Initial Thoughts
For years I’ve been hearing about this legendary Arturo Fuente yearly release. Everyone talks it up and it usually leads to forum threads titled “They’re baaaaaaaccckkk”. I would called this Arturo Fuente Anejo the McRib of cigars. As I said I always hear about these cigars when they are released, yet I’ve never been able to find them in my local B&M. Even this year, I made it down to the store to get the last few Opus X’s, but the Anejos were all gone. At least I thought they were all gone.
Last week I stopped in my local shop to hang out and see what was new. The store manager brought me into the humidor and took me right to the Arturo Fuente section. He said in his thick Boston accent (Yes, the shop is in Nashville) “You’ve gotta pick up one of these Anejos”. Turns out he had them in the humidor and found them when he was doing inventory. What luck! So of course I got one, at $12 I wasn’t sure I wanted to get more than 1 stick right now. I was looking for the infamous “Shark”, it’s a special vitola that is essentially a pyramid that starts as a regular parejo and then transforms into a box press. They’re much more difficult to find apparently. However, I settled for this Arturo Fuente Anejo 48 and I’m beyond excited about it!
Looks
One thing I’ve always loved about Arturo Fuente cigars is the classic look they have. Now granted, they helped establish that classic look in the cigar industry. The bright red band with the fancy gold trim, it screams classic to me. This Arturo Fuente Anejo 48 is no different. On the band there is the traditional AF look and feel. The only difference is the word Anejo at the bottom of the circle. Another thing that sets off this cigar from other AFs is the red satin band at the foot of the cigar. It holds in place a beautifully thing cedar sleeve that wraps the majority of the cigar. I’ve always been a fan of the cedar sleeves, so long as I don’t have trouble getting the sleeves off of the cigar. This cigar is also encapsulated in cello with gold writing on the outside that says Xtra Viejo. There are just too many great things to say about the packaging of this Arturo Fuente Anejo 48.
Once I got past all the packaging I began to notice the cigar’s wrapper. It’s a beautiful dark and oily wrapper. In fact, this wrapper is a 5 year old Connecticut maduro that has been aged in Cognac barrels. I think they’ve put some thought and effort into this cigar, what do you think? Looking up and down all 7″ of this cigar I couldn’t notice a single imperfection. This cigar is absolutely gorgeous and I can’t wait to light it up and smoke it.
Function
There are zero veins running down through this Arturo Fuente Anejo 48. The barrel is exceptional, a nice bit of firmness with a subtle bounce back from the filler. It’s always hard for me to imagine rolling a 7″ cigar perfectly, I have been looking and I can’t seem to find the seams on this cigar’s wrapper. I guess that’s the reason they use their best rollers for this blend of cigars.
After nipping the cap I took a few dry draws, mainly because I couldn’t help myself. The draw was perfect, a slight resistance and a good air flow. I could tell this Arturo Fuente Anejo 48 was going to light up and burn exceptionally well.
Smoking
I thought about using the cedar sleeve that wrapped this Arturo Fuente Anejo 48 to light the foot, but then I decided against it. I wanted to make sure and toast the foot properly so that this cigar would burn perfect and evenly. In the past I’ve noticed when I use a cedar sleeve it tends to not burn evenly. After dropping $12 on this stick I wanted to make sure it was taken care of properly.
The first couple puffs on this stogie are absolutely incredible. A ton of creamy smoke, nice, white, and thick it rises into the air. The draw is exceptional. I’m always worried about the longer vitolas draw resistance. That’s why I rarely smoke lonsdales or lanceros.
The first third is fantastic. The burn is perfect and I haven’t had one issue with the draw whatsoever. I even had to run inside the house to take care of an ant infestation that the fiance found. When I came back out the Arturo Fuente Anejo 48 was burning nice and slowly and fired right back up when I sat down on my comfy camping chair.
The second third was just as exceptional as the first. Again not a single issue with the burn or draw. The ash would hold on for close to an inch before it fell off. Apparently the ash on this cigar was even alluring to the insects buzzing around. A giant brown flying beetle decided to nose drive right into my ashtray and roll around in the ash I just knocked off. Turns out that beetles can’t fly out of the ash tray as easily as they fly into them. So after he was done kicking up ash dust I had to grab ahold of him and throw him back out into the yard… Even through all that, this cigar was still burning perfectly. It continued to do so all the way through and down to the nub. I smoked this cigar so far down that it began to burn my fingers where I was holding it.
Flavor
I know, this is what you’ve all been reading for, you want to know how this Arturo Fuente Anejo 48 tastes! Well I’m not gonna lie I couldn’t wait to taste it either. After learning that the wrapper leaf was aged in Cognac barrels, I was beyond excited to see what flavors I could pull out. On the cold draw I could definitely pull out the Cognac flavor it was the dominant note and that made it difficult to find other flavors initially. Then I nosed the foot to see if i could pick out any more flavors, again, dominant Cognac flavor. I’m beginning to sense a theme here.
Finally, when I lit up the cigar I began to start experiencing some other flavors. Initially I picked up on some raisin notes, and a nice bit of sweetness, tons of creaminess, and hints of spice. On the retrohale I picked even more spice with a nice finish of that Cognac aroma. There were also hints of nuttiness and meaty / savory flavors all throughout the first third. Now if that doesn’t scream complex then I don’t know what will. There were so many flavors in this first third that it was almost overwhelming. However, they were all blended incredibly well and seemed to work in perfect harmony.
The second third of this Arturo Fuente Anejo 48 was more of the same. Delicious flavors, creamy smoke, the molasses and raisins definitely picked up. There was a more noticeable spice on the retrohale as well. The Cognac notes were still prevalent, but not as dominant as they were initially. I began picking up more on the meaty and nutty flavors during this third though.
The final third of this cigar was just as delightful as the first two. This third picked up the intensity with the spice. It really began to build into a full bodied cigar at the beginning of this third, by the end it was definitely full bodied and nearly knocked me down for the count. The flavors stayed very consistent. There was a ton of flavor packed into this 7″ stick, but they were perfectly balanced and harmonious. I was a huge fan of the Cognac notes I picked up all throughout. I think that is something that really sets this cigar apart from others. It’s definitely something that will keep me coming back year after year.
Would I Buy It Again?
Absolutely, in fact I’ll probably be going back this week to try and buy up the last few!
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Definitely not for me. Mainly, because they’re too difficult to find.
Would I Buy a Box?
Absolutely, they are definitely box worthy, assuming you have the cash to swing for them all at once!
Conclusion
If you can find this Arturo Fuente Anejo 48 then I would say buy it! Don’t buy them all at once, let others discover them when they are released. Now if you happen to come across a nice selection of them after the initial release then I guess it’s not a bad thing to buy them up. I was a huge fan of this cigar for me it was an easy 10/10. I love the flavors, I love the draw, the smoke, and definitely the packaging. AF has been doing things right for a long time. I’m glad I finally got my hands on this cigar after hearing so many people talk about it. So if you ever come across these, make sure and treat yourself to one, you’ll be glad you did.
