J. Fuego Sangre de Toro

[kaisersozei]

I stopped by Winston’s Humidor yesterday to visit Kevin and pick up a few cigars, and he suggested I give this new release a try. It’s a Nicaraguan puro that gets its name (“bull’s blood”) from the dark, oily reddish-hued Colorado wrapper--not the Spanish wine. So new it’s not even listed on jfuego.com yet.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Colorado
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo
Vitola: Corona gorda (5½ x 46)





It’s a nice looking cigar with a plain band. The wrapper is, indeed, dark and oily, and thinly veined. The tobacco appears well bunched, no soft or hard spots, with a neat triple cap. As I smoked it, the burn line wavered but would eventually even out. The ash didn’t hold together well, and flaked every inch.

Pre-light draw brought flavors of black tea, dry cocoa, and an earthy, barnyard (shout out to Ferd!) profile. I had a glass of water and a Victory Hop Devil to accompany the cigar.

Immediately upon lighting, I was hit with a cinnamon/paprika-like spice and tingly pepper, on top of some warm toast and an underlying creamy sweetness on the finish. Definitely a nic puro. It was very upfront, but not overpowering. The draw was easy and the cigar put out tons of smoke



It settled down a bit after an inch or so, and the pepper disappeared after the first ash. The earthiness was consistent throughout the cigar and the spice would peek in and out—I was reminded of a Padron 3000. About a third of the way in, the cigar turned nutty and picked up a mild cocoa/mocha flavor. It was like a hot version of the Almond Mocha protein shakes at Smoothie King. Very nice.



Unfortunately, flavor disaster hit at the halfway mark. The smoke took on a perfumey, herbal soap-like character. It didn’t stay long on the finish, thankfully, but it was part of every draw for about an inch. I did not like that, Sam I am. I switched over from water to the Victory IPA at that point, so I could cleanse my palate. If I wasn’t doing this review, I would have pitched it. Instead, I powered through.

Fortunately, the last two inches were similar to the start of the cigar: earthy, baking spices, toast, sweet cream and lots of pepper. Very tingly on the gums. After getting through the soap, I decided to nub it.



Total smoke time was just over an hour. Close to full-bodied, and I would rate the strength somewhere in the medium+ range; it went well after lunch. Local retail on this line seems to be in the $6-7 range, with online outlets pricing them about $1 cheaper per stick.

On balance, I think this was a very good cigar, despite the inch or so of off-flavors (at least, I hope they were off-flavors.) A decent value at the price point. I like trying new cigars, although honestly, for $7 I would probably opt for a Padron maduro the next time, instead.