Today we will be taking a look at a brand new line extension release from the Arturo Fuente Añejo line, The Añejo No.60. In case you were unfamiliar with the Añejo line here is some basic info on the line and how it came to be.

In the Late 1990’s hurricane George swept through the Caribbean Sea leaving mass destruction in its path including the Dominican Republic and with it the Fuente’s Chateau de la Fuente tobacco farm. In case you didn’t know this farm is where the Fuente’s grow their prized Opus X sun grown wrapper leaf. A few years later as a result of the storm they came upon a shortage of wrapper leaf for their Opus X cigars. Instead of halting production Carlos Fuente Jr. decided to wrap the cigars in an aged Connecticut Broadleaf Wrapper as opposed to the traditional sun grown wrapper and the Añejo was brought to life.

Released only during Christmas and Father’s Day the Añejo uses a blend similar to the Opus X cigar but sports a 5 year old Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper that has been aged in Cognac barrels. This simple act of changing the wrapper creates an entirely different tasting cigar.

Currently there are only 6 vitolas in the Añejo line:

• No. 50 – 5 1/4 x 50
• No. 46 – 5 5/8 x 46
• No. 55 – 6 x 55
• No. 49 – 7 5/8 x 49
• No. 48 – 7 x 48
• No. 77 – 5 7/8 x 50/64

Adding to the line this year is the Añejo No.60, a 6 ¼ x 48 size cigar that looks everything Añejo as the rest of them. It sports a jet black Connecticut Broadleaf Wrapper and feels hard as a rock. The cigar is rolled to perfection with a seamless wrap and few veins. There isn’t as much of an oily sheen to this particular one as I have seen in some of the other vitolas, still a beautiful cigar though.

• Cigar Reviewed: Arturo Fuente Añejo Reserva Xtra Viejo Limitada No.60
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Size: 6 1/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Corona Gorda
• MSRP: $12.00 (Boxes of 25, $300.00)
• Date Released: Dec. 2010
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 5

Pre-light aroma is woody with lots of chocolate and a spicy tingle is felt through my nose. Pre-light draw is nice and sweet, a very rich tobacco flavor with notes of cinnamon and licorice.

Starting off in the first third the cigar has a distinct spicy flavor, not a tingling sensation but more of a solid spice flavor. It reminds me of a taco seasoning without the heat. There are notes of cedar, dark chocolate, coffee and a bit of a pepper kick on the finish. All in all it’s a much more mellow start that I anticipated. The finish is long.

Coming into the second Third the cedar turns into a deeper wood flavor. There are hints of leather and chocolate coming in and out and the coffee has turned to a more espresso type flavor with hints of bitterness. There is a peppery tingle on the finish that is quite nice.

Finishing up in the final third the cigar doesn’t change much, still a solid wood profile with dark chocolate, leather, espresso and a peppery finish. The burn gets a little wavy and the cigar went out on me a bit towards the end if you didn’t puff on it enough but otherwise a nice enough end to a solid cigar.

Final Notes:

• If there is one thing certain about Añejo’s it’s that they need some humidor time to reach their potential. I have had some bad Añejo’s and some great ones. This one fell somewhere in the middle. It had decent flavors but the flavors were a little muddled and muted. It had some complexity but not a lot of finesse.
• Construction was spot on, perfect draw, great burn although one of the samples that I smoked completely cracked and split on me but I have to give it the benefit of the doubt and consider that I was smoking in 25 degree weather.
• I think this is a great addition to the line, vitola wise. I must say when I heard about this cigar I was very nervous that it was being called the No.60. I had images of some monstrosity of a cigar with a 60 plus ring gauge. Thankfully that was not the case. I still have to give the nod to the #46 as my favorite vitola though.
• Given that Añejos tend to burn quite slowly, the Final Smoking time was just about 2 hours.

The Bottom Line: If you can find these at MSRP or just a bit over I would pick some up if for nothing more than to age because Añejos are fun to age, and they truly get better and better year after year. Even if you don’t have the patience they are still a solid cigar to smoke young. They often have great construction and have a consistent profile full of deep earthy flavors with a nice spice and pepper kick. That’s never a bad thing.

Final Score: 83