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Trinidad Fundadore Habana

Apr 21, 2009 Cigar

Tonight’s review is the Cuban Trinidad Fundadore.

Trinidad is named after the beautiful 16th Century city of La Santísima Trinidad (The Holy Trinity), listed by UNESCO as a historical monument, which is situated on Cuba’s south coast.

Trinidad, as a Habano, dates back to 1969 but for many years, like Cohiba, it was made only for gifts to foreign diplomats. Not until 1998 was it released for general sale and then only in small quantities.

There is only one size of Trinidad, the Fundador or Founder. Although it resembles the Cohiba Lanceros in length and the finish of its cap, it is unique because of two extra ring gauge points added to its girth. It is made at El Laguito, the home of Cohiba, to its own particular recipe of tobaccos selected from the Vuelta Abajo region.

And now, on to the review.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Size: 7.5 x 40 (Lancero)
Origin: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban

APPEARANCE and CONSTRUCTION -

The Trinidad Fundadore has a light brown wrapper with a triple cap and neat pigtail at the tip. The wrapper is applied well and has an even, clean construction. although only a 40 ring gauge, the cigar feels heartier than that in the hand. The wrapper is smooth and very nice looking. The were a couple of soft spots, but nothing too bad. I expect a little softness on some lanceros due to the way they’re constructed.

SMOKING CHARACTERISTICS –

The wrapper has a fantastic smell of roasted nuts. The roasted nut smell actually intensified after the cigar was lit and it made for a very pleasant experience. I’ve had that roasted nut aroma on other habanos and it’s something I really enjoy. As usual, I punch cut the Fundadore. It has a firm draw. Not plugged or stiff, but a little firmer than I am used to. Luckily it was not a problem during the smoking and it actually loosened up a bit around halfway through. Cold draw had a toasty flavor that had a slight sweetness to it. The cigar lit easily and evenly. It burned well throughout. No major burn issues except for one. As the ash got near 3/4 of an inch, it would dip. Of course the ring gauge play a big part into that, but I don’t recall seeing that recently, even in other lanceros. It would basically curve downward as if ready to collapse under its own weight. It made me ash a little more often than I normally would, but again, not a big deal. The smoke was light and airy.

FLAVOR –

Very, very nice flavors on this Fundadore. It started out early with a toasty quality. That roasted nut aroma carries over to the flavor and it was very pronounced around 1/3 into the cigar. It reminded me of toasted walnuts actually. There were some nice creamy flavors as well. Around the midway point, I started getting some wood notes. A sweet cedary flavor that came and went around the midway point. This is a solid medium bodied cigar. It never even reached medium to full. It is smooth and very well balanced. The flavors were nicely complex and coupled with the medium body, the flavors became even more pronounced.

OVERALL IMPRESSION –

The Fundadore is the quintissential Cuban Lancero. It is medium bodied with full flavor and complexity. It has a toasty and nutty creaminess that I really enjoyed. This stick had about a year of age on it and that may have factored into how well balanced it was. I am curious to try some more that have less age and more age. A very enjoyable smoke that I will look for again.

TOTAL SCORE – 93

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Tags: cuban, fundadore, habanos, lancero, trinidad