It's a snowy craptastic day in Dayton, Ohio today.  What better way to spend a quiet afternoon at The Wharf than by smoking a cigar sporting a sungrown wrapper.  It's like wishing for sunshine with tobacco.  The manager, Jordan, told me " put down your Nobles" and tossed an A. Fuente Rosado R at me as a gift.  How could I refuse? Usually it takes a herd of wild horses to pull a Tatuaje out of my hand, but in this case, I relented without a fight. Without delay, I fired it up.  It has been probably 10 years since I smoked a Fuente.  Even the Opus X hasn't seen my humidor in a decade.  So how was this gifted beauty?  Let's see....

Construction: The Rosado is a gorgeous cigar.  Red brown with a nice oily sheen, the cigar has a nice overstuffed look that I love.  Can't wait to light it up.

Pre-light Aroma and Draw: Out of the cellophane the Rosado gives off a dense cedary spice.  The draw is absolutely spot-on perfect.  The ash is medium gray and clingy as well.  Two inches before the first drop, clingy.

Light and Burn: Two matches blazes it to life easily and the burn line is plumb all the way around.  I didn't have any burn issues here - not one.  Gotta love it!

Tasting: The opening is a rich, smooth, and spicy affair.  I just finished a Nicaraguan puro before this cigar and the taste difference with this Dominican tobacco is remarkable.  I am getting hints of coffee, wood, nuts, and spice in the first third.  I can see why Cigar Aficionado has included these in their top 25 for the past two years.  I am getting a nice light lemon zest at the end of the first third as well.  Very nice so far.  The second third is showing some nice spice along with some fruity sweetness.  This thing is blowing me away.  There is a terrific woodiness to this cigar as well and it just coats the palette with a creamy flavor that begs you to keep smoking.  Into the final third the spice shows up with a nice peppery flavor.  I would say medium bodied from start to finish on this one.  Totally amazing through and through.  As the final few puffs get near, I find myself not wanting to put it out.  Truly excellent!

Value: Since this was gifted for a review, I can't complain one bit.  The usual price is around $8 and it is worth every cent.

Final Thoughts: When I first started smoking cigars, Fuente was the norm for my friends and I.  The Opus was the holy grail.  Over time, I just lost my liking for Fuente's cigars.  After a few sub-par Short Stories and wrapper explosions, I just set them aside in my mind and went on to other smokes.  I had seen the Rosado on the top 25 lists and kept meaning to try one and I have to thank Jordan for this wonderful cigar.  This Rosado puts Fuente back on my radar for sure.  Its blend is expertly crafted and the construction is some of the best I have seen anywhere.  While I don't think they will be taking over as my go-to-cigar, I can easily say that I highly recommend trying a few of these.  As you can tell from my rating they are totally worth your time.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Rosado Habano
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican

Strength: Medium

Size: 5 x 52

Gorgeous Ecuadorian Rosado sungrown wrapper

Fuente really stepped up the design of the band here too.  Very elegant variation.