858 Sungrown

I will be the first to admit that the “rare” cigars that Fuente releases around Christmas and Father’s Day are some of the most over hyped cigars around. Yet every year when I walk into my friends cigar shop and he tells me, hey I got this or that in I am all over it. The Fuente 858 Sungrown is pretty much as rare as they come from Fuente as the cigar was only made available to people who took part of a window display promotion in 2002. The cigar utilizes the same sun grown wrapper as all the other sun grown cigars from Fuente and it is produced by Oliva cigars.

Cigar: Arturo Fuente 858 Sungrown
Size: 6 x 48
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sungrown (Natural)
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Strength: Full

Appearance and Construction (15/20): Sporting the same traditional label as the regular 858 the only thing that lets you know this is the 858 Sun-grown (other then the wrapper color) is the fact the cigar comes wrapped cedar with a red ribbon at the foot and it states so on the box. The 858 is a cigar that in my experience generally is one of the worst looking Fuente cigars. The ones that I smoked had at least one significant vein on the wrapper. The cigar has a nice sheen to it, and a lot of tooth. The cigar feels a bit heavy for one of its size especially near the cap. There are no soft spots to be found although the foot of the cigar is very loosely packed.

Flavor & Notes (28/30): The foot of the cigar has a lot of spices to it, and as usual it sent me into a sneezing fit. There is also a faint sweetness hiding out in the background. The prelight draw offered notes of earth. As with most sun grown cigars the stick starts off with a significant amount of spice and pepper. What sets the 858 sun grown apart from the rest is the fact there is some sweetness a long for the ride in the background. As we near the second third of the cigar the pepper remains but it slowly fades to the background and some notes of raisin and cedar become the focal point.  The final third of the cigar becomes spicy with notes of nuts and a faint sweetness remains on the finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (22/25): When I first lit this cigar up it burned pretty fast due to the foot being a little under filled. Thankfully it slowed down after the first third of the smoke. The burn was a bit jagged throughout but it never once showed any signs of getting out of hand. The ash was strong, with no flake and was medium gray in color. Prior to lighting up the cigar there was a slight draw issue that had me concerned. I was worried there would be no draw once lit but thankfully that was not the case. The cigar offered a slight resistance which is what I prefer in a cigar.

Overall (23/25): The Anejo Shark and the 858 sungrown are cigars I never regret stocking up on if I find the right price. However due to the “rare” Fuente cigars being over hyped a lot of stores price gouge on these smokes. I’m lucky the cigar store I visit for these isn’t too crazy considering the NY tobacco tax rate. If you see these for the right price I would recommend them. If they aren’t at the right price, run away as fast as you can.

Rating: 88
Price: $8.75