Tasting Note

The name is certainly curious. And if you’re familiar with Carlos Fuente Jr.’s sense of humor, it won’t surprise you that there’s a double entendre here. Sophisticated Hooker refers to the name of a fishing boat (“hooker” being a term for a fisherman) the Arturo Fuente owner and blender re from his younger days. It’s the largest size in the Rare Pink line, a series of shapely figurados, much like Fuente’s Hemingway series. Only this blend is completely different from that found in Hemingways. It’s also a cigar with a social cause. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of every box goes to fund breast cancer research, hence the bright pink boxes. Pink is the official color of the breast cancer awareness movement. The brand had only four sizes when it was launched in the spring of 2021, and this wasn’t one of them. Later that year, at the first Big Smoke Meets WhiskyFest, the seminar audience puffed a sneak preview of the Sophisticated Hooker. It’s in the market now, but still in limited production. The cigar is as intriguing as the name. First puffs are cedary and herbal, but the cigar takes on a nutty, graham cracker sweetness showing big notes of red meat, black pepper and caramel before the sweet-and-nutty finish.