As we prepare for the upcoming Das Festival on Father’s Day weekend, I started to wonder what cigar is light enough to pair with a great German style beer. I wanted it to have the ability to grab you with its tremendous flavor profile, yet to also be a quicker smoke as to not to have to be in the Texas heat in June for longer than necessary. So, I scrolled through the rolodex of cigars in my mind and kept flipping back to one of my personal favorites by Arturo Fuente, the Hemingway Short Story. In full disclosure, this cigar is my “breakfast cigar”. Breakfast cigar? Yes. Typically, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, I sit alone in my office or on the back patio, depending on the weather, and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee from a locally owned coffee company, Dirty Duck Coffee. I rotate the flavors between the French Roast and the Morning Wood brew. Everyone talks about pairing a cigar with bourbon or scotch, but I highly recommend pairing a cigar and coffee. Try any cigar and any coffee. When people balk at that suggestion, I ask, “do you know the feeling you get at the end of the day with that scotch/bourbon and cigar? Now, imagine STARTING your day with that feeling”! Ok, back to the German style beer pairing. I will be pairing this cigar with Bajuvator, a Doppelbock Dunkel by Tucher. A true German style beer. I am excited about this pairing and review.
The Arturo Fuente brand was founded, initially, in 1912 in Florida by Arturo Fuente, Sr. The factory is now located in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The Hemingway line pays homage to the famous writer and avid cigar smoker, Ernest Hemingway. The line is made with Dominican tobacco and often uses a Cameroon wrapper.
The Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story began life as the famous Arturo Fuente Perfecto cigar in the 1920s. By the 1940s, the cigar makers were too old to make them anymore. However, in the 1980s Arturo’s grandson Carlos Fuente, Jr., decided the time had come to bring the classic Perfecto shaped cigar back to life. The Hemingway line quickly gained popularity due to its size, strength, and shape.
Now for the cutting and the lighting. As always, I start by using my v-cut cutter to cut the tip off. Yes, I use my v-cut cutter even on this small of a cigar. Then I rotate my cigar as I use my torch to light this delicious cigar. I cleansed my palate with a Canada Dry club soda and two saltine crackers.
The cigar lights easily, and unlike some of the larger cigars with this shape, the burn and draw is perfect from the start—quite a few sticks with this shape and shapes like it burn unevenly and have problems with the draw until you get over the hump of the fastest part of the cigar.
As I take my first deep draw, the sweetness arrives first, confirming that I did indeed make the right choice. Each subsequent draw is intertwined with a great tobacco flavor, not too much or too little, just enough. Or what I like to call the “Goldilocks effect”, because it’s just right. I then took my first sip of the Bajuvator. Every flavor I experienced turned other worldly as each individual flavor on every subsequent draw was more intense and satisfying.
The first third has that great tobacco flavor I mentioned earlier, intermingled with a little bit of pepper, but just enough to make the smoke interesting, not overwhelming at all. There is a little bit of sweetness, and for me, just enough to really enjoy.
During the second third, the pepper remains almost constant, but a wood flavor starts to dominate the stick. I know a lot of reviews mean cedar when they say woodsy, but I tasted wood, not necessarily cedar and very distinct difference in taste that I enjoyed quite a bit.
The final third is pretty much the same as the second third, which is not saying much, since it is such a small, sorry, stout cigar, but the pepper picked up a little bit and it started getting hot at the very end, but close enough to the tip that it did not affect the smoke at all.
This medium-bodied cigar has a rich flavor profile with notes of wood, earth, spice, pepper, coffee and roasted nut that pair well with the malty sweetness and caramel notes of German style beers.
Pairs well with
German style beers
Tequila
Bourbon
Coffee or Espresso
Size: 4″ x 49 (Perfecto)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Body: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium
