Blind Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente | Spanish Lonsdale Natural
Blind Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente | Spanish Lonsdale Natural

Vital Stats:

Vitola:
Length: 6.5″
Ring Gauge: 42
Country of Origin:
Wrapper:
Binder:
Filler:
Factory:
Blender:
Number of reviewers: 5 (volpow61) (B-daddy) (Dubv23) (bigslowrock) (rhetorik)
Price: $5.00
Contributed by: Cannon (SF)

This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 88

Blind Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Spanish Lonsdale Natural initial impressions

“Medium brown natural wrapper. Few veins and a couple of green spots by the cap. Some traces of glue scattered around the wrapper. Nice triple cap.” – (B-daddy)

Aroma: 91

“Prelight aroma from the foot and draw is dominated by barnyard with tobacco and hay in the background.” – (bigslowrock)

Construction: 89

“The cigar was well rolled.  It had a firm feel and felt well packed.  There were some glue spots on the wrapper showing some carelessness while constructing.  The cigar did have a triple cap that was a nice touch despite being sloppily applied.” – (Dubv23)

First Third

Blind Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Spanish Lonsdale Natural first thirdFlavor: 90

Strength: Medium

Body/Complexity: Medium

“Upon lighting I am getting some spice with cream and some banana flavor, which go together quite nicely.” – (volpow61)

“The smoke was thick and creamy and the flavors were rich.  I got a nice array of flavor from the first third.  There was a spice that was closely attributed to light black pepper.  The typical tobacco flavor was sweet and was just what I smelled from the wrapper.  Coming and going in the background was a faint coffee and baked bread profile.” – (Dubv23)

Second Third

Blind Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Spanish Lonsdale Natural second thirdFlavor: 92
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Leather and spice, and everything nice. This third took a nice turn and transitioned into predominantly leather with a spicy kick behind it. This is quite the full bodied experience, this stick is quite complex and pretty spicy. I like it. The ash has held all the way from the beginning into this third.” – (rhetorik)”The salt begins to fade from dominance to just a major flavor component.  The salt flavor is paired with cedar with some bitter fruity undertones, maybe grapefruit.” – (bigslowrock)

Final Third

Flavor: 92

Strength: Meduim
Blind Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Spanish Lonsdale Natural final third

Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Towards the end the strength picks up with some spice. I am also getting dough and cream and I have to say this part of the smoke stands out for me as being very good.” – (volpow61)”Final third never really evolves into anything more.  Wood flavors turn a bit more bitter.  It’s lost the creaminess I started to get in the second third.  Stick gets hot and mushy pretty early.  Flavors get progressively more bitter.” – (B-daddy)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 91

“The draw started off overly tight, but opened up a bit in the 2nd third.” – (bigslowrock)

“The draw was very favorable.  It had a light amount of resistance which was great for the smaller RG because it reminded me to smoke slowly.” – (Dubv23)

Burn: 88

“The burn was the only downside to this cigar. It was lopsided from the start and didn’t correct until the second third.” – (rhetorik)

“The burn was okay but required a few touch ups.  For the majority of the smoke the burn was waving off course and at times required some fire to keep it on track.” – (Dubv23)

Overall Experience: 92

Blind Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Spanish Lonsdale Natural overall

Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body: Medium-Full

“This is another case of why you should not judge a book by its cover.  The cigar was not pretty.  It showed sloppy construction and was not the most appealing to the eye.  This probably would not be a cigar that would scream to me from the shelf of a B&M.  Upon smoking it though I was pleasantly surprised by complex, medium body flavors that danced and delivered.  The flavors meshed well but there were times where the leather or citrus edged out the others to the point were it was not one smooth ensemble but performers fighting for the spotlight.  A good smoke indeed and one that should not be overlooked.” – (Dubv23)

“With the flavor profile that I experienced,  I don’t know if I would want it as a daily or weekly smoker, but would consider it a nice change of pace cigar.  For those people who are looking for a nice salty flavor, I would highly recommend this cigar.” – (Dubv23)

“This was a great cigar, I’m pretty stumped about it’s origin because it didn’t have a triple cap, and I didn’t get any twang, but the flavor profile was very Cuban. This is a pretty strong stick, definitely not for the beginner, but this cigar reward the more seasoned smoker with its spice throughout and complex changes.” – (rhetorik)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 86

Total Score: 91 (Very Good)

Link to full scores and notes: Full Notes