As you can see by the graphic on the left side of my page, Fox Cigar has an exclusive series of cigars in the “economy” space, the Foxtail. I’ve been working with the folks at Fox for several years, and have featured a few of their exclusives, notably the Araposa Negra and Blanca made by Black Label Trading Co. These were exceptional, I especially liked the Negra, which, sadly, doesn’t appear to be available any more. I should pick up some Blancas, if I do, I’ll add another Foxtail sampler. The Foxtail comes in five varieties, and all of them have a shaggy foot and a foxtail shaped flag on the head. They come in three sizes, although I have to wonder a little about who came up with the names. They are Robusto, Toro and Gordo. I know, you’re thinking “they sound like perfectly reasonable names!”, but the Robusto is 6″x50, the Toro is 7″ x 54 and the Gordo is 7″ x 60. Perhaps they are measuring from where the wrapper starts, as they all have a 1″ unfinished foot. No problem, I rarely smoke anything shorter than six inches. Here are some short recaps on each one:
I started with the Corojo Toro (the sampler is only offered in the 7″ x 54 “Toro”). This has a Sungrown Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, over a Nicaraguan binder with Nicaraguan, Costa Rican and Colombian fillers. Where these are made, nor whether these are long or mixed fill was shared with me. At this price, they almost have to be mixed, but they all burned properly like a long fill cigar. This Corojo has the hint of white sugar I find lately in cigars tagged as Corojo. It wasn’t bad, decent tobacco flavor with a bit of a spice.
Next up was the Maduro Toro (I know, I usually lead with the maduro, I changed it up this time. Also worth mentioning that I smoked these on different days. Those of you who follow on IG or Facebook will already know this.). This one also has the Sungrown Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, with a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Costa Rican fillers. This one had some subtle cocoa and spice with some tobacco, nothing overpowering, just a nice cigar and a good value.
I followed with the Barber Pole, which is, I believe both fermentations of the aforementioned Corojo and Maduro wrappers. Sungrown Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, with a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Costa Rican fillers. Honestly, I don’t know if in a blindfolded scenario I could choose between this and the Corojo, they were remarkably similar. The aesthetics of the dual wrappers is nice, and doesn’t take anything away from the burn and draw. It lacks the Columbian tobacco that’s in the Corojo, maybe that’s what adds the subtle spice that I didn’t get in this one.
I went into the Sweet Tip with some concerns, which ended up to be unfounded. This has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Columbian fillers. The wrapper is a darker shade than the Connecticut.The sweetness on the cap was minimal, it added nicely to the flavor of the cigar. Some sweet capped cigars can be too much, not this one. It had the approximate sweetness on the lips as a Sobremesa Brulee. I say that to be funny, but I hardly noticed that it was there. This might actually be my favorite of the quintet. It has some bready bakery notes, some spice and that subtle sweetness. I liked this one.
Finally I smoked the Connecticut, which has the exact same makeup as the Sweet Tip. This might be my second favorite of the bunch for me, which is weird if you’ve followed me for any stretch of time and see a pattern of what I like. It was smooth, with the same bakery, spice and less of the sweetness of the Sweet Tip. All in all, this is a nice line of cigars. The tail on the head (mine were all lying flat, looked like a messy cap job until further inspection), the shaggy foot that doesn’t burn holes in your shirt, and all five having different bands to differentiate between them in cases where it’s not fairly evident, sets these apart from other similarly priced offerings. Thanks to the folks at Fox Cigar for sending these, like I said, I have no problem adding some on to my next order. I really need to get to Arizona to visit one of their lounges one of these days.
That’s all for now. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Now it’s time to get ready for Christmas. There’s still time to get in on the CigarCraig.com Secret Santa! Maybe next week I’ll feature some new lighters that have come into my possession. Until the next time,
CigarCraig
