Aaron’s Thoughts:

As expected, the pre-light experience was pretty spot on between these two vitolas. Getting into the smoking experience, they had some of the same core flavors (cream and woodiness), but the Suprema was a bit more defined with the spice as I was easily recognizing it as cinnamon. The 109 exhibited some sweetness that I did not get in the Suprema.

In the second third, the two cigars matched up with the cedar and cream, but then the Suprema changed from cedar to a charred oak. The Suprema also exhibited a bit of black coffee which the 109 did not. The 109’s smoke was a bit drying at times in the second third. In the final third, both cigars gained some minerality and also gained a fullness or meatiness to the smoke. The Suprema had some drying smoke in this third which the 109 had shown a third earlier. Strength-wise, both cigars were medium for the first two thirds. In the final third, the 109 jumped up to medium-full while the Suprema stayed at medium.

Both cigars exhibited some burn issues. The Suprema did well for the first half and then required some relights in the final third.The 109 seemed to need more attention starting in the second third through the remainder of the cigar. The draw on the 109 was a bit firmer than the Suprema, but nothing too drastic for either of them that affected performance.

Overall, I found the Suprema to be the more compelling of the two. The flavor in the first third, with a very identifiable cinnamon was really in my wheelhouse. Also, the fact that the drying smoke that the cigars exhibited started later in the Suprema helped too. Both exhibited burn issues that maybe other samples wouldn’t and could provide even better flavors. The scoring gap between the two isn’t huge, so I wouldn’t say that one vitola is a clear winner between the two, but the next time that I go to smoke a Futuro, I’ll be reaching for the Suprema first.

Jiunn’s Thoughts:

A friendly Futuro battle between Kyle Gellis of Warped and Max Fernandez of Casa Fernandez. Who will reign supreme? Both using the same tobaccos, before smoking them, I wondered, “How different could they truly be?” Could different cigar sizes and ratios of the same tobaccos cause a noticeable difference? The answer for these two offerings is no, not really.

From a technical standpoint, overall, I essentially scored both cigars the same. The difference being, I felt like the 109 size was more aesthetically appealing compared to the Suprema. But keep in mind, we do not provide a quantitative score for the pre-light experience (we don’t judge a book by its cover). Looking at the smoking experience, both cigars had similar core flavor profiles of rich, spicy, woody, creamy notes. Performance wise, the 109 received less points for a poor burn. Overall, I felt both were average cigars.

The determining factors for me came down to length and ring gauge of the cigars. The 109 being the longer and bigger format, should provide more complexities and transitions. Instead, the flavors, although tasty, felt a bit linear. The Suprema on the other hand, given the shorter and thinner ring gauge, provided a better smoking experience time wise (the flavors, given the smoking time, was just enough to keep me engaged). But both in my opinion will age wonderfully given some proper TLC in the humidor (like most of Aganorsa’s offerings).

To view the full review for the Selección Suprema, click here.

To view the full review for the Selección 109, click here.