Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Barber Pole – Broadleaf Maduro/Connecticut Shade
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Size: Perfecto 41/4 x 54 ring
Courtesy of CigarsDirect.com
The Hemingway line of Fuente cigars are hugely popular and like a lot of other Fuente cigars, very limited. The Maduros are especially limited and are only released twice a year, one of those times being right around now, near the Holidays. One of the more rare of the rare is the double wrapped, barber pole Hemingway “Between the Lines”. Now plenty has been written about the background of the Hemingway cigars and I have written about them here before as well. So if you are interested to learn a little more about them, check out my review of the Hemingway Best Seller and the Hemingway Signature Maduro.
The Hemingway BTL is an eye catcher. The sharp contrast created by the light tan, shade grown wrapper and the dark, toothy broadleaf maduro wrapper intertwined like the stripes on a barber’s pole is a cool visual with a cigar. They stand out among the cigars that surround them and I think the perfecto shape only enhances the beauty of this cigar. Construction and burn characteristics are almost always a given with a Fuente cigar. The quality of their products are superb but I wondered how this stick would fare in the burn department. The shade grown and maduro wrappers are two very different beasts and have different burn characteristics. I was curious to see how they would play together with this smoke. Except for the normal oddities I experience with the burn at the beginning of a perfecto like this, the burn was even and without trouble for the duration of the smoke. The draw was excellent and it produced thick clouds of white smoke.
Flavor is where the BTL falls a bit short of its straight maduro brothers. I have always found the Hemingway Maduros to be delicious cigars, each one a treat to smoke. The introduction of the shade grown wrapper on the Between the Lines has a less than desirable effect for me. Some of the flavors I love about the Hemingway Maduros was still there. The slightly sweet maduro flavor complimented by a damp earthiness and a subtle spice were all there but often times they were over powered by a dry grassiness and an acrid finish that I am certain was coming from the Connecticut Shade wrapper. It really detracted from my enjoyment of the cigar. Given that this is one of the most expensive of the “Holiday Hemingways” it is disappointing that it just isn’t as good a smoke as the others are. It is a neat novelty, and the dual wrapper look makes it a visually appealing cigar, but flavor wise I just don’t think it lives up to the standard set by the rest of the Hemingway line.
Get your Hemingway & Hemingway Maduro cigars @ CigarsDirect.com
I was going to review one of these very soon! I guess i still will, haha. I have had one before and remember not being very impressed at all, very much like your experience with it. Ill let you know when i get my review for it up. Good job on this one, and i cant wait to see how my experience with the BTL compares to yours.
My local B&M wanted $17.50-so I passed and bought more Sharks! Thanks for the heads up! Too much cash for average, I think!
Great review, Matt. Do you have any more of these? Trades?
Only one left and it is promised to someone already. Sorry.
[...] Matt over at Matt’s Cigar Journal toasts an Arturo Fuente Between the Lines. This barber pole beauty receives a surprisingly low score. Toast it here. [...]