Nomad Cigars Connecticut Fuerte

Cigar: Nomad Connecticut Fuerte
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
Price: $158 for 20 count box
By: Ryan Bloomer




The best way to describe what type of smoker I am would be nomadic.  I find myself aimlessly roaming from cigar to cigar in search of perfection.  When I saw Nomad Cigars I knew that I had to give it a try on my journey.  Today's review brings us to the fourth blend in Fred Rewey"s Nomad collection the Connecticut Fuerte.  Rewey a cigar guy decided to take his hobby and turn it into a business.  Rewey thought to himself "what would I do different"? Rewey decided that he was going to make himself available, which is why he was the first cigar manufacturer to put his twitter accountant (@Godfadr) on the label of his cigars.  Rewey also has a monthly email letter which you can subscribe to.  Rewey believes that with great tobacco, blending, and construction along with his own twist of passion. Nomad Cigars can give you an incredible cigar at a fair price.


Pre-Lit-Appearance:

The Fuerte has a light tan peanut butter in color Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper.  The band is red and black with Nomad in white letters along with the company logo.  On the side of the band is Fred Rewy's Twitter account @Godfadr.  I like how Nomad has decided to open themselves up to the customer with easily making themselves available on social media.  The veins seem to be medium in size and very smooth.  The Ecuadarian Connecticut wrapper gives the cigar a creamy to mild look.  Well as I always say lets toast this cigar and get started.

First Third:

The first few draws are creamy with hints of peanuts and cedar on my palate.  The Fuerte seems to look like a mild to medium body cigar but is slowly picking up some strength as I continue through the first third.  I have detected some hints of pepper and cinnamon that have taken my palate by surprise.  The smoke output is minimal and the construction has been great to this point.  Just something I thought I would point out real quick.  It is always pleasant to have minimal structural issues with your cigar as it leaves an everlasting impression on whether or not you might smoke it again.


Middle Third:

I have reached the middle third and the Fuerte is fighting with me trying to decide if it should be a mild to medium or a full body cigar.  The notes of creamy peanuts, cedar, and cinnamon spice are all still prevalent on my palate.  This is definitely not your usual Connecticut blend of cigar.  The spice and pepper are stronger than the creamy notes of peanuts which has left an unusually good flavor on my palate.  The burn and construction of the Fuerte is still very sharp as we enter into the final third.

Final Third:

I am well into the final third of the Fuerte and the cigar has stayed very consistent with notes of creamy peanuts, cedar, and cinnamon spice.  I am still amazed by the amount of pepper and spice that the Connecticut Fuerte has to offer.  I did finally loose my ash as it broke apart midway through the final third. The Fuerte is definetley a different experience compared to your mild to medium traditional Connecticut blends.


Final Thoughts:

If you are looking for a Connecticut with a punch of spice and pepper that tetters along the line of a strong medium to full bodied cigar than you are going to want to smoke the Nomad Connecticut Fuerte.  The construction of the cigar was flawless and the burn was almost perfectly razor sharp.  I would recommend trying out the Nomad Connecticut Fuerte and sending a tweet to Fred on Twitter to let him know what you think about the Fuerte.

Franklin Cigars Maduro Lancero Review

Cigar: Franklin Maduro Lancero

Size: Lancero

Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas

Price: $8.99 Courtesy of  Underground Cigar Shop

By: Danny Smith

Alright guys, time to review a cigar that has taken the Internet by storm!  If you browse around the Underground Cigar facebook page or CATS you have undoubtedly seen folks posting about Franklin Cigars.  These cigars are rolled by Franklin Pichardo as a house blend for his shop in PA but are also available now outside of PA exclusively at the Underground Cigar Shop in Fort Worth Texas.  Hats off to Don for getting these out to the UG faithful!  Alright, back to Franklin....Franklin rolled the famous Opus X for Fuente for years before setting up shop in the states and his cigars seem to be a hit.  I spoke to the man himself via telephone to get a little insight into the blend.  The cigar features tobaccos from the Dominican, Peru, and Nicaragua tucked into a dark Mexican San Andreas wrapper.

Pre-Light/Appearance:  As mentioned above, the wrapper on this cigar is a chocolaty brown in color with minimal veins.  The cigar is firm to the touch with just enough give....I bet the draw will be nice! 

First Third:

The smell of this baby is intoxicating....time to stop looking at it and light it up!

The smell I mentioned already only gets stronger after you've gotten into this thing.  The burn line is spot on and the draw is just about right...not too loose but you don't have to work for it either.  Flavor wise, I'm picking up a little sweetness and a bit of pepper.  The pepper isn't over powering at all...it's just there as an accent and lingers on the back of the palate a bit.  The smoke production is very nice at this point.

Second Third:

Closing in on the second third the spice fades a bit and the sweetness remains.  Burn line remains fantastic and the smoke production has really picked up.  This thing is really putting out some serious smoke!  I rarely retro hale.  I'm a sissy.  I know.  Anyway, the retro hale wasn't harsh at all and really brought out some complex flavors.  At about the halfway point the strength of this cigar picks up significantly.  Early on we were hovering around medium mark but I'm starting to feel the strength of this little firecracker as it has moved into a fuller smoke. Burn continues to be spot on with plenty of smoke and a bit of white pepper on the palate.

Final Third:

Moving into the final third...life is about to get "gooder" as we say in Kentucky.  Pouring a little Rowan's Creek bourbon to go with the rest of the cigar.  As this thing winds down the burn got a little wavy but corrected itself after a few minutes.  And I've got to say, this thing is smoking like a chimney.  I love it.  The flavors of pepper and salty caramel sweetness are working together.  The pepper lingers slightly on the palate after each puff.  The strength has stayed on the fuller side of medium but this isn't a cigar that will overwhelm you in the strength department.  It has been an enjoyable smoke.

Final Thoughts:

It took me about an hour and ten minutes to get through this and an enjoyable hour and ten minutes it was.  The cigar gets high marks in all categories from draw, burn, flavor, smoke production, etc.  You can and should pick up some of these smokes to try.  They can be ordered from Franklin's shop in PA or from Don at the Underground for around $7.99 per stick.  This is an area where this cigar stands out as well.  At about eight bucks a stick this is a true value and I do believe that this cigar will be a regular in my humidor for the foreseeable future.  Hope you guys enjoyed the review...now go buy some!