A. Fuente Curly Head Natural

We're in the back half of the week, now, but I still have a few “cheap” stogies left to taste and review! Tonight, I'm pretty excited to get to one of my favorite brands, Arturo Fuente. I've never had a Fuente cigar that disappointed me, so I'm pretty stoked about this one. It's an A. Fuente Curly Head Natural, which is an unbanded stick made from long and short filler; essentially, it's leftover leaf from the production of other Fuente smokes. I kind of like that they're not letting good tobacco go to waste.

Cigar: A. Fuente Curly Head

Vitola: Lonsdale (6 1/2” x 43)

Price: $3.19/stick

Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Body: Mild

Rating (out of 10): 8.7

Appearance:
The Curly Head is a far more rugged-looking stick than most Fuentes. It's unbanded, pretty veiny, with, as the name implies, a curled head rather than a normal cap. The foot is uncut and closed; basically, this is just a stick rolled with excess filler.

Construction:
Despite essentially being a “junk” cigar, this thing still appears to be pretty well-constructed; there are no tears, cracks, or soft spots, and it appears that the same level of care went into rolling this stick as any other, despite the use of what are essentially scraps. It cuts easily, allowing an open draw. The stick feels quite oily, too. I do love the feel of a nice, oily cigar.

Aroma:
The Curly Head doesn't have much of an aroma to it, just a subtle, mildly woody and composty scent.

First Third:
The cold draw on this thing actually doesn't taste like much of anything. It's like straight air. I'm actually a little surprised I can even draw through it with the closed foot, but I guess it's really more like semi-closed.

Even after lighting, the flavor is extremely mild, and hard to discern. I am getting some definite cedar, and a soft creaminess to the smoke. Very faint hints of coffee, as well.

The ash is a pretty dark grey, and not terribly solid. Looks like plenty of short filler in this one. The burn is not very even, either, but neither is it wildly out of control.

Very mild on the flavor here. This is definitely a good stick for a first-time cigar smoker. It won't overpower them, and it won't set them back a ton of cash if they don't continue with it.

The burn appears to have self corrected pretty early on.

Second Third:
Some nuttier notes in the second third... like almond and cashew. Maybe the faintest bit of honey. Not bad, but it's taking a great deal of focus and effort to catch flavors on this thing. It's that mild.

Back to cedar at the half. There's some decent rotation of flavors to this cigar.

Final Third:
Pretty consistent mix of flavors, still primarily cedar with notes of cashew and almond. There's a bit of salt on the finish in the last third, as well.

Closing Thoughts:
Some great flavors in this cigar, but they're a lot milder than I generally prefer. It was pretty hard to make them out, but it was still pretty enjoyable. Definitely not what I'd grab first if I was reaching for a Fuente, but it's a pretty decent cigar for the price, and it's one I'd definitely recommend to someone who was just beginning to smoke cigars.