The Habana Seleccion is Fonseca’s attempt to go back to the company’s Cuban roots.  Fonseca has been around a long time and has been producing cigars in Cuba for a very long time so they know what a Cuban cigar should taste like.  While the tobacco is not Cuban, they did a very nice job making it seem that way.  This Nicaraguan has all the notes you might expect from a Cuban.

The wrapper is dark but not Maduro dark and smells sweet and pleasant.  It has a tangy tobacco smell that wakes up your senses before you even put flame to it.  The draw, while not like pulling through a straw, is quite good; it was, almost exclusively, a ’single puffer’ . The construction is nice with a deep cap and a firm feel of a well crafted and well humidified cigar.  I had a small hole near the cap of mine which probably speak more to its age and many moves than it does its construction.  This hole lead me to smoke it funny which lead to a bit of a slanted burn but that did not affect the taste.

The cigar produces a good amount of rich blue smoke that smells fabulous. The smoke smells light and peppery which is strange because peppery is not a word I would use to describe the taste.  It provides an interesting contradiction to the flavor of the cigar.  Now, on to the flavor.  The cigar tastes sweet and nutty, capturing the essence of the Cuban flavor.  The sweetness is not the chocolatey sweetness of a Maduro, but is instead a light sweetness like honey.  The nuttiness is not strong but is more one of the light fleshed nuts like macadamia or peanut.  The two flavors compliment each other quite well.  There are VERY light coffee notes that add a bit of richness to the light flavors of sweet and nutty.  Those coffee notes appear about halfway through the cigar.  The finish is clean and adds just a bit of spice to compliment the smooth sweetness.  I am smoking this one all the way down to the nub.

Filler : Maduro

Binder :  Maduro

Wrapper : Maduro

Ok, so I paid  20 dollars for this 6 by 60 cigar and I did because it was a Camacho and I just had to try it.  That being said, I would consider paying 7 bucks a stick on cigarbid but I wouldn’t pay 20 bucks for it again.

The cigar’s construction was good.  Smoking a 60 ring gauge cigar always presents certain challenges because it is just silly massive.  I was not impressed by the volume of smoke I got and it actually wound up being a double puffer, which is just plain sad for a 60 ring gauge cigar.  I was a little disappointed.

The flavor was good.  I think had I paired it with a Chocolate Stout, I would have appreciated the cigar significantly more.  The Triple ESB I drank it with overpowered the nuances of the triple Maduro flavor.  It started amazingly chocolaty, almost like a Hershey Kiss.  It was very tasty.  After that it kinda mellowed out and became, more or less, just a cigar.  I think I owe it to the label to try another one with a better pairing and see how it turns out.

I will post another review when I smoke a second one but, in the mean time, I cannot recommend the Triple Maduro at it’s current price point.