Blind Cigar Review: Fratello | Corona

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Corona Gorda
Length: 5.5″
Ring Gauge: 46
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Nicaraguan and Peruvian
Factory: Unknown
Blender: Omar de Frias
Number of reviewers: 5 —– Ron (shuckins) Sandeep (Djangos) Robert (NavyPiper) Milton (mjohnsoniii) Cindy (Ms_CindyLynn)
Price: $7.00
Release Date: July 2013
Contributed by: Fratello Cigars

Cigar Info

From Manufacturer – “Fratello is a life-long dream for industry newcomer de Frias, a cigar aficionado for more than 15 years who grew up next to a cigar retail shop in his hometown of Santo Domingo D.R.  “ I would come into the shop and the manager Don Rafael would always kick me out since I was not of age.  One day he brought me in to watch a torcedor (Cigar Roller) perform his art, when he finished the cigar, he gave it to me and said, “Kid welcome to the true gentlemen’s club.” “Fratello, has been my nickname since college, means brother in Italian and embodies the true nature of this industry, camaraderie, family and friendship,” said de Frias.

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 90

“This one has a nice uniform color throughout with a couple of noticeable veins. It appears to be rolled well and looks pretty good.” –Milton (mjohnsoniii)

Aroma: 91

“The cigar has a sweet smell of leather, light coffee and cedary tobacco.” –Ron (shuckins)

Construction: 90

“The cigar was medium firm throughout the length. No soft spots were felt. Triple capped and ready to go!” –Sandeep (Djangos)

First Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“It’s a little peppery with a dry, hot tasting cedar, light coffee, and just a trace of leather on light up. The dryness of the cedar faded towards the end of the first third taking the heat with it and letting more coffee and leather flavors through.” –Ron (shuckins)

“The cigar starts off with a veritable blast of pepper. The pepper is initially prominent in the front of the mouth and on the tongue but within a few puffs coats the entire mouth including the palate. There is definitely a lot of spices in the mix including nutmeg which is the most prominent of them as well as some cinnamon. A bit of coffee aroma is drifting in and out as the third is progressing. The pepper is definitely not letting up even at the one inch mark. Usually I would find this a little bit distracting but the flavors are keeping me intrigued as they blend into one another. Towards the end, a slight hay and grass flavor is creeping in. The ash is very flaky and is falling off at the half inch mark. The burn is slightly uneven but definitely not distracting. There are volumes of white creamy smoke which are kind of collecting over my head, so thick that it is not dissipating.” –Sandeep (Djangos)

“Holy Manzo! Had a blast of pepper that dominated most of this third! Towards the end of this third, began getting some flavors of pretty strong tobacco and leather along with the pepper, which had backed way down.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

Second Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“This cigar is still peppery with some cedar and coffee flavors. There is a taste of leather present, but not enough to produce the creaminess I usually get with leather. The tobacco has an earthy,woodsy after taste.” –Ron (shuckins)

“Leather was the main component throughout this third. The raisin flavors came in and out. The cigar had a strong earthy taste mixed with leather. It was quite nice.” –Cindy (Ms_CindyLynn)

Final Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The flavors entering the final third take a turn for more leather and tobacco. The pepper is beginning to ramp up once more and there is a mix of white and black pepper and is coating the entire mouth. The nutmeg and cinnamon flavors are still present but in the background. The strength is definitely increasing and I am confused whether this should be a full or medium full! Even though the flavors were mainly baking spices and pepper with some leather at the end, I am pleased with this cigar. The burn to the very end is a little crooked and the ash very flaky. There was no further issue with tar. The smoke is the star of this smoke, the amount and creaminess is incredible!” –Sandeep (Djangos)

“Throughout the last third, it consisted of leather and small hints of raisin at times. There was the earthy notes throughout the last third. The flavors seemed to be muted compared to the first third.”  –Cindy (Ms_CindyLynn)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 88

“It had a pretty good draw with plenty of smoke, although it had a bit of heat at the beginning.” –Ron (shuckins)

Burn: 89

“While a little wavy at times, the burn was pretty good and consistent the whole time.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Overall Experience: 90

“This was an enjoyable cigar that I think given some time in the humidor, would have been even better.” –Ron (shuckins)

“The cigar was definitely something that I will go to again. It had great flavors mainly of baking spices, tobacco and leather. The pepper was very prominent in this stick and normally I would not like something like this however the flavors kept me intrigued. The only reason why this did not score beyond 90 was the fact that the flavors, even though great, did not change much throughout the cigar. The smoke on this one is worthy of special mention, it was so thick and voluminous that it seemed to just collect above my head and hang in the air without dissipation. The creamy character was just a bonus!” –Sandeep (Djangos)

“Overall, the cigar seemed to decrease in strength and complexity as time went by. I still rated it overall with a “very good” score, because there were many aspects of the cigar that I did enjoy.. the aroma was enjoyable, the burn/draw was great.. the flavors were great as well. I wish the strength and body would have followed throughout the entire smoke. I would recommend this cigar and would probably smoke it again if I get my hands on it.” –Cindy (Ms_CindyLynn)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 66

Total Score: 90 (Very Good)

To view the complete scores and notes, click here

Edit

Reviewer	Appe-arance	Aroma	Const.	1/3	2/3	3/3	Draw	Burn	Overall
Ron	90	90	93	88	88	90	90	92	89
Sandeep	90	91	90	91	92	90	91	87	90
Robert	90	90	89	87	90	89	84	89	88
Milton	91	92	89	86	82	82	81	84	82
Cindy	94	94	94	94	91	89	94	95	91
Overall	90	91	90	88	90	90	88	89	90

 

Blind Cigar Review: Fratello | Corona

 

Win a 4-pack of Fratello Cigars

How to enter:

1. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter

2. Tweet or post to Facebook this review and include @blindmanspuff

3. Comment in this post that you have done so (if you used facebook include a link to your post)

4. Contest Ends on Saturday October 26th at 11:59PM Pacific Time

5. We will then randomly choose an entry to win the 4-pack which will be sent to you by Omar de Frias himself!

CONTEST RULES

1. You must be 18 years of age or over AND the legal age to possess tobacco in your respective address.

2. Prizes have no cash value.

3. Blind Man’s Puff is not responsible for prizes damaged or lost in transit.

4. Occasionally cigars/prizes go missing, get damaged before we ship or other natural disasters occur, we reserve the right to replace a prize winning with something of equal or more value. In the event of replacement, winners will be notified before replacements are shipped.

5. In order to enter the contest you must post that you have tweeter/posted to facebook in the comment section of this post.

6. Winners must claim prize by emailing info@BlindMansPuff.com within 72 hours of a winner being announced. Winners will be announced via a comment at the designated date for when contests end, it is all participants responsibility to determine if they have won. Process must be completed by 11:59PM PST 10/26/13

7. Unless otherwise specified, you can only enter each contest a single time. Multiple entries will be disqualified.

8. All winners for random contests will be randomly. Contests where winners are not selected at random will be specifically noted.

9. Additional rules beyond what it is stated on this page will be explicitly stated on contests where additional rules apply.

10. By entering a contest, you accept the terms and conditions stated above.

11. Blind Man’s Puff will only ship winner’s cigars if they follow the above steps and email the appropriate e-mail address.

12. Blind Man’s Puff reserves the right to change these rules at anytime.