Arturo Fuente Añejo Shark No. 77 review

[moki]

[image coming soon]

The entire Añejo line is the holy grail for many Arturo Fuente fans, and the Shark No. 77 is often cited as a favorite of that vaunted line. The Añejo's are produced only once per year, and are rumored to have the same filler tobacco as the Opus X's do, but with maduro wrappers aged in cognac barrels. Yum. I will try to be unbiased in this review, despite shelling out a pretty penny for this Arturo Fuente Añejo Shark No. 77, and also despite my predisposition to think it's a great smoke based on the reviews I've seen.

It's a very cool looking cigar, unlike anything I've ever seen before. The fat foot of the smoke is square, as if it has been box-pressed, then it tapers down in size gradually, as it also transitions to being round. Overall, a very cool effect, and obviously a very skillfully constructed smoke. The whole cigar is extremely tight, has a great looking dark wrapper, and smells absolutely wonderful.

Cognac is a good analogy for this smoke, actually. A bit of a bite on first draw, but a wonderfully sweet aftertaste, and one heck of a buzz by the time you're down to the end! This Shark is a bit harsher than the other añejo's I've had -- I'm wondering if that's because it needs some time in the humidor (I smoked it right out of the box, after receiving shipment of 'em). However, it isn't a bitter harshness, and it isn't overwhelmingly harsh, so it doesn't detract from the smoke, it's just out of character with the other añejo's I've had (which were a bit sweeter/smoother).

You can tell how wonderfully constructed this cigar is by the ash. It looks exactly like the cigar did out of the box, only a nice burnt white ash that's amazingly solid. It burned straight as an arrow, produced wonderful volumes of smoke, and stayed true in character and taste all the way down to the bitter end (which wasn't bitter, come to think of it).

So is this smoke worth it? I definitely think so. Even if you have to pay a premium to get one, do it at least once just to give it a try. It's really quite wonderful, I'd even put it up there with the Padrón 1964 Maduro in terms of how much I enjoyed it.

[moki]

hrm... it won't let me edit the posting, so, here's the picture:

[drc]

Originally posted by moki
hrm... it won't let me edit the posting

Yeah, you can only edit a post within a certain amount of time after posting it. Then you're stuck with having to make a reply.

[MADURO_MAS_DURO]

All of the Sharks I've smoked were very good, excellent Draw nice flavor, however it must be the angle you took the picture as this strangely looks like an Anejo 55. Probably just the angle.

[relaxnsmoke]

Originally posted by MADURO_MAS_DURO
however it must be the angle you took the picture as this strangely looks like an Anejo 55. Probably just the angle.

My screen must be messed up?!? From where I sit it looks like a quarter!

By the way moki, great reviews all of them, they seem right on the money. The ones I've smoked, I concur, the ones I haven't, I trust your take. Thanks. Look forward to the next batch.

[MADURO_MAS_DURO]

That's all he paid for the Anejo 77 TIBURONIE???

[moki]

Originally posted by relaxnsmoke
By the way moki, great reviews all of them, they seem right on the money. The ones I've smoked, I concur, the ones I haven't, I trust your take. Thanks. Look forward to the next batch.

Glad you like them. I'm looking forward to the next batch too, because it means I get to try some more cigars.

[robmcd]

Originally posted by MADURO_MAS_DURO
All of the Sharks I've smoked were very good, excellent Draw nice flavor, however it must be the angle you took the picture as this strangely looks like an Anejo 55. Probably just the angle.

watch this: DITTO

[MADURO_MAS_DURO]

copy robmcd

[hogg]

what he said...

[moki]

Originally posted by MADURO_MAS_DURO
All of the Sharks I've smoked were very good, excellent Draw nice flavor, however it must be the angle you took the picture as this strangely looks like an Anejo 55. Probably just the angle.

Yeah, must be the angle. They are Sharks:

[DeanW]

Looks like you got plenty to share!! I will gladly pay you on Tuesday for a Shark today..

[Da Klugs]

Broke a couple of these out for the lunch run today.

A really spectacular cigar in regards to construction, look, feel, etc. Going from a torp to a rectangular box press is an impressive and cool thing. The smoking experience was good as well. I think these cigars taste best and most unique to those that don't use a nose exhale. Tried it for 10 minutes or so and the flavors relative to other cigars smoked in this manner are truly unique and good. The problem is this is not my smoking technique as I want to get more out of a cigar than just mouth exhales can deliver. With a nose exhale, they have very bold rich flavors playing in a single octave to use a musical analogy which at times border on a lil too harsh. Using a party short for comparison, they seem to play across 3-4 octaves and have a better sense of "flavor depth". If you didn't nose exhale though you'd say what the heck are you talking about.. the shark is mucho better.

Burned perfectly. Smoked it to and from mall chicken. Smoking thought was .. these are pretty darn good but... The but being the crux of the old argument which I am still on the other side of. That being, the very best NC cigars are worthy and can stand up well in comparison to Cuban cigars. They are just way more expensive and given my smoking style of nose exhales they do not have the depth of flavors i experience in Cuban cigars using this smoking method. If you just use a mouth only draw and exhale these beat the pants off of any Cuban I can think of. Such a wonderful and unique aftertaste relative to any cigars.

Pretty interesting.

[tnip23]

thanks Dave for the review and the explanation of flavor variance between mouth and nose exhaling. I love the anejos and i have always been in the nc's are as good as ccs camp, maybe this is why. I am predominatly a mouth exhaler, exhaling maybe 1 out of 10 or 15 times through the nose. i have never liked the harshness of smoke going through my nasal passages so i have limited the number of times i do it, doing it once in awhile just to experience different flavors.

[Sean9689]

Originally Posted by tnip23

thanks Dave for the review and the explanation of flavor variance between mouth and nose exhaling. I love the anejos and i have always been in the nc's are as good as ccs camp, maybe this is why. I am predominatly a mouth exhaler, exhaling maybe 1 out of 10 or 15 times through the nose. i have never liked the harshness of smoke going through my nasal passages so i have limited the number of times i do it, doing it once in awhile just to experience different flavors.

I found these facts whilst googling...

"80% of taste is perceived retronasally, 10% nasally and another 10% by taste buds. This goes to show how important the sense of smell is in tasting."

Retronasal or posterior nasal/posterior nares: the openings of the nasal cavities into the mouth or pharynx. So, when you take a puff on a cigar and exhale through your noise, you are using your posterior nares. This accounts for 80% of the tastes you perceive.