Review Notes: An average stick with excellent construction. This black beauty comes wrapped in a cedar sleeve, which once removed, reveals a slightly rough maduro wrapper with medium veining. Solid construction without soft spots. Easy light. Good draw. Even burn without the need for relights or corrections. Gray-white ash. Started with white and black pepper, spice, and a tannic quality. The first third then brought a woody sweetness, nuts, and warm leather. In the middle third, the woody flavor intensified and notes of dark chocolate danced in and out. The last third was more of the same, with a strong cedar taste. All in all, this 40 minute full-bodied smoke was fairly one-dimensional, and in my opinion, too cedary. I wonder if the cedar sleeve has imparted too much impact on the flavor profile of this stick? I am a fan of cedar notes, but not to the point where it is overly aggressive and overshadows the other flavors, which at least for me, was the case here. I have smoked many better maduros, so I cannot count this anywhere but in the bottom third, in my experience. However, true to Fuente products, the construction was impeccable.