We were sitting around today at work talking about how much the cigar industry has changed over the years and one of the conversations was about cigars that people went crazy for. One of these cigars was the Arturo Fuente Short Story. I remember seeing them in the late 90’s early parts of 2000 for up to $20 a cigar as they were hard to find and a box never sat on the shelf in a shop for long. Today, the Short Story is more readily available and no longer has the buzz it once had. But for me it was one of the first cigars I chased back in the day when I became an avid aficionado.
Cigar Review: Fuente Short Story
Size: 4 x 42/49 (Perfecto)
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Strength: Mild-Medium
The Look (7/10): At one time this perfecto in my eyes was the benchmark for the vitola; but over the years more companies have begun to roll the size. These days for some reason Fuente cigars seem to have the pectin used to keep the band closed showing up on the wrapper. This is the case here near the foot of the cigar and beneath the band on the backside of the smoke. The Cameroon wrapper is flawless although the roll slightly porous. In the hand the Short Story is firm with a nice weight for the size.
The Notes (32/35): Due to the small stature of the cigar I won’t break it down into thirds and review the cigar as it progresses. The wrapper has a subtle sweetness to it with a touch of earth and once we clip the cap the cold draw reveals more earth and a touch of nuttiness.
Once the tip of the cigar is lit, the first draw of the cigar is sweet which is from the Cameroon wrapper. It almost reminds me of a sugar cookie with a touch of earth and raisin. Once we retrohale the raisin is more noticeable and there is a slight cinnamon along for the ride.
The second half of the cigar develops notes of well-defined cedar and the sweetness from the wrapper remains. The cigar is smooth with some pepper and earth on the retrohale that helps compliment the sugary sweetness experienced while smoking.
The Burn (33/35): The Short Story is a slow smoking cigar for me, but its draw is a little loose and I would expect it to burn much faster for those who smoke at a normal pace. The dark ash holds strong for nearly half the cigar and the burn was perfect with a thin combustion line.
The Finish (18/20): While the cigar is a little bit one-dimensional but it works. It is also a perfect example of how much the cigar industry has changed from a cigar geeks point of view. Once one of the hottest rare cigars, the are readily available where at one time they weren’t. As a cigar geek who has a progressed to full body smokes, I forgot how enjoyable this cigar can be and why it was so popular.
Score: 90
Price: $6.00
Bullet Points
- Back in the day Fuente was my cigar of choice but I moved on to stronger cigars. Having not lit up a Short Story in a long time, I totally enjoyed this cigar and plan to smoke it more often with the cold weather right around the corner.
- When lighting a perfecto its important to get it evenly lit or the cigar will burn poorly. I know a lot of people in the store say perfecto smokes never burn right, but 90% of the time I would say that is because of user error.
- Cameroon wrappers are amongst the most expensive tobacco; but I wish others would use it a little more often.
- How slow of a a smoker am I? The cigar lasted me just north of two hours.
- I paired the cigar with my usual Cuban coffee.
Arturo Fuente Short Story
