Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos – Exclusive to Casa de Montecristo

The Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos is one of two limited production shop exclusives sizes of the Seleccion Espana being made available to Illinois retailer Casa de Montecristo. The Quesada Seleccion Espana made its debut in 2011 at the ProCigar festival. It was originally intended for the cigar market in Spain, but based on demand it was released to the U.S. market. It has remained a mainstay at many of Quesada’s top accounts since then. In 2015, the line has undergone some expansion in the form of limited editions and shop exclusives. The Fabulosos, which measures 7 x 54 becomes the largest ring gauge to be introduced into the series to date. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos. Overall I found this another outstanding release in this line – and a very different Seleccion Espana smoke than I’ve had before.

The Fabulosos joins the Quesada Seleccion Espana Beli-Lance (a 7 x 40 that is combination of a lancero with a belicoso) as two limited production sizes coming to Casa de Montecristo. The sizes will make their debut at a March 26th event with Quesada Cigars’ founder Manuel Quesada in attendance. Casa de Montecristo is currently accepting pre-orders via phone and their online retail arm, Top Quality Cigars.

Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos (Top), Quesada Seleccion Espana Beli-Lance (Bottom) – two exclusives for Casa de Montecristo

Quesada recently recorded a video announcing that the sizes were coming to Casa de Montecristo. In the video he discusses how the cigars were made to compete against the Cuban cigars being sold in Spain. He described the Espana blend as a “go to” one for himself.

Quesada founder Manuel Quesada gave brief run down of the project for Casa de Montecristo in this video:

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The Quesada Seleccion Espana is a multi-national blend. The cigar is made at the Quesada Cigars factory in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Arapiraca (grown in Ecuador)
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Connecticut Broadleaf, Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic (Quesada Cigars Factory)

Vitolas Available

The addition of the Fabulosos and Beli-Lance bring the total number of vitolas in the line to ten. Most of the line has been in the form of shop exclusives and limited production cigars. There are only three regular production cigars in this line (Petite Robusto, Robusto, and Corona)

Fabulosos: 7 x 54 (Shop Exclusive for Casa de Montecristo)
Beli-Lance: 7 x 40 (Shop Exclusive for Casa de Montecristo)
Petite Robusto: 4 x 50
Robusto: 5 x 52
Corona: 5 1/2 x 42
Petit Belicoso: 4 1/2 x 40 (Limited Production for 2015) *
Ninfa: 7 x 33 (Limited Production for 2014) *
Lancero: 7 x 38 (Limited Production for 2013) *^
JFH 25th Anniversary (Perfecto): 4 3/4 x 38/58/44 (Shop Exclusive for Just for Him, Springfield, MO)
Churchill: 7 x 47 (Shop Exclusive for Federal Cigar – 94th Anniversary Cigar)

* Part of Quesada’s one retailer, one month, one box concept. Twelve retailers received a single box of these special sizes with a different retailer selected each month. In 2013 and 2014 the Lancero and Ninfa came in 50 count boxes. In 2015, the Petit Belicoso came in 100 count boxes.
^ Reportingly becoming a shop exclusive to Stogies World Class Cigars in Houston, TX.

Appearance

The Arapiraca wrapper of the Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos has a light brown color that is almost a cross between a light roasted coffee bean and camel brown. There is some oil on the surface of the wrapper. Overall I’d consider Fabulosos as having a smooth surface, but there are some thin visible veins and some visible wrapper seams.

There are two bands on the Quesada Espana. The first is the silver, black band that is seen on many Quesada cigars. It features the large silver and gold Quesada “Q”-shaped leaf logo. Below the leaf is the text “Quesada” in silver cursive font. To the left and right of this text is a gold stripe. On the left stripe is the text “DOMINICAN REPUBLIC” in small etched font. On the right stripe is the text “MADE BY HAND” in small etched font. Finally, surrounding the leaf logo to the left and right are silver and gold rows of miniature “Q”-shaped leaf logos.

There is a second band that is also black, silver, and gold. On the black background is the text “ESPANA” in large gold font. Just above that text is the text “SELECCION” in small silver font. There is silver and gold trim.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As I normally do, I kicked off my cigar experience with a straight cut. Once the cap was removed, I moved on to the pre-light draw of the Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos. There was quite a bit of going on with the dry draw as I detected a combination of wood, pepper, some light sugar cane, and a suble black tea note.  Overall I considered the pre-light draw of this cigar to be outstanding.

Flavor Profile

The Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos pretty much picked up where the pre-light draw left off as I detected notes of black pepper, sugar cane, and wood. As the flavor profile took form, some cream notes emerged. These cream notes joined the wood in the forefront. The sugar cane and black pepper moved into the background. I also detected the black pepper on the retro-hale.

Throughout the first third, the cream and wood remained in the forefront. The subtle black tea note (similar to the pre-light experience) joined the pepper and sugar cane in the background. There were times I thought the sugar cane note was going to morph into the fruit sweetness I detected on the Petit Belicoso, but it didn’t quite make the transition.

In the second third, the wood notes had transited to more of a natural tobacco note. This natural tobacco note remained in the forefront.  The cream notes now floated back and forth between the forefront and background. The pepper and sugar cane sweetness remained secondary notes.  The tea notes dissipated.

I found the flavor profile pattern of the second third remained in the final third. There was an increase in the pepper spice. Toward the end, there was a slight amount of harshness. As the cigar came to a close, the resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

Overall I found the Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos to be consistent with the remainder of the Espana line in that it is a cigar of excellent construction.  This reflected nicely on the burn and draw. For the most part, I found this cigar to burn on a straight path.  There was a slight jaggedness on the burn line, but this was strictly cosmetic. The resulting ash was a silvery / gray color. I found the ash to flower early on, but as the cigar burned, I found the ash to get firmer.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

 

Burn of Quesada Seleccion Espana Fabulosos

From a draw standpoint, I found a slight resistance on the draw – which is something that I like. There still was a nice amount of smoke production from the Fabulosos.  Overall I found the Fabulosos an enjoyable cigar to puff on from start to finish.

Strength and Body

From a strength and body standpoint, I found the Fabulosos to be the most dialed back of the vitolas I have smoked to date.  At the same time, I still found that this vitola delivered a medium strength, medium-bodied smoke from start to finish. I found that the intensity of both of these attributes fit the flavor profile of the Fabulosos perfectly. Both attributes also balanced each other very nicely with neither overshadowing the other.

Final Thoughts

It took me a little while to “get” how good the Quesada Seleccion Espana line is, but now its clear to me this is a stellar line. What I really like about this line is how each vitola has its own story to tell. I found the story of the Fabulosos to be the most intriguing. I wasn’t sure how the Quesada Seleccion Espana would perform in a larger ring and longer length, but the Fabulosos really surprised me. While I did expect the dialed back flavor profile, I did not expect the creaminess and smoothness the Fabulosos delivered. This is a great cigar for either the novice or experienced cigar enthusiast. I’d also recommend this to fans of the Espana line. As for myself, this is easily a box-worthy cigar and one I’d smoke again.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Good
Assessment: 4.0 – Box Worthy
Score: 92

References

News: Quesada Seleccion Espana Beli-Lance and Fabulosos Heading to Casa de Montecristo in Illinois
Price: $11.99 ($119.95 – box)
Source: Cigars Provided by Retailer
Stogie Geeks Episode: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a