Chateau Fuente King B

Wrapper: Sun Grown Ecuadorian
Filler: Dominican
Size: Belicoso (6×55)
Strength: Medium

The Chateau Fuente King B was officially released in 2005 at the then RTDA convention. Released to the market as a limited cigar; you can usually find this cigar at your local B&M - and you can surly find this cigar online.

Story has it that the King B was named after a local tavern that Carlos Fuente Jr very own grandfather liked to frequent. This tavern was conveniently located behind his grandfather Arturo’s house and it was the place all the cigar makers would meet. The King B tavern no longer stands but this cigar gives proper tribute.

Chateau Fuente King B comes well protected in a cellophane wrapper. Underneath the wrapper is a large cedar sleeve secured with the signature black ribbon across the bottom. The King B has a beautiful presentation and I almost hesitate to undress the cigar.

Construction: The reddish brown color wrapper looks familiar to Fuente’s other sun grown cigars in the lineup.  Small veins covered the entire King B - however they were small enough to not effect the smoke. It was tightly wrapped which enabled it to hold its composure while smoking (no unwrapping). Again - the Chateau Fuente is a quality build from the Fuente family. Nothing is unusual with this.

Draw: I would have to say the King B has a medium draw, depending on the stick you happen to select. I usually have perfect luck with the Fuente products but many sticks in this box required me to double cut. Either way I given it has a medium draw - or a draw that you can fix with very little effort.

Burn: The Chateau Fuente King B burned perfectly. I was a little hesitant with the cigars that had the tougher draw - but stick after stick my worries were put to rest. King B created a thick white ash that was well formed.

Taste: As expected the King B had the initial taste of the cedar it was wrapped in and a bit of sweetness that just stays in your mouth. I detected a hint of spice throughout the finish of the first third of the cigar.

Two thirds of the cigar brought out the pepper and the spice stayed around to make it a great smoke for me. Everything is really smooth and compliments each other quite well.

The King B is still a medium bodied cigar and it remains a medium body cigar through the entire smoke.

Finally the spice seemed to fade away as the cigar was coming to an end. You could really get more of the earthy type of flavors. This finish was still smooth but there seemed to be a hint of bitterness that just faded into the cigar.

Final Verdict: You can add this cigar to your humidor. Going into a cigar lounge to purcahse the stick will cost you around $9.xx. You will not have any trouble finding this cigar online and the price is a bit better at $7.xx.

The Chateau Fuente King B is easy to smoke in warm weather, cold weather, morning, day or night. It’s a versatile cigar that everyone should at least try.

This would be a great pick up at the $7 range but I as you get into the upper $9 range there might be some better cigars out there. If you don’t have a cigar budget - or have everything else in stock - then pick this King B cigar up.

Other Cigars:
Lower Priced: JFR
Same Price: Fuente Cuban Belicoso
Higher Price: Ashton VSG

Montesino Toro Maduro

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler:Dominican Republic
Size: Toro
Strength: Mild-Medium

The Montesino Maduro cigar review. Montesino Maduro cigars are part of the “Cigar Family”, in fact this is one of the first cigars that Carlos Fuente Sr. and his son Carlos Fuente Jr. produced in their new Dominican Republic factory (a house actually). The Fuente Family says they use “only the finest vintage tobaccos that are aged for exceptionally long periods of time” and like some of the more expensive Fuente products: This cigar is just as tasty.

Construction: The Montesino Maduro looks like it wants to sit in your shirt pocket all day while you work, and when you’re done you pull it out and the Montesino will still be in perfect condition. In other words: It’s ROUGH. The maduro wrapper is also dull with no oily sheen. Fuente has produced a really antique looking cigar.

Fuente’s Montesino had no soft spots in the cigar and are always wrapped just right. While smoking you will not encounter any unraveling problems.

Draw: I punched this specific Montesino and have smoked others with a cut end. The results are the same: A perfect draw that’s not too hard / easy.

Burn: At times this rough cigar can create a rough burn becoming a little uneven at some points. This is not an issue though because the Montesino will quickly correct itself. Overall burn was just a little slow.

Ash had no problem staying on this maduro but it wasn’t firm as I would have liked to see.

Taste: Montesino Toro maduro is not a cigar that is bursting with many complex flavors. Initially I think a hint a cedar was present and the smoke was somewhat dry. However after the first couple of puffs the smoke began to get creamier and the taste began to change.

Continuing to smoke I picked up was a bit of spice that just tickled my pallet wishing for more. Wood and… (Chocolate?) just something else that stayed with the entire cigar. Again all these flavors were very light, but expected for a mild cigar.

Nothing much changed as the cigar came to an end. The smoke might have gotten just a tad bit heavier and a bit creamier.

It’s a mild cigar.

Verdict Is: The Montesino maduro cigars (in general) are sticks that you should always keep in your arsenal. One of the main reasons: It’s a tasty, cheap $4 stick that is mild to medium in flavor. Meaning you will have no trouble handing this cigar out to new smokers who wish to join you.

I would like to say that if I had $4 to spend on a personal cigar this would not be it. I would prefer the JFR Maduro or even the Oliva G.

Other Cigars:
Higher Priced: Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story
Same Price: Oliva G
Lower Priced: JFR