Cigar Review: Fume d’Amour by Illusione

• Vitola: Viejos (Robusto)
• 5” x 50 ring gauge
• Price $8.49
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

It seems that, as a company, Illusione feels no need to rush things. They prefaced the Fume D’Amour by saying it had been nearly three years since their last full brand was brought to fruition. I’m guessing that would be the “ULTRA” brand…which doesn’t seem like that long ago that it showed up, but then again…time flies…like a UFO, apparently.

Fume D’Amour is translated by Google as “smoke of love” and that just sounds a lot better in French. Along with the new blend, they went with a whole new branding that doesn’t bear any real relation to the classic Illusione look. The cigar is composed of all Nicaraguan leaf and is made in Nicaragua, as well.

One interesting thing is that it is reportedly made without any Ligero in the mix, although it’s still considered a full-bodied smoke. There are 4 vitolas in the current Fume D’Amour lineup. The Clementes won the #3 spot on the Cigar Aficionado Top 25 for 2014. We got a box of Viejos in at Burns (the other sizes were apparently on back-order) and it sold out in less than a week. We’ve got more on order, but I was able to snag a couple for review before they flew out the door. I smoked one of this same size before this review sample.

Prelight

Even though Dion seems to branching out in the look and feel of the banding, he hasn’t “gone Gurkha” or anything. The band is still simple, classic and classy. It uses a dusky red for the main background and some type, some light cream for the secondary background color and some metallic gold ink for the rest of the type and some ornamentation. Add in some embossing and a unique die cut shape and you end up with a label that looks like something you’ve seen before…even when you haven’t.

The wrapper is a medium brown with a decent amount of red in it. It was oily to the touch and the eye and smelled mostly of wood and natural tobacco. The foot had an earthier note to it, along with touches of coffee and pepper. After clipping the head I experienced an open draw with flavors of cedar, earth and cayenne pepper.

Flavor

Once fired up, the Fume D’Amour had a definite core earthiness that you expect from Nicaraguan blends, but also plenty of cedar and pepper on the palate, along with a tough of fragrant, floral notes. The retrohale was sharply peppery for the first 10 minutes or so before dying down a bit to more of a dull, steady burn.

As I puffed my way into the second third, I picked up on mildly sweet and nutty flavors, though there was still plenty of cedar and pepper. The smoke was definitely oily and full-bodied…a surprise with the lack of Ligero used in the blend.

In the last third, it all came together with a great mix of cedar, earth, roasted nuts, and cayenne pepper.

Construction

The build quality was perfect; I had a great draw, very even burn line and solid enough ash (even though the wind blew it off at one point…my fault for not tapping off earlier).

Value

What we have is one of the best ever from Illusione for a price that doesn’t break the bank.

Conclusions

This cigar was #3 on that big lifestyle magazine’s 2014 Top 25 list…and this is one that I can wholeheartedly agree with. Great smoke. Great price. Great experience. I love that companies are looking to deliver this kind of cigar at a price that won’t break your wallet. It makes my job of recommending a cigar that much easier…go now…buy Fume D’Amour!

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 10/10