Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature

I was recently perusing the extensive StogieGuys.com archives when I came across this tidy piece from 2010 by one of my colleagues. In typical George E fashion, it is as insightful as it is concise.

“For a cigar fan, walking into a humidor displaying new and untried sticks is an enticing moment,” he wrote. “Whether it’s that cigar you’ve been wanting to try since you first heard or read about it, or something that just hit the shelves, smoking a cigar for the first time can be a lot of fun. But if, like me, you don’t smoke several cigars a day, the quest for untried cigars means you can easily neglect those you’ve enjoyed in the past.”

Indeed. It’s easy to get caught up in the bustle and excitement of new cigars, especially in the month or so following the IPCPR Trade Show. So why not take some time this spring to re-acquaint yourself with an old favorite or two?

With this in mind, there were many, many cigars I could have chosen to write about today. But—with a nudge from Holt’s Cigar Co., who generously provided the five-pack for this review—I landed on the Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature, a perfecto measuring 6 inches long with a ring gauge of 47 and a per-cigar price of $8.30 (or $185.95 for a box of 25).

Handmade at Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. in the Dominican Republic with a Cameroon wrapper around Dominican binder and filler tobaccos, the Hemingway Signature is a dry, pale brown cigar with a narrowed foot and the classic Fuente band of gold, red, and black. Most of the visible veins are what I’d call thin or nondescript, rendering the cigar relatively smooth—though not without a few bumps and wrinkles here and there. The pre-light aroma is faint with notes of hay and pepper. And despite finding a very tight cross-section of tobaccos at the head after clipping it, the cold draw is easy.

Now some cigar enthusiasts will actually clip the narrowed foot before lighting, presumably to ensure an even light at the cigar’s widest point right from the get-go. I don’t understand this. The Hemingway Signature lights easily and evenly with one wooden match.

As for flavor, the mild- to medium-bodied profile starts dry, woodsy, and very sweet. Individual notes include cherry, white pepper, molasses, and cream. On the finish, the sensation is spicier. The flavors remind me of cedar and cayenne heat—both of which nicely complement the sweetness of the core profile. This taste is remarkably consistent from light to nub.

Construction-wise, the physical properties are aligned with what I’ve come to expect from Arturo Fuente. The burn is even throughout with no need for any touch-ups along the way, the draw is smooth, the ash holds well off the foot, and the smoke production is about average.

The Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature has stood the test of time, and for good reason. At an affordable price, you get classic medium-bodied flavors, well-aged tobacco, superb combustion qualities, and a nice interplay between the sweetness of the flavor and the gentle spiciness of the finish. For that, I award it four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys