Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art

Price: $10.95+tax

Length: 4.875 IN

Ring Gauge: 46/60

Wrapper: West Cameroon

Filler: Dominican

Binder: Dominican

Okay, so this review is in all honesty an accident! I walked into my local tobacconist, and saw next to the Hemingways a box labeled Work of Art. Here is where ignorance led me to purchase, smoke, and review this cigar thinking that it was the quite rare Work of Art Maduro. Unfortunately, that is not the case; years back Fuente added the Work of Art size to the Hemingway line. Therefore, this cigar has the same Cameroon wrapper as the Short Story. Nonetheless, this is a well known cigar, and worthy of a review.

I am a sucker for cigar craftsmanship, and the Work of Art really stands out because it is quite an intriguing stogie on both ends. The foot, as with all Hemingways, is closed, and has what many would call a nipple. This attribute makes it a perfecto, but unlike the other Hemingways, the Work of Art, has a Torpedoed head, which if I am not mistaken would make it a figurado because both ends are atypical.

When I picked up this cigar, the only flaw was the band; it was lose, and threatening to fall off, which is why many of the pictures below are bandless. I smelled the wrapper before cutting the head, and picked up a faint sweetness, but mostly nothing. The pre-light draw had a perfect resistance considering the foot was closed, and tasted rather damp, which also makes sense since moisture was unable to escape from the foot. Perfecto's are known for their impeccable burn, and this Hemingway was no different. It took one match to quickly light the nipple, and this baby burned just about razor sharp all the way down to the nub.

The Work of Art (WOA) opened spicy like all the Hemingways, undoubtedly due to the Cameroon wrapper, but the WOA had the wonderful flavor of cane sugar that harmonized perfectly with the spiciness in the back of my mouth. For the first third the draw remained perfect, the ash was of amazing density, and had a beautiful, pure, snow white color. Because of its size, and cone shape this cigar got hot at times.

I truly believe that most cigars reach their peak during the second third, and needless to say the WOA did just that. The flavors were noticeably mellower during this portion of the smoke, and a light creaminess crept into my mouth making all the spiciness, and sweetness dissolve into an enjoyable mouthful of smoke. As you can see in both pictures (above, and below) the ash held beautifully, and this stick is just a gem to look at. The end of this third was disappointedly ushered in by some bitterness, but it only lasted a few puffs.

The final third of this stick loses its sweet sugar cane or molasses flavor, and ramps back up the super spicy, and peppery taste that it mostly began with. Nonetheless, the creaminess that was introduced during the midway point of this smoke doesn't disappear making the spiciness very tolerable. In my opinion the WOA enters a very medium if not slightly full bodied smoke towards the end. Construction, burn, and draw remained perfect. I smoked this stogie down to the nub, and it definitely got extremely hot.

If you are a fan of the Arturo Fuente Hemingway line, then this should be a must smoke for you. If like me, you have tried the Hemingways, enjoyed them, but thought they were overrated, and definitely overpriced then I am unsure as to whether you should invest in this stick. The price point is fairly steep for such a small cigar; albeit, high prices are typical for oddly shaped stogies because they are hard to roll, and only the most experienced rollers can produce them. Personally, for $11 I would much rather smoke a small Añejo if you can find them at retail price or for even less money a Florfina 8-5-8.

Room101 323 By Camacho

Price: $5.29+tax

Length: 6.00 IN

Ring Gauge: 50

Wrapper: Semilla 101 (Honduras)

Filler: Honduras. Dominican Republic

Binder: Honduras

Matt Booth, jewelry designer and architect of the Room101 brand, met Dylan Austin (Friend of the Camacho family) at a Vegas after party. Booth had already begun brainstorming a line of smoking accessories to branch off from his already successful jewelry designs, and the two sparked up a conversation. According to Booth they clicked immediately and began working on a boutique cigar to accompany the smoking accessories.

The result was the Room101 cigar blended by Camacho. This stogie features a honduran wrapper grown exclusively for this blend. The wrapper on this particular stick is a milk chocolate color that exuded a sense of thick chocolate creaminess. There were minimal veins, and the appearance and construction were quite solid. The band is extremely sharp, and elegant contrasting extremely well with the brownness of the wrapper. In my opinion everything about this cigar's appearance and presentation is enticing, and by this point in the review my mouth was watering.

Feeling this stick, it was fairly soft, but not unacceptably so like a curly head. Smelling the wrapper almost made me sneeze due to its peppery aroma, which made me anxious to fire this stogie up. I quickly clipped the head, and took several pre light draws. The draw posed very little resistance, almost like a cigarette, and I couldn't make out any distinct flavors. My mouth filled up with what I can only describe as a damp, musk taste, but it wasn't necessarily bad.

As I toasted the foot of this stick, there was an immediate burst of roasted flavor that overwhelmed everything else. Initially, the burn was razor sharp, and I really enjoyed the roasted flavors. I spent some time thinking about this flavor that remained in various doses throughout the smoke; my final conclusion is that it tasted like the very aromatic smell of burning charcoal, and maybe the smell of coffee beans. The first third ended with the above described flavors significantly mellowing out, and balancing one another nicely; however, the burn began to uneven itself, but not to the point of needing an adjustment.

The second half opens with a creaminess that was quite pleasant and just as the halfway point arrived the flavors really came together, and were very enjoyable. The burn issues persisted throughout most of the second half, and as with many cigars some bitterness crept up slightly here and there. Towards the end of the second third the burn became razor sharp again without needing any touch ups or corrections, and the roasted flavors diminished heavily.

The second third was definitely the sweet spot of this stogie, and the final third picked up in strength. Hints of pepper became apparent, and the roasted flavors came back in near full force. Although, the sweet spot was over this stick was still very easy, and enjoyable to smoke. I never got a nicotine buzz, which in my opinion is excellent, but the Room101 ended with me being very relaxed, and satisfied. As you can see in the below image I was able to easily nub this cigar, and would've smoked it further, but my fingers were burning.

In all honesty the Room101 cigars seemed like a big sham to me; a designer trying to enter the cigar business and scam some money from novice cigar smokers. Maybe that's exactly the case, and I fell for it, but in my opinion this cigar was very enjoyable. I have never smoked a Camacho before, but after smoking this blend I will be trying more of their products. The Room101 cigar line offers six different sizes, and in this day and age $5.29 for a toro sized stogie is a very reasonable price. This cigar wasn't super complex, but for an everyday smoke this stick will more than suffice. I would highly recommend this smoke, it is twice as good, and half the price of many other stogies on the market. Smoke one of these, and enjoy a great value for your money.

La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial #3

Price: $10.45+tax

Length: 5.00 IN

Ring Gauge: 50

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown

Filler:Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

This cigar is an Ashton product made by Don José "Pepin" Garcia at his factory in Nicaragua. Every time I walked into my cigar shop this stick caught my eye, and finally this week I gave in, and bought one. The 6x50 (No.3) is a toro sized stogie. The first thing I noticed about this cigar was its lack of density. Squeezing the cigar resulted in quite a bit of elasticity making me think that there was not a lot of tobacco packed within.

This cigar is full of tiny veins, but more than makes up for it with its succulent color. The construction seemed fairly average, and the stick is very unassuming considering its price tag. Once cut the pre-light draw was extremely sweet, and my mouth was almost nectary. Before I toasted the foot one thing caught my eye: La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial has one of the most beautiful bands I have ever seen!

Once lit, the cigar opened spicier than I had anticipated with some hits of pepper, and I began to wonder where than sweetness went. The flavors soon balanced out and the stogie became quite smooth about an inch in. The construction of this cigar did not impress me in the least. The ash was very sparse, and actually fell into my lap with less than an inch of foot. Moreover, I had to correct the burn three times during the smoke.

As you can see from the above picture there is a large crack starting to appear in the ash, and it only got worse. My cigar smoking pet peeves are bad ash, and an inconsistent burn. I love a well constructed cigar that has dense ash and burns razor sharp; suffice it to say the 'edicion especial' was not that stogie. The flavor profile was fairly consistent, and stayed in the medium to full bodied range.

I am not a wimp when it comes to smoking cigars, my preferences are on the strong side, and I take my time with each stick, but this cigar knocked me off of my feet. I was overwhelmed with a nicotine rush that was neither warranted nor pleasant. I did some research online, and read that this can be due to a lack of aging the tobacco long enough. That sickening sensation overpowered any flavors left in the cigar, and while I spent somewhere in the vicinity of one hour and thirty minutes trying to slowly smoke the stogie I was unable to nub it.

Some cigars are good, but not worth the money; other stogies are great, and reasonably priced. La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial No. 3 was neither. It took the price point from option A, and combined it with an unimpressive cigar. This soft, poorly constructed, poorly burning cigar was neither a pleasure to smoke nor a delight on the eyes once lit. The milk chocolate wrapper, and beautiful band offered lots of promise, but unfortunately they did not deliver in my opinion. If there were less cigars to choose from in the industry or if this particular stogie could be had for $4 a stick, I would consider putting a couple in my humidor and seeing whether age improved them. However, seeing as this is not the case, I will probably never smoke another one of these again. Bottom line: walk away and don't look back.

Nub Connecticut 358

Price: $5.99+tax

Length: 3.75 IN

Ring Gauge: 58

Wrapper: Connecticut (duh!)

Filler: Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

The Nub was created by Sam Leccia in his Pittsburgh garage because he wanted a cigar that reached its optimal smoking length immediately. In 2008 he took the idea to Oliva, and together they blended what we now know to be the Nub line of cigars.

Last night I took my dog Muffin for a walk and fired up the original Nub Connecticut. While many reviewers try and explain their objectivity, I know that it is impossible, as a cigar lover I look at a stogie, and form an opinion. When I first saw this cigar inside the humidor I remarked on how small it was, and how steep the price tag was. Furthermore, looking at the wrapper reminded me of a Macanudo, Don Diego or any other mild, bland cigar.

The pre light draw was mostly spicy, my lips tingled, which isn't a bad thing by any means. It definitely tasted like straight tobacco leaf, maybe a little sweetness as well. I toasted the foot of the 358 with my Xikar torch lighter, and the burn started off fairly even. The cigar was very smooth, and creamy. I would highly recommend it for a beginner, it's quite easy to smoke. The spice from the pre light draw dissipated, and was gone within a few minutes.

The first half (I figured thirds for such a tiny cigar would be ludicrous) sang the same tune, but it wasn't bad. The draw, and burn were excellent, and the mild to maybe slightly medium body were good for such a hot, and humid night. The ash held on for around two inches, which is over half the length of the cigar!

Right as the ash reached the band it fell onto my leg leaving a nice welt (the perils of cigar smoking) and the stogie intensified quite heavily. I expected this to happen from such a short cigar, but it was immediate, and noticeable. The flavor didn't change, but an element of roasted or smoked substance came into the mix. Also, the burn began to uneven itself, but it was never bad enough to need correcting.

As you can see I smoked the Nub Connecticut 358 all the way down to the nub. Moreover, I would've continued smoking it because the flavor stayed away from bitter all the way down to my fingertips. I enjoyed this stogie, and think it makes an interesting novelty smoke, something to try for a change or something to travel with because of its size, but for $5.99 I can recommend a handful of other cigars that gave me much more enjoyment. For the money I would, hands down, rather smoke most of Oliva's other cigars (I love the Oliva G torpedo), the Fuente Florfina, or most of the Padron thousands.