Cigar Review: Illusione Fume d’Amour Viejos

Dion Giolito, the man behind the Illusione brand, has fastidiously resisted the cigar industry trend to add new cigar lines annually. Many years at the industry trade show his booth seems purposely quiet, as if he intends to let his Illusione cigars do the talking.

One result of his resisting the temptation to always come out with something new is that when a new Illusione cigar is finally released, it’s worth an extra good look. Which is why I eagerly awaited Illusione’s new Fume d’Amour line.

Fume d’Amour  comes in four sizes—at least for now—ranging from petit corona to large toro: Lagunas (4.5 x 42), Clementes (6.5 x 48), Viejos (5 x 50), and Capristanos (6 x 56). For this review I smoked four of the robusto-sized Viejo vitola.

Fume d’Amour is a Nicaraguan puro made at the TABSA Factory in Jalapa, Nicaragua, with Aganorsa tobaccos. While the blend is based on the original Illusione line, it also shares something in common with the Epernay blend: a lack of any ligero leaf.

The result is a cigar that tastes like a hybrid. It’s more powerful than the Epernay, but not as spicy as the original Illusione core blend. Still excellent. The flavors are a whirlwind combination of dry woodiness, hay, roast nuts, light honey, and maybe a hint of muted black pepper. The cigar starts off medium-bodied but slowly ramps up to a more medium-full profile.

It doesn’t have the elegance of the Illusione Epernay, which is still my favorite Illusione line, but that’s a matter of personal preference and not any criticism of the composition of Fume d’Amore, which is as complex and well-rounded, just punched in body and strength.

The Fume d’Amour line can certainly be considered one of the best cigars introduced at the 2014 industry convention. The Fume d’Amour Viejos earns four and a half stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys