Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino Sungrown No. 60 Review

[punch]

This is a cigar with a name nearly as long as its name, and a pair of bands to match! I avoided purchasing this cigar for a while because I have always considered the C-R line to be second rate Fuentes. Well, I bought a couple over the weekend to test them out. I am not often pleasantly surprised, but this is one time that I was.

The Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino Sungrown No. 60 (CRCFS60 for short . . . well, at least shorter than typing out the whole name) is a cigar made by Fuente for the J. C. Newman Cigar Company in the Dominican Republic. This cigar jumps on the recent “Sungrown” branded trend of strong cigars, and is supposedly the strongest Cuesta-Ray out there. Personally, I am not a big fan of the “sun grown” gimmick wrappers, preferring the Cameroon clad sticks myself. Even at that, I am not sure what all of the “sungrown” hype is all about. I was under the impression that all EMS and Colorado Maduro wrappers were technically "sun grown”, so why go out of the way to brand one as such? Anyway, I was wondering how this cigar would fare against the more expensive sun grown Fuente cigars, which I do not care for at all.

Not expecting much, I decided to fire up the first CRCFS60 while doing some yard work. I noticed that the cigar was rather well made, and in general, not a bad looking cigar at all. Pre-light draw on the 6 X 50 Toro was excellent, and the cigar lit very easily and evenly. Burn and smoke were acceptable, and the ash hung on quite well considering I was operating a rather powerful Stihl brushcutter while smoking. Burn was a bit uneven, but this can often be expected when smoking while working outdoors. The wrapper cracked a bit at the cap end, probably due to the low humidity outdoors at the time, but this did not affect the draw, which remained quite good during the entire burn. Since I was occupied on other matters, all I really detected as to taste was that the cigar was strong and slightly harsh with the taste that I have come to associate with cigars that go out of the way to tell you that they are sun grown. The wrapper is a center grown (hence Centro Fino) Ecuadorian leaf and the binder and filler are Dominican, with a lot of Ligero to give the cigar its stronger body. I was sufficiently impressed that I smoked a second one of these later in the evening with a good cup of coffee so as to give it a more fair and respectful testing.

The second and indoor smoking of the CRCFS60 allowed the cigar to show me what it was really made of. Careful inspection of the cigar showed it to be VERY well made, exceeding the quality of most regular line Fuente cigars. In fact, this cigar is simply beautiful. The cap was excellent, and the second cigar had all of the good qualities of the first. Excellent draw, good smoke, and a more even burn due to the more favorable environment. Flavor of the Cuesta-Rey was more complex than the Fuente Sungrown cigars that I have sampled, and my overall impression after smoking two of these is that they are by no means second rate Fuentes. If anything, these are first rate cigars all the way. I rated this cigar an A-, with the “-“ coming only from the fact that I thought this cigar was a bit on the harsh side and could use a bit of time in the humidor to calm down. My guess is that if you happen to like the Fuente “Sungrown” series of cigars, you will love this Cuesta-Rey.

[The Prince]

Encore, Encore. That was a great review. As all of you know, this certain line is my favorite n/c's.

[ky toker]

Nice review! I have yet to try any of the Cuesta-Rey line though I'm eagerly awaiting. Bought one, but it went some where else. I'll have to get another.

[Cap'n Mike]

Man! Another "oldie but a goodie." This is to me, the best of the Cuesta Rey line and a great "six buck" cigar. Another ride down memory lane ... Try one or two of these with some George Dickle on a fall afternoon in the North Georga mountians. ... Bliss!

Thanks for another awesome review,

Mike

[The Prince]

Originally Posted by Cap'n Mike

Man! Another "oldie but a goodie." This is to me, the best of the Cuesta Rey line and a great "six buck" cigar. Another ride down memory lane ... Try one or two of these with some George Dickle on a fall afternoon in the North Georga mountians. ... Bliss!

Thanks for another awesome review,

Mike

Now that sounds good.

[DrStrangelove]

Weird, had one of these at a tasting at the B&M near my house a few weeks ago and although the flavors were nice and the construction was top notch, I found the stick to be really really mild despite the fact it was a sungrown wrapper.

I talked to the Newmann rep there and he said that these used a different filler than the rest of the Cuesta-Rey line and they were definately more mild.

[justinphilly]

great review! i have never had an opportunity to try one, but now after reading your review, if i see one i will grab it for sure!

[punch]

Originally Posted by DrStrangelove

Weird, had one of these at a tasting at the B&M near my house a few weeks ago and although the flavors were nice and the construction was top notch, I found the stick to be really really mild despite the fact it was a sungrown wrapper.

I talked to the Newmann rep there and he said that these used a different filler than the rest of the Cuesta-Rey line and they were definately more mild.

I am now as confused as you. Perlemans says that these use a different filler and are blended to be STRONGER than the regular line. A lot of ligero leaf is used just for this reason. Holts site states the same thing. I found the flavor strong. But, this cigar was not nearly as harsh as other "Sungrown" cigars that I smoked.

[PuffDaddy]

GREAT REVIEW!! I LOVE the Maduros (the CRCF Centenario #60 was my first box purchase). I hadn't tried the Sungrown yet. I usually relate sungrown with STRONG so I've stayed away. I may have to give em a try now.

[Roger Miller"]

How do the other cigars in this line compare? Same blend, profile, etc? Anyone?

____
rm

[kansashat]

Originally Posted by DrStrangelove

Weird, had one of these at a tasting at the B&M near my house a few weeks ago and although the flavors were nice and the construction was top notch, I found the stick to be really really mild despite the fact it was a sungrown wrapper.

I talked to the Newmann rep there and he said that these used a different filler than the rest of the Cuesta-Rey line and they were definately more mild.

I think that rep was yankin' your chain, or there was a huge mis-understanding.

The Centro-Fino SG is definitely the more powerful blend.

[RPB67]

These are definately good cigars. I like the SG flavor. They are a great cigar that is definatley in expensive.

Good review Punch !!

[cameroncouch02]

Originally Posted by ky toker

Nice review! I have yet to try any of the Cuesta-Rey line though I'm eagerly awaiting. Bought one, but it went some where else. I'll have to get another.

Don't you hate when that happens. Thats what happened to my Gol. But I'll eventually get back to it, so I'm not depressed. And it went to a great person who deserved it.

BTW, I loved the review. Now I have to get my hands on one.