Fonseca Matasa 30th anniversary Review

[Finfan]

This is my 1st review and it will pale in comparison to most of the reviews I read here, which are great. But I just finished my 1st of these and it was great. I wanted to share. The owner of my local B&M pointed me towards this one when he saw the sticks I selected which were: VSG, Camacho select, La Aurora 1495. Apparently, he knows the owner of Fonseca and had a part in picking the blend for this cigar. I'm very happy he recommended it, because it was great. It was a toro maduro and oily. Pretty strong, with tons of smoke. I'm new, so it's hard for me to pinpoint flavors, but it reminded me a bit of an Excalibur 1066, but more complex. In the middle, I had two draws of sweet cocoa, which was very nice. There was another flavor which I was trying to figure out what it was, but had a hard time. Spicy, like cumin?? faint, but it was there. I had a hard time putting this one down and nubbed it. Picked up a 5er from the devil for $25. Looking forward to the other 4. I love finding new smokes that I like.

[Sisyphus]

Originally Posted by Finfan

Picked up a 5er from the devil for $25.

Wow, nice deal for these sticks! I'm not a big fan of Fonseca but the Matasas are pretty decent. I've tried only the perfectos, though.

Thanks for the review!

-Ken

[billybarue]

SSHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Well I guess the cat's out of the bag now so -----

BillyBarue

[omowasu]

The most recent Cigar magazine had a great article on Manolo Quesada and the MATASA factory. Their aging methods are very unique in the industry, they actually bale the tobacco in palm tree bark instead of plastic or cardboard. Fonseca is his flagship product. I have found the standard Fonseca to be quite mild, but I am wiling to give the 30th anniversary a try.

[txmatt]

Originally Posted by omowasu

The most recent Cigar magazine had a great article on Manolo Quesada and the MATASA factory. Their aging methods are very unique in the industry, they actually bale the tobacco in palm tree bark instead of plastic or cardboard. Fonseca is his flagship product. I have found the standard Fonseca to be quite mild, but I am wiling to give the 30th anniversary a try.

Cigar comes in 2 sizes and of course I prefer the perfecto.. The toro is very good and is $2 less retail. I think the perfecto has a bit more spice, not stronger or richer but just spicier. At cigarbid prices though the toro is a no brainer.

The blend seems very similar to the cigar Fonseca makes exclusively for Davidoff (Fonseca Don Anteros) but seems to have more earthy tones compared to the Don. This cigar is not a typical Fonseca though; yet another reason to like Manolo.

-Matt-

[Finfan]

picked up a 5er of the perfecto also from cbid and just finished the 1st of these. I see what you mean about the spiciness as this did have more. It finished strong. Maybe it's because I've been smoking less--about one a week--but this one kicked my butt at the end. Also, my dinner was on the lighter side. But again a nice smoke...