Trinidad Series Part 2 - 2005 Fundadore

Bill from Nashville decided that he would like to see a Series of reviews on Trinidad, are they hype or are they MONEY.  They sure cost some money.  This is the most expensive Trinidad of all.  Its also the oldest in the line.  We covered all of the attributes of it's time in the Habanos portfolio in the Robustos T review.  And I have to state up front, I already know this is a monster cigar.  The last one I had had one problem, it just would not stay lit.  But it offered up unbelievable flavors, SO MANY that I just couldn't remember or list them all.  So while I really wanted to get this series going again, I was NOT looking forward to it.  First, I only have about 10 of these left, and smoking one just hastens the day when I will be out of em.  But the intrigue was palpable.  Would this cigar come CLOSE to the performance of the previous cigar?  Its a cliche', but there was only one way to find out.  I had to cut it and light it.

The cigar was dry and tight, with a great-looking wrapper and a slight sheen of oil and a lighter dusting of general plume from head to foot.  My last Fundadore had a cracked foot and it did NOT help the smoking session.  Tonight's cigar was perfect in every way.  The draw was perfect, the light was fast and from the VERY FIRST PUFF, I was impressed and excited.  The cigar started off with one of my top two favorite flavors, sweetly alkaline cuban twang.  By the time the cigar had burned a scant 1/8 inch it was GUSHING with the creamy and sweet vanilla quality but added a first-for-me Rum and Raisin taste.  For the entire 7 plus inches to go, it held onto a core of these two flavors.   That alone would have held my interest for the whole smoke, but it had more secrets to share.  The twang and vanilla and rum and raisin stayed nearly exactly the same throughout, but each alternating puff would feature a different type of berry with vanilla.  I tasted strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and even acai, whatever that tastes like.  I had a daiquiri mix that claimed to be acai once, so I almost feel like the taste I couldn't quite peg was that.  But that's kind of a cop-out.  I have a poor palate and sometimes I taste things I just can't describe.  

But one thing I DO KNOW.  I have NEVER had a cigar this good as long as I have been smoking cigars.  And you'd think "Hey, that's great, what could be wrong with that?"  Lord, there's that commercial with the black Napoleon Dynamite on it....weird...and what's more...WHY?


The thing that sits and gnaws at me from the back of my mind is that from here on out, I will face disappointment in every cigar I smoke.  What makes that an actual threat is the terrible hit or miss tendencies I see in habanos.  This "any given Sunday" kind of subplot just kills me.  But luckily I still can recognize goodness wherever it is found.  Smoked a Dirty Rat tonight someone had given me last year and it was pretty dang good.  I did not expect that.


But as usual I totally digress.  I smoked the cigar a little too fast, hungry and greedy for the thrilling flavor.  But it never really degraded because of that puffing regimen.  IT DID get a little stronger, and I have to admit that the only reason I did not smoke this cigar down to the band and push the band up for more smoke was the fact that I just lost the urge to smoke.  This is a long cigar and a real commitment.  If I was sitting on a beach or in a cool mountain stream, I would have made it last, savored it.  But I ran out of beer and time, and really just wanted to go upstairs and get out of the funky air.   So I did not smoke this to the nub like I should have or wanted to.  THE NERVE it takes to smoke the best cigar you ever had and leave 1/3 of it in an ashtray!  But that's what happened.  This cigar has acheived the highest buy recommendation I can possibly give you.  They are not cheap, but when you can have a GEM like this waiting for you in the humidor after 3-4 years, the money is nearly inconsequential.  If I was a buyer of cigars, I would get no less than two boxes.  There are cigars that make you think, 'hell, I can get 75 of these X cigars for the cost of 24 of the Fundadores.'  And I can say without reservation that you will have 75 experiences that together can NEVER reach the splendor of this fine cigar.  I score it 97 points.  What's more, I have now had TWO 97 point Fundadores in a row.  Could be if I smoked two more I'd have two more 95+ point cigars.    I like those odds.