While the majority of the Fuente rarities to come out over the holidays have disappeared from the shelves, I managed to find a few of the 858 Sungrown on the shelves of Two Guys Smoke Shop. The 8-5-8 Sungrown made its debut in October of 2000 as a prize given to participants of a Fuente display contest.
While some like to chase some of the other Fuente rarities, the 858 Sungrown to me has been one of my favorites. It’s been a few years since I smoked one, so lets see how they hold up to the years gone by
Cigars: Fuente 858
Size: 6 x 47
Wrapper: Ecuador Sungrown
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Strength: Medium
Source: Two Guys Smoke Shop
The Look: The Fuente 858 Sungrown is easily recognized on the shelver with its cedar sleeve and black ribbon. The cello is marked in gold foil “Flor Fina 8-5-8” and the cigar features the classic Fuente band. The sungrown wrapper has a faint brindle like appearance and some veins. Sadly, it also has some visible pectin on the wrapper which seems to be an issue with Fuente cigars. In the hand the cigar has an average weight and no soft spots. The foot of the cigar does appear to be slightly under-filled.
The Notes: The cold draw of the 858 Sungrown serves some earthy notes and a touch of maple syrup over some cinnamon. The foot of the cigar offers up some slight cinnamon and a hint of non-defined sweetness.
The first third of the 858 Sungrown develops notes of sweetness over a cedar base. There are some faint spices in the background of cinnamon and nutmeg. There is a nice cedar like aroma at this point as well.
In the second third of the cigar the cinnamon notes become the focal point and the sweetness of maple syrup enter the fray. The cedar becomes more of an afterthought mostly because it remains on the aroma. Through the nose on the retrohale the cigar is a bit nutty.
The last third of the cigar loses the complexity of the spices as the cigar develops some more nuttiness with a long cedar finish complimenting the aroma that remained consistent all the way through.
The Burn: The cigar burned a little fast for me though it clocked in at over an hour smoke. The draw was a tad loose, but it burned even and thru. The ash held on for an inch at a time and was light in color with absolutely no flake.
The Finish: I looked back to a review I did for this cigar when I ran a different website a few years back when I was done writing this. It’s eery how similar they read and the shows the consistency in the 858 Sungrown. One of the most important factor in cigars is how consistent are they? Well the 858 Sungrown is the same cigar I loved back then, and continue to love to this day.
Score: 90
Price: $7.29
Arturo Fuente 858 Sungrown
Arturo Fuente 858 Sungrown Foot
Arturo Fuente 858 Sungrown Burn
