Arturo Fuente Hemingway: Short Story

The Arturo Fuente Hemingway line of cigars brings the smoking enthusiast back to the days of Cuban Perfectos. The Perfecto has a distinctive shape dating back to the old world way of rolling cigars from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. Most of the cigar makers rolling Perfectos were older, retired and eventually passed away, leaving this tradition behind. The Fuente family had re-introduced this unique style with their signature Hemingway.
I’ve had the distinct pleasure of smoking the Arturo Fuente Hemingway line of cigars for some time now, and my favorite happens to be the Short Story. As the name denotes, this is a quick smoke. With a size of 4&1/2” X 46/49, this can be enjoyed at any time of the day without burning too much of the time away. Generally this cigar lasts anywhere from 20-40 minutes, and is often referred to the “under 30” smoke. Intense flavors immediately cover the palette with earthy and nutty tones. As you quickly work the way down, the flavors turn more towards spice and pepper, bringing out the flavors most associated with a Maduro wrap. This one does tend to burn a bit hot past the band, however should you season these properly in the humidor, you’ll be able to enjoy them down to the base. For a tightly packed cigar of this nature, the draw tends to be incredibly smooth. You will not find the razor sharp burn such like the 1926 Padron (which you can read the review for here), however you will find it to be even throughout.
The distinctive Perfecto shape is well know throughout the Fuente family, having been passed down from the Grandfather, to the Father and now to the Fuente family’s Master Roller. The molds happened to be a challenge to find, for the gentleman who created them had passed away before sharing the secret of creating them. There was no longer a demand for the Perfecto shape over the years and it was a style that was lost over time. As fate would have it, Carlos Fuente Sr. had found the original molds in their Ybor City factory and started the Hemingway line back in 1983 with the introduction of the Hemingway Signature. Since then, the demand has grown, and by 1988 they introduced the Classic and Masterpiece. From there, Carlos Sr. had wanted something virtually unseen in the cigar world at that time by creating a very short cigar for the family’s own personal use. This eventually came to be known as the Short Story. There are also a few very limited shapes such as the Work of Art, Best Seller, Untold Story along with a few others.
The entire Hemingway line is fairly difficult to come by. It’s been rumored that they are only released around the holidays after accumulating the limited production in the aging rooms. Should you be fortunate enough to come across the Short Story in particular, do yourself a favor and grab a few for the holidays; you wont be disappointed.