Stogie Reviews: Arturo Fuente Curly Head Deluxe Natural

10 Nov 2008

Despite its popularity among Arturo fans on a budget, two years ago my cohort found the Curly Head Deluxe Maduro to be quite disappointing. “Visual imperfections are to be expected from a budget cigar—even one with a Fuente band,” he wrote. “But coupled with a taste that’s harsh and unpleasant at worst and barely tolerable at best, this cigar proved unsmokable.”

Yikes. I tried to forget those words as I smoked two 6.5 inch by 43 ring gauge Naturals for this review. Like the Maduro line, this slightly more obscure option from the Curly Head Deluxe vein is made with leftovers from Fuente premiums and sold at a discount. Boxes of 25 can be found for $45-60.

Rumored to be mild and nutty, the Lonsdale-shaped Natural sports some unusual aesthetic characteristics. For one, the foot is unfinished, with the longer Connecticut shade wrapper somewhat folding into the shorter Dominican binder and filler tobaccos. The cap is also a head-scratcher. Instead of a smoothly rounded head, the tip appears to be bunched and pinched together.

When you add all this to the cigar’s soft feel and haphazard seams, you get the impression that it’s machine-made. I am told, however, that the Curly Head Deluxe Natural is handmade in Santiago, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

Prelight aromas are almost nonexistent, and the flavor is mild with hints of butter, almond, and creamy spice. Airy and hollow, this taste doesn’t offer much in terms of enjoyment (let alone complexity). Towards the end of the 75-minute smoke, the aftertaste reminds me of the smell of lighter fluid on charcoal briquettes.

For the rock-bottom price, I’d be tempted to take a cigar like this on the golf course. That is, of course, if the physical properties weren’t so subpar. The burn requires constant maintenance to stay lit and keep straight, the ash is flaky (no doubt a result of the medium-length filler), and the draw is surprisingly tight.

Perhaps my standards are too high for a value cigar, but I expect more anytime I fire up a stogie—an interesting flavor at the very least. There are so many better options in this price range, and I’d much rather spend a few extra bucks per stick before lighting up another Arturo Fuente Curly Head Deluxe Natural. That’s why I give it one and a half stogies out of five.