Blind Cigar Review: Marrero | Fuerte

Cigar Info

Marrero tobacco is cultivated by local tobacco farms in pristine areas across Costa Rica. Their tobacco is grown, harvested and aged using time honored traditions, and is hand selected and always premium grade. Costa Rican tobacco has a very unique flavor profile due to its incredibly rich mineralized soil. It’s a very special tobacco that produces amazingly tasteful cigars when the tobacco is used as a Puro (by itself) or when blended with premium tobaccos from Central and South America. They say the Fuerte is their full bodied blend without the full body harshness. This box press is a  5 X 54 and has a dark chocolate colored oily wrapper. As with all their blends, they say the construction of the Fuerte is key, providing a free-flowing draw allowing the hint of bitter chocolate and espresso notes to easily shine through.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5.5″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Costa Rica
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Costa Rica
Factory: Undisclosed
Blender: Joel Vazquez Marrero
Number of reviewers: 5—–Alan (Eulogy) Gregg (McGreggor57) Stefan (Stefan) Jack (Jack_H) Sandeep (Djangos)
Price: $7.19
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: February 2015
Contributed by: Marrero Cigars

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 92

“Very unique half box pressed shape, the bottom of the cigar had a very hard press giving it an almost square shape while the top was smooth and tapered normally. The chocolate brown wrapper had very tight seams with no blemishes and a large well applied double cap.” –Alan (Eulogy)

Aroma: 90

“The cigar smells of dry hay and grass with a subtle leather and tobacco in the background. The dry puff is more white pepper to the tongue. There is more cocoa and some nutmeg as well on the dry puff. So far, a good start.” –Sandeep (Djangos)

First Third

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

“What initially hits me is a slightly bitter black coffee with some oily pepper on the finish. This only lasts for the first few puffs and the bitter coffee leaves along with most of the peppery finish. Most of the first third is made up of cedar and hay with a light peppery tingle on the back of the tongue. On the retrohale, there is an intermittent change between a pleasant floral taste and the smell of cardboard.” –Alan (Eulogy)

“Begins with bitterish flavors of licorice and mild coffee, joined by baking soda and spices on the backpalate, followed by dry wood notes on the finish and perhaps hints of green leaf tannin. The smoke is rather drying on the palate but there is also a creamy component throughout. Past the half of the first third, soft notes of dry wood become dominant for a couple of minutes having me picture a mild-mannered version of Rocky’s Olde World Reserve. Notes of baking soda and salt then take over, while an Amaretto-like bitterness also becomes noticeable on the backpalate and finish.” –Stefan (Stefan)

Second Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“More leather with alternating pine, allspice and cedar flavors. There is some light coffee and cocoa in the background. An assortment of baking spices begin to appear, helping to create a nice balance as the wood notes fade.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)

“The burn is very even and the cedar is still present but I get more and more herbal notes. Almost like a thyme/rosemary, it is flavorful and complex I think this might be the peak of the cigar. This cigar is light in strength but it has a rare finesse in character that is totally unique, interesting and enjoyable.” –Jack (Jack_H)

Final Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“This third takes a bit of a step back from the nuance of the previous third but it also tastes great which is par for the course at this point. I get more earthy and woodsy qualities and the smoke is more rich than the beginning of the cigar, but that is welcomed. I have had to relight a couple times but I could chalk that up to the wind.” –Jack (Jack_H)

“The final third is mostly pepper and some other faint flavors in the background. There is some woodsy notes present in the background but still the predominant flavors are that of hay and leather. In this third, the strength of the nicotine ramps up and I am definitely feeling it. The pepper ramps up to a crescendo towards the end. The burn and draw are quite good in this third with no issues.” –Sandeep (Djangos)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 97

“The draw was flawless and may have been the real key to the enjoyable smooth smoke that was so common while smoking this cigar.” –Jack (Jack_H)

Burn: 89

“A wavy line from start to finish although no correction was needed. In spots, the burn became jagged and had to circle back to catch up with itself.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)

Construction: 93

“A well constructed stick for this box-pressed size with a relatively thin wrapper.” –Stefan (Stefan)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Overall Experience: 89

“A fairly one dimension experience for the first two thirds. I’m not a fan of cardboard but it was intermittent enough that I would smoke it if it was given to me but I would not purchase one for myself. Sadly, most of the pros are in areas that turn a great cigar into an extraordinary one but not a fair one into a good one.” –Alan (Eulogy)

“I’m a bit torn on this one. There was a nice balance of flavors until the end when it became a tad harsh. Unfortunately, none of the flavors really stepped up to lead the charge, instead they remained on the subtle side. This is only the second cigar I can remember that offered, what I would consider, a pine influence. In small doses it worked well along side the cedar.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)

“Lately, I haven’t been a fan of stogies built around coffee flavors, but in these cases they were never overwhelming (other then at the nub), playing fair with the other flavor components — for this reason I would not recommend pairing this cigar with a cup of Joe. Nicotine levels were about medium during the first two thirds and medium-high during the last.” –Stefan (Stefan)

“This cigar was wonderful and complex and it did something I look for in every cigar but few deliver upon, it told a story. With three distinct thirds, it made for a complex and interesting smoke that I totally enjoyed I would be happy to smoke this again soon.” –Jack (Jack_H)

“The cigar was good for the most part, but the issue that I had with it was that the flavors were not very easily discernible and were quite muddled with the strong pepper that was present almost the entire time. Overall, even though I liked it, it was not something I would go looking for.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
–

Smoking Time (in minutes): 76

Reviewer	Appearance	Aroma	1/3	2/3	3/3	Draw	Burn	Constr.	Overall Experience
Alan	Eulogy)	92	88	90	92	70	97	97	92	85
Gregg	McGreggor57)	92	90	90	90	88	97	88	90	90
Stefan	Stefan)	90	90	90	90	88	90	88	92	88
Jack	Jack_H)	92	92	92	95	92	95	90	92	92
Sandeep	Djangos)	90	88	88	88	88	97	90	95	88

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

–

Blind Cigar Review: Marrero | Fuerte