Ashton Heritage Puro Sol belicoso
Ashton Heritage Puro Sol
Made by Fuente
Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Size: 4 7/8 x 45
Vitola: Belicoso (small torpedo)
Price: $9.60 in box of 25
Resting about 10 months @ 65%
Sunday was a ridiculously sunny, warm day for February so I decided to celebrate by smoking a cigar named after the sun.
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I used La Method de Jacques Puisant (lighting the cigar before cutting), just because it’s an nice, expensive cigar. Never had one of these before so nothing to compare it to. So there was no prelight draw, but the smell was milky, slightly sweet, and cedary.
1st 3rd:
The most cedary smoke I’ve ever had, I think. Wonderful right off the bat… but DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!!! The damn things starts unraveling!! Seriously, the wrapper is flapping in the breeze! There’s a crackling sound at the top of the cigar as the binder and filler burst through wrapper like Bruce Banner’s ragged purple trousers. I scramble to mix up some pectin and touch it up.
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It’s a testament to the cigar that I’m still enjoying the hell out it despite this. But it's ugly. Like a once beautiful flower growing at Chernobyl.
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Still cedar-heavy, and the heady flavor and aroma I associate with sun grown tobacco.
I accidentally made my coffee too milky, but it works with this cigar. Stronger coffee might overpower the flavors.
Perfect draw with angled cut. Ash a little flaky, smoke is medium.
Saltiness. Not sure what else I’m supposed to be tasting, but it’s a smooth and rich. Not even a hint of anything harsh or bitter, and also not as strong as other sun grown smokes I’ve had.
Caramel! Lots of delicious, mouthwatering, creamy salty caramel…. Reminds me of butter toffee peanuts.
The burn is so wavy it’s making me seasick. I guess because of the wrapper incident and the wet pectin, but so far it’s not self-correcting.
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Now I can see there’s a crack along the band, too.
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2nd 3rd:
Getting kind of peppery and chocolately, which I didn’t expect. Some hay-like flavor, too, and prominent leather. A minute ago I would have said, “I love you, baby, don’t ever change,” but knowing that change is inevitable I’m enjoying the ride…. Cedar is still dominant, like a droning bottom note in an Indian raga. Or something.
3rd 3rd:
The ash is weird – the outer layers separating from the inner.
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Flavors return to how they were at the beginning, and staying pretty much the same now. Third verse same as the first.
Nothing more to see here, only a little harshness towards the nub.
I'm not crazy about cigars leave a rank aftertaste that won't go away, like you’ve licked an ashtray, and this one doesn’t. Just a clean buttery, cedary palette. Maybe I should have let it acclimatize for a few hours before lighting. Since I'm in the desert, maybe going from 65% to almost 0% on a warm day was just too much for that delicate Cameroon wrapper's constitution. If not for the construction issues this would be a superb, glorious, refined, delicious cigar. Even so, I enjoyed the hell out it and would definitely try another. I wouldn’t pay the almost $10 MSRP, but BnB has them for $7.99 and with a 50% Groupon it cost me $4 – a steal for that price!
