NC Review :: Butera Royal Vintage Fumo Dolce (xny23)

[hangten]

Eh the contest has sparked my interest in popping my review cherry 🤩

I hope I don't get minus points as this is a review of a NC cigar but it is a special cigar for me as this was my first cigar that I ever had back in the late 90's - the Butera Fumo Dolce.  I had walked into a cigar store who's name I can remember but it was at the corner of the Flat Iron Building in Wicker Park Chicago.  The smell was intoxicating and walking into a cigar store for the first time was really intimidating but the gentlemen who helped was very cool but also seemed quite sophisticated to the young 20 year old I was back then.  I asked for a recommendation as a cigar beginner and after a quick thought he brought the current hottest  "boutique" cigar - the Butera Fumo Dolce.  He described it as a delicious mild cigar perfect for me.  I remember lighting it for the first time and honestly I didn't light it completely fearing that I would ruin the cigar (the product of reading too many Cigar Aficionado magazines lol!) but what I was left with was a very savory, creamy and buttery taste in my mouth (yeah insert your jokes here lol).  Anyway, I vividly recall my thoughts then that if this is what cigars are all about then I am all in!

Decades later, I am back to searching for that particular experience by trying as many "creamy" cigars that I can find.  I was speaking to Billy at Jack Schwartz here in Chicago about my "quest for the cream" and reminded me about the Butera cigar.  He also recalled how buttery they were though his palate has switched to the other side of the menu.  I agreed and decided to pick up a few online as there are no retailers in Chicago that had the Butera in-stock even Iwan Ries had no stock. (still here?)  So here is my review with pics.  Just to note I just picked up a S.T. Dupont Ligne 2 to try my hand with a soft flame (and the famous "ping") to avoid over burning the cigar but guess what - that is just what I did over burned the foot but anyway another learning experience for me.  Without further ado here is my review with some pics.

1st:

• Nice smooth wrapper
• A very nice sweet bready pre-draw 
• Upon lighting the cigar - I get the savory, buttery and toasty flavors that I was looking for
• As this is a mild cigar - the retrohale is very easy and produced a slightly musty, earthy, mushroom flavor to the mix

2nd:

• After a bit the cigar turns into a herbal tea with the savory feeling coming back intermittently
• There is a copious amount of smoke coming from this smaller guy  
• The is ash is pure white
• The retrohale strengthens the savoriness as well as adding a hit of raisins

3rd

• I begin smoking a little too fast and it has introduced some pepper and leather so I slow my row a little.
• the cigar has begun to acquire a nutty flavor almost I would pistachio
• After a bit the bitterness of smoking this last 3rd too quickly and so I put the cigar to rest.

All in all - a very pleasurable cigar which I will return to smoke again!  I would rate this 3/5!

Thanks for reading!