Cigar Review: Headlines, First Edition, by Fusion Cigars

• Vitola: Page 3
• 6” x 50 ring gauge
• MSRP $8.50
• Samples provided by Antillan Cigars

Background

I was contacted by Arby Sosa of Antillan Cigars back in January about review samples for a company they were distributing for: Fusion Cigars. He sent 5 of each blend my way and I went ahead and forwarded a couple of each to Jon for review, as I figured he would be able to get to them quicker than I would…so if you are thinking you’ve seen this cigar on Leaf Enthusiast before…it’s true, you have.

Headlines is a brand owned by Fusion Cigars, but it is made and distributed by Antillan Cigars, the same folks who produce the Sosa brands. Today I’m looking at the First Edition (no…not the Kenny Rogers backing band from the ‘60s). I’ll just quote directly from the halfwheel news article:

The Headlines First Edition uses a Pennsylvania seed wrapper grown in the Dominican Republic and a Dominican olor binder. The filler is made up of Dominican criollo ’98 and Dominican Piloto Cubano ligero, with Dominican criollo ’98 and Dominican olor seco.

I’ve had one or two of these Headlines First Editions before this review sample. As stated before, they were sent to me by the company.

Prelight

I like the look of this one. Printed on glossy stock, the band design could look cheesy and bundle-level, but the paper is more of a satin finish, meaning it’s smooth without a lot of reflectivity. The design apes the look of old newspapers. I personally would have opted to go even further and look for a paper stock that was looked and felt more like newsprint, maybe even slightly yellowed from age, but overall the execution is good.

The cigar itself had a slightly rough appearance with some prominent veins and seams that were anything but invisible, but the reddish-brown, almost cinnamon, coloration was pleasing to the eye and while it did have some roughness in texture, I could also feel a good amount of oils on the wrapper leaf.

Sniffing the wrapper, I got an aroma of wet earth and leather. The foot had a more intense Dominican earthiness with cedar and a bit of mushroom to it. It was a breezy almost-spring day when I took this out on the back porch to smoke it. That “breezy” issue because an issue before the review even started, unfortunately. I turned my head for a second and the wind blew the cigar at just the right angle to roll it off the table, causing it to take a header onto the porch, which cracked it severely. I thought of abandoning the review, as I had no additional samples, but some spit-glue seemed to hold it together well enough to continue. By default I’m going to say that construction was fine…it was at least satisfactory on the other samples I smoked.

The cold draw was very good and tasted of wet earth and mushroom, along with some wood…some hints of flavor profile that should be familiar with practically any Davidoff smoker. Not a surprise, really, since there is a good amount of olor tobacco used in this blend.

Flavor

Lighting up I got a bit of that same mushroom funk, along with a good amount of earth and cedar and a surprising dose of red pepper at the back of the throat and a very health dose of pepper on the retrohale. The Headlines 1st Edition started off in the medium-plus range in terms of body. As I continued through I noticed that it got more woody as I went. Not my favorite in terms of flavor profile, but it wasn’t off-putting by any means.

In the second third cedar was still dominant, but I did get touches of cinnamon and anise. Pepper spice held on, especially on the nose.

The spice and cedar died down in the last third where I got more Dominican earthy and bready qualities. It was still in the medium-to-full range for body.

Construction

Even though I had done my best to destroy the cigar before I even lit up, I still got a great draw, even-enough burn line and solid ash. Very well made.

Value

The price is in the sweet spot for mid-range cigars, so I’d call that good quality.

Conclusions

Headlines 1st Edition did not blow me away, but it was a solid smoke and a fairly unique flavor profile in terms of a Dominican puro. For me, it could have used some sweetness to balance the flavors better. I could see picking it up to try again, especially if they went with a little bit smaller ring gauge, just to see what that did for the overall experience. Overall, I’d recommend this mostly to those who enjoy Dominican cigars with a kick.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10