Sipping a cup of Fuente Anejo #49

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Take a couple handfuls of French-roasted Guatemalan estate mountain-grown coffee, black and shining with oil. Set the grinder to extra fine. Then melt a square of Belgian alkali-processed bittersweet chocolate, and swirl it in the bottom of the cup. Add a shot of Torani raw cane syrup; the one with the whole vanilla bean in it. Finally, draw the strongest triple-shot of espresso you can. And there you have it - the Fuente Anejo #49.

I was fortunate enough to locate a box of these in December 2003, and after smoking a couple, put the rest away for future adventures. With warm spring evenings coming to the High Sierra, it seemed a good time to find out how my black beauties were coming along. I slipped my candidate from its cedar sleeve; it was even darker than I recalled… mottled and gleaming like espresso beans in the late afternoon sunlight. There were pre-light scents of cedar, spice and the musty scent of box fermentation. As I clipped the cap, the interior appearance and smell reminded me of intoxicating Lebanese hashish… ah, but that was many years ago.

It lit up easier than hash, but produced a similar cloud of thick, creamy smoke. The year and a half had worked its magic… the stick was stronger, with more spice and less of the fruity sweetness of youth. There were hints of vanilla, cinnamon and even anise, but the overwhelmingly dominant flavor was bittersweet espresso, with a dark chocolate finish. Although medium-bodied, this was a very strong cigar… but so captivating that I just had to finish it.

I probably won't smoke another any time soon. The Anejo is a memorable and formidable enough experience to last me for a while. But I know that one day the time will come… to get out the grinder, and set it to extra fine.