2012 Quintero Favoritos (TVQVRW)

[CaptainQuintero]

  Summer is winding down here now but it's been a lovely day and I've decided to duck into some of the original 2012 release Quintero Favoritos. Yes, I realise I may be one of the few people on this planet who decided to age these!

  I wasn't blown away by these when they first came out. For me by far the strongest performer in Quintero is the Pantetelas; it's a beautifully sweet cigar with buckets of fresh hay and milky coffee. These seemed to be a bit of a mix of the more rustic Piedra and a toned down Pantetelas.

  So how has 7 years rest changes these?

  Perfect draw, which is nice for a short filler.

  Straight away and it's that famous sweet fresh hay and as mentioned above, a very milky coffee. This was very muted back in 2012 but now is seriously vibrant. There's also a malty aspect which quickly takes on a biscuit nature. Big clouds of smoke but again it's probably something I'd expect from short filler.

  Second third and a rich malted chocolate has come to the fore, like a Horlicks/Ovaltine. A wonky burn has developed but again it's going back to a short filler cigar. To be clear it's not a negative, just a character of a different cigar construction. Mostly the malted aspect dominates, the hay has gone, there's a little hint of sweetness still playing in the background and that milked coffee has darkened right down.

  Final third and everything has quickly become very burnt and dark, those flavours which evolved from the first third into a darker aspect in the second third has all vanished so for me it's time to ditch. 

  Overall I'm pretty happy. For a short filler cigar to have a very decent evolution and maintain balance is very good. For it to all fall apart in that final third, I don't think I could complain.

Solid 88/100

  It's not going to win any awards and I think you'd get the best out of them at 3 years or so but it's great value for money. I'd still recommend the Pantetelas over them any day of the week but if you're desperate for a Robusto for the yard etc then they're worth a try

 

[Cairo]

There are a lot of vitola choices with the Quintero marca.    I agree that the Panatelas and the thinner ring guages are more reliable.    I have found the Favoritos very inconsistent--ranging from the occasional Partagas-like flavor bombs to tasteless duds (and most somewhere in between) in the same box.

[Fugu]

52 minutes ago, CaptainQuintero said:

Yes, I realise I may be one of the few people on this planet who decided to age these!

  I wasn't blown away by these when they first came out.

To the point account of the Favoritos, Captain! I am a fan, dig them aged, too. Quite like you report, they didn't convince me when they first came out, but that was a mere matter of their youth. Meanwhile I've had not few QFs give the odd long-filler robo a run for its money. Honest stick. You don't expect much evolution from such a format anyway, so TC - TL doesn't really matter.

One of the most rewarding cigars in terms of aging in my book is the Brevas. So, I don't find it at all odd aging Quinteros.

[CaptainQuintero]

22 minutes ago, Fugu said:

To the point account of the Favoritos, Captain! I am a fan, dig them aged, too. Quite like you report, they didn't convince me when they first came out, but that was a mere matter of their youth. Meanwhile I've had not few QFs give the odd long-filler robo a run for its money. Honest stick. You don't expect much evolution from such a format anyway, so TC - TL doesn't really matter.

One of the most rewarding cigars in terms of aging in my book is the Brevas. So, I don't find it at all odd aging Quinteros.

  I think I've half a dozen 2003 brevas left, by far the most oily cigars I own, like they have been dipped in olive oil! They are almost like Toscanos, seriously rustic and rich 

  I'm always impressed with Cuban short fillers to be honest; all of the old mille fleur (RA, RyJ, Partagas) are still great smokes with tons of character. 

[eastburn84]

My favorite cigar, not the best but cheap enough to make up for it. Cant beat cheap and good.

[CaptainQuintero]

13 hours ago, eastburn84 said:

My favorite cigar, not the best but cheap enough to make up for it. Cant beat cheap and good.

  There's really something to be said for the brand, for the first 2-3 years all I smoked was Quintero, and not just for the price! I'd gone through all the lower/medium end cigars in the catalogue (RyJ cedros, Upmann Tubos, Bolivar #3 etc) and came out with enjoying the flavours from Quintero the most. I look back at that time in my smoking journey as one of my most content and relaxed times