill
I think this cigar was my first “nubber” a few years ago. I remember hitting that “sweet spot” and smoking until I couldn’t hold the thing anymore.
…haven’t had one since though. I might change that.
Thanks for the review.
Sean
Glad to have you back, Walt!
Do you know of any other Arturo Fuente cigars that
arer worth the money but don’t cost that much.
Lou,
I think that the Chatue Fuente Naturals are well worth the ~$3.00 that I pay locally for them. That particular size is my personal favorite of the standard line.
For a little more, I think the ~$4.50 Short Story is well worth the money as well.
-Walt
Welcome back Walt. I’m with you about doing with out technology when going on vacation. I work as a network admin and know all to well being a Crackberry addict. I’ve been looking to pick up an A. Fuente so I’m glad you did a review on this one. I may pick a couple of these to keep on hand as giveaway smokes and try the Chateau Fuente and Short Story for myself.
Thanks, Walt.
Walt –
As I read and listened to your fine review, I was reminded that I’ve long been curious about the 8-5-8 name. So I e-mailed Fuente and got the answer. The stick was named in honor of company founder Arturo Fuente, who came up with the blend but hadn’t released it. The cigar was released after his death at age 85 and given the numerical name because it represented his age at his death when read from either end.
George E.
George,
Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.
This whole time I made the mistake of confusing it with an 8-9-8 packaging style and didn’t realize that is was something completely different until you posted.
Again, thanks for sharing
-Walt
Walt,
I’ve missed the tunes, glad to hear you had a good trip. I need one of those. I can definitely tell that it’s Aaron Lewis singing, which means it’s Staind. But, I can’t distinguish the song. I’m not a huge Staind fan, too depressing…But, that’s what I’m going to go with. MDD.
I just went back and listened again and I’m not too sure of my decision. But, I’m going to stick with my gut reaction. MDD.
Mike,
Its been a while since I’ve listened to Staind (no pun intended). The band that was playing is sometimes referred to as “The band that always opens for Disturbed and outperforms them every show”
Taproot – Nightmare
Got any tips for slow smoking? Over 3 hours on an 8-5-8 is pretty impressive.
great review walt!
Smoking one, but smaller size, and my ash is like 1.5 inches now!
So maybe ie was the humidity or something when you smoked it…