Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art Maduro

Overall Score

1 review for Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art Maduro

  1. Joe K

    Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art Maduro

    Arturo FuenteOrigin : Dominican Republic
    Format : Figurado
    Size : 4.875 x 46/60
    Wrapper : Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
    Binder : Dominican Republic
    Filler : Dominican Republic
    Hand-Made
    Price : MSRP: $8.50 each

    Waking this morning and stepping outside to grab the mail, I was greeted by a refreshing burst of crisp air. We have been experiencing some fantastic weather lately (goodbye snow?) and I made a resolution to pick a great stick to usher in this beautiful day. Running through an inventory of my desktop humidor, it hit me which stick I was craving. I won a certain contest recently, involving the identification of famous moustaches. The BOTL hosting it was very generous and one of the sticks I received from him was an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art Maduro. So as the sun reached its zenith, I grabbed my supplies, set up camp in its warm glow and prepared to enjoy my first cigar from Fuente’s Hemingway line.

    This cigar is one that has always caught my eye because of its unique figurado shape. The foot is closed into a small nub known as a perfecto foot, which allows for easy lighting and encourages a straight burn. Just past that point, the cigar boasts a ring gauge of 60. The barrel is tapered towards the head of the cigar until it reaches a gauge of 46 and ends in a pointed cap. Definitely an attention grabber, this cigar’s shape has since been copied by several manufacturers.

    Holding the cigar up to the light, the dark maduro wrapper glistens from a significant level of oils. Although the toothy texture gives the wrapper a rugged appearance, it seems well constructed. There is one sizable vein that should not post a large problem but does make itself known. Bringing the stick to eyelevel, the head meets my cutter’s guillotine blades leaving behind an even slice with no hang-ups.

    Prelight, the only real flavors that I pick up on are tobacco and earth. Excited to get this one started, I easily toast the end to get it underway; point perfecto foot. The first puffs that come off of this one are extremely sweet. Underneath that sweetness is that signature coffee flavor found in most of the maduros I have tried. When these two flavors combine, it reminds me of a cup of coffee that someone has dumped far too much raw sugar into. Personally, overly sweet flavors do not sit at all well with me and certainly detracts from the appeal. This flavor profile remains for about half of an inch, where the gauge begins to taper and then the sweetness mellows out. Thankfully, the coffee flavor is allowed to become more prominent and the sweet taste compliments rather than overpowers.

    From beginning to end, the burn is pretty straight. The one vein that was present at the start did cause some unevenness to occur but rotating the cigar and moistening the faster burning area kept it on an even course. Just at the halfway mark as the burn closed in on the 46 gauge point, a spiced flavor replaced the sweet. For the remainder of this smoke the two gently seesawed back and forth with neither really overshadowing nor competing with the other. The spice did finally take over during the last inch or so to finish this out.

    Overall, this was an enjoyable smoke. The biggest thing that detracted from it was the overly potent in-your-face sweetness that started this cigar off. The coffee and spice combined with the subtle sweetness was much more favorable in my opinion. Also, the shape of the cigar takes the more mellow flavors that start the smoke and slowly blends them into a spicier profile towards the end leading to a more complex smoke than what might be available in a standard vitola, say a robusto. In all honesty, the shape does also work quite hard at grabbing your attention. With limited release on these, if you can get them at MSRP they are a pretty good buy but I would not pay much more over that.

    Appearance : [rating:4.5/5]
    Construction : [rating:4/5]
    Flavor : [rating:4/5]
    Value : [rating:4/5]
    Overall Rating : [rating:4/5]

    [sz]arturo fuente work of art[/sz]

    Helpful?
    0 0
    • Avatar photo

      Inspector

      @Adrianna
      Maduro is indeed the type of wrapper (leaf that covers the cigar). The flavors of a maduro-wrapped cigar, in comparison to a regular wrapper (often called “natural”), are supposed to be sweeter and smoother. Here are some articles about wrappers in general and the maduro wrappers in particular:
      http://www.cigarinspector.com/cigar-wrappers-a-z/faq
      http://www.cigarinspector.com/cigar-wrappers-a-z/maduro

    • Adrianna

      Hi,

      I’m a total inexperienced cigar smoker! Looking for some helpful advise and clarification on the difference between ‘Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art’ and ‘ Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art Maduro’ This is a gift and I am not sure on what the differences are between these two ?! Is Maduro the type off leaf etc? What’s the benefit?

    • scratch

      The Work of art is not the only Hemingway Maduro. There is also maduro in the classic, signature, masterpiece, and untold story vitolas. I’m unsure of the best seller and short story vitolas.
      To Rey: I’ve liked the perfecto shape due to the ease of lighting the end, and the shape creates a different wrapper to filler ratio which effects the flavor throughout the smoke. I don’t think the poor draw and unbalanced taste for the first 3 puffs merits discarding the perfecto shape.

    • Jammerjoe

      The WOAM (Work of Art Maduro) might be one of the best cigars of all time. A nice, medium bodied smoke with a tantalizing combination of mocha, coffee and spice, the only downside to it IMHO is that it isn’t big enough. Everyone has his or her own taste, and once in a while someone will want to knock it, maybe because they feel it makes them look like an objective person, but the reality is there is no such thing as a cigar everyone loves. For instance…I’ve never met a Padron I cared much for and I have smoked quite a few. I keep trying because they get so much press, but they just don’t do it for me.

    • Rey

      No problem at all with the burn, CG – my complaint was the peculiarly undeveloped flavour at lighting, caused perhaps by the first few draws being unrepresentative of what the cigar offers, due to its shape.

    • Cigar George

      By the way this shape figuado is a Master Roller’s most envyed challenge not boredom…it takes years of practice to even qualify to be allowed the Honor of rolling this timeless shape; and great skill in actually accomplishing it! If it doesn’t burn correctly YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T LIGHT IT CORRECTLY! If you don’t think so Call Me 24/7 @ (513)374-7744 ¤Geo¤
      CIGARS…by George!

    • Cigar George

      Come on guys…This Maduro is fabulous!I have been smoking the Fuente Hemingway Masterpiece for years (Only $4.40 each in Book Shaped boxes of 10(20yrs ago!))My friend Sam Mendes(Factory#1Mgr)@ Fuente makes sure that every Cigar bearing the Fuente name meets Carlos Fuente Srs. Exacting standards or it never leaves the factoy! An this new Maduro is no exception!It has a mellow start (not sweet) & grows as the fire starts to evenly burn the full diameter of the shaft & slowly transitions to the exquisite flavor this CIGAR imparts…except for the Masterpiece this is my favorite Hemmingway & my daily Short Story comes in 3rd …they just don’t get no Better than this! Don’t think so? Call me 24/7 @513-374-7744 ¤George ¤ CIGARS…by George!
      Fuente Family Rules!
      Always a Work of Art!

    • Rey

      Thanks, Dave. The Hemingway’s a delightful smoke (from the only one I’ve tried!), but I have to say I prefer the Work of Art. It could be my imagination (which a good cigar always stimulates!) but I would swear the maduro imparts a softer and fuller flavour…

      …sometimes it annoys me when rollers show off their skills at the expense of a consistent smoke. What, are they bored?

    • DavefromPhilly

      Rey, the maduro, to my knowledge is only available in the work of art. The regular camaroon hemingway has about 5 other sizes. All of which are shaped, but 2 of them are only shaped on the top and bottom, the rest of it has an equal ring gauge.

    • Stephen

      I smoked the regular short story the other day. Fantastic cigar. I really enjoyed it.

    • Rey

      That’s the trouble I have with these works of the cigar-roller’s art! That nipple at the head – it is not a cross-section of the blend of tobacco to follow, so the first taste of the smoke is raw, crude and incomplete. The burn needs to get to the shoulder of the cigar before settling into the outstanding smoke it is.

      Is this blend available in a traditional vitola?

Add a review
Cigar Region Dominican Republic
Filler Dominican
Wrapper Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder Dominican Republic
Length 4 7/8
Ring Gauge 46
Vitola Figurado
Construction Hand Made
Price Paid $8.50