A Brief Cigar Review - Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature

In cigars, the Hemingway Signature by Arturo Fuente was my first love. It sports a sweet Cameroon wrapper, has a wonderful balance of flavor, and is the perfect cigar size in my eyes, furthermore, the price is right. Hemingway are rolled by the most experienced cigar makers at Tabacalera A. Fuente, each of whom are limited to only 75 cigars per day. Before being boxed and shipped, they are aged for six months in cedar lined aging rooms. The Fuente Hemingway is one of my go-to cigars, particularly in this Signature size, 6x47.

Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Vitola: 6 x 47 figurado
Price: $7

Pre-light

When I imagine what a cigar should look like, this is it right here. A classic but ornate band, a toothy toffee-hued wrapper-all smooth and uniform, plus a cool figurado shape which has a tapered nipple-like foot. The head also has a very slight taper. 

The feel in the hand is perfect, the cigar is just plain well constructed.

I usually straight-cut the Hemingway and immediately test the draw, if it is plugged, no worries, it's the cause of a fully closed tapered foot. I snip a tad bit off that end as well. At times they are fully closed, sometimes there is enough opening to obtain a draw. Today, a cold draw does not produce any flavor notes worthy of mentioning, same with the (lack of) scents wafting from the wrapper.

Flavors and Smoke

The beginning of my Fuente Hemingway delivers the always consistent flavor profile of sweet chocolate, cream, cashews, slight coconut, and mild pepper on the finish. These notes all combine for an exquisite and balanced profile. The smoke output is cloudy, however light on the palette. A retro-hale can be exhaled with ease, even a full draw out of the nostrils, silky smooth.

Time after time, the ash on the Hemingway parades the greatness of it’s construction. It seems of all the Hemingway I have smoked, every one keeps a long and uniform ash. 

If I were in a long ash contest (yes we do that), I always bring a Hemingway, or another great Fuente, the Don Carlos to the battle. Even though Padrons are also a go-to cigar for me, they are horrible for long ash contests, always flaky.

The finish is crisp and short, while a little sweetness lingers on the tongue.

Usually, the Hemingway is not a very complex cigar, meaning the splendid flavor profile remains predominately the same throughout the smoke. However, close to the halfway point I pick up toasty notes of graham cracker, and the spice on the finish makes itself known as more of an anise (black licorice) note. 

The graham cracker is a decadent nuance that covers any flavor that might be considered woodsy or cedar like. I find these two notes seem to be on opposite ends of a flavor spectrum sliding scale.., graham cracker or wheat on one end, and dark cedar on the other. A cigar that is full of cedar notes is not very pleasant to me, the Hemingway has none, or perhaps only faint notes of wood, and if they are there, it slides more to this great graham cracker side.

The last third has some flavor changes; as the flavor profile itself darkens, espresso arrives and mostly takes the place of chocolate, although some dark cocoa notes remain. All the other notes remain, including the overall sweet and creaminess of the tobacco, but in a more darkened and smokey version. 

Final thoughts:

The Fuente Hemingway Signature is a must try, it is consistent stick-to-stick with the same smoking experience each time. I cannot recall the exact number I have smoked, but it must be over 100. If there is anything negative I must find, I would say; on rare occasion you may encounter a stick too tightly rolled. Usually, this can easily be resolved with a poking tool. 

The Hemingway age well, but already smoke as a well aged cigar. It has since been a month or so since I have puffed one, so I purchased a 5 pack from famous-smoke. They arrived just a few days ago, yet smoke as though they have been in my humidor for a year.  

Do yourself a favor and try any of Arturo Fuente Hemingway line, though I found the best size all around, is the Signature 6 x 47. I have yet to find a person who fully hates this cigar.

My emoji rating for Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature: 🤗
(🤢😖☹️😕😐🙂😀😋🤗😍)

Smoke time: one hour and 20 minutes.
Cigar paired with: Iced coffee with a little cocoa powder and milk, then Bacardi Black.
Price opinion:   👍🏻
Recommend/buy again? Yes of course! Famous-smoke has them here for 13% off.

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