Vega Fina Fortaleza 2 Short Belicoso

December 20th, 2022. This is a 4 x 52 belicoso from the Dominican Republic. It packs quite a punch and has a very strong aroma. It comes in a box of ten. 

Appearance and Construction: Appearance is slightly rough with bulges and veins. Construction is all Dominican according to one website but according to Cigar Coop, the wrapper is San Andreas Criollo, which is Mexican. 

First Puff: Spicy and salty

Draw and Burn: Draw was perfect and burn quite even.

Flavour and Complexity: Good complex spicy flavour with a salty aftertaste, albeit a bit rough and vegetal.

Body: Full body

Strength: An interesting strength boost towards the middle; not overpowering, but quite discernible. 

Finish and Aftertaste: Finish was long and complex. As I mentioned, the aftertaste is salty and a bit vegetal. 

Aroma: Excellent, rich and plentiful aroma.

Ash: Solid. Held on for a good 20 minutes

Balance and Consistency: Well balanced. Even the vegetal taste was not too sour or overpowering. The cigar was consistently tasty and well made to the nub.

Time smoke: Stretched out to 60 minutes without a relight.

Overall: Quite satisfying despite the small size. 

December 27th, 2022: A meaty little cigar with full body and good aroma, with long, complex aftertaste. 65 minutes. Quite satisfying.

January 23rd, 2023: Poor construction, bad burn, difficult to draw and keep alight. Quite strong at the half way point, resulting in a dizzy moment and sweating. Flavour is interesting: like a poor man's Oliva serie V. Not satisfying due to poor construction. My friend, with whom I shared a cigar, had better luck. His cigar drew normally and he smoked to the nub. 

February 6th, 2023: A little irregular burn, easy draw, but required a touch up or two. Excellent flavour: deep, rich and quite smooth, very similar to the Oliva V Melanio Robusto, but not as smooth. 60 minutes and very satisfying. 

Excellent value: smooth, rich, dark roast and almost 60 minutes

February 23rd: Difficult light but once it got going no problems occurred. Flavour was rich but a little dirty. Quite pleasant, but not as satisfying as previous samples. 60 minutes.

June 15th: This little nugget was well packed but not overly so; draw was quite easy. Flavour was excellent. There was nothing dirty. It lasted well over 60 minutes. Very satisfying.

July 8th: Another jackpot; beautifully complex and refined without any dirt. Burn became a bit irregular towards the end so I left the cigar with a wonky nub at around 55 minutes. Very satisfying.

September 24th, 2023. Quite rich and burned well, but flavour in this one was a bit dirty. Nonetheless, quite complex and lasted around one hour. Quite satisfying.

New box: bought at Milan airport duty free: 10 for 52 euros. Slightly more expensive than Madrid, but still good value.

April 25th, 2024: Wrapper was quite light, compared with the previous box, but complexity, sweetness and medium plus body with a little strength were much the same as the previous box. Quite satisfying at one hour.

New box: lighter wrapper, but still complex and a bit of strength