Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is medium brown and has a couple of slightly raised veins and a network of fine veins branching out from there. The seams are hard to spot as they are smooth and very well blended. The head is very smooth and hard to distinguish if it has two or three caps. The cigar carries the traditional band for the brand but in a white and silver color combination. There is also a sleeve that runs from just under the band all the way to the foot that is white, silver and black and carries the company and line names. The aroma from the wrapper is an abundance of creamy leather along with some wood while the foot brings a little bit of licorice along with some wood. The pre-light draw brings a variation of the foot aroma with the wood slightly ahead of the licorice note.

Pre-light Experience

The Fratello Navetta Discovery has an espresso medium brown wrapper showing faint traces of oil content. Construction feels well done as the bunch and roll is even, seams tight, major veins well pressed and it has a well applied thick cap. Aromas from the wrapper tell oak, hay and dry barnyard. Aromas from the foot give white pepper, cedar and roasted nuts. Cold draw tells hay and generic dry wood.

First Third

The cigar begins with wood and an interesting mixture of mustiness and pepper. At a half inch in, the mustiness has this mushroom/meatiness kind of complexity to go along with the wood. The retrohale starts with wood but has the complex musty finish. At three quarters of an inch, some creaminess joins in with the wood and complex mustiness. The strength in this third was right at medium.

First Third

Lots and lots of sweetness in this blend. Very sweet caramel runs the entire palate. Other than the sweetness, light oak rounds out the profile. Retrohaling is where spice is noticed in the sense of a well mannered black pepper spice. The finish is namely wood driven providing the same light oak. Strength and body is medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the complexity of the mustiness begins to subside as the wood takes on a slight char. At a quarter inch in, the char continues to build masking most of the mustiness. At a half inch in, the creaminess kicks up to stop the char from running away and balances the profile back out between the charred wood and mustiness. At an inch and a quarter, the cream drops out and the char increases again with the wood and creates a slightly drying profile. As the third comes to a close, the charred wood gains a little bitterness while there is a faint mustiness in the background. The strength in this third bumped up to slightly above medium.

Second Third

Moving into the second third, the main transition is minerals showing in the profile. The minerals descale the abundant caramel sweetness. The light oak brings a slight wood bitterness, furthering the decline in sweetness. Strength and body remains medium.

Final Third

After a flaming purge to begin the final third, the profile is charred wood with a little cream coming back in. There is still a little bitterness present as well. At a half inch in, the char has increased slightly while some bitterness remains. The retrohale carries the charred wood note. The cigar maintains this profile until it comes to a finish. The strength in this third remained at slightly above medium.

Final Third

The last third is an extension of the second third. Minerals, caramel, light oak and wooded bitterness all work in fairly well unison. Strength and body finishes medium.

Burn

The burn was slightly wavy the entire way but never needed any attention. The ash held on in one inch increments.

Burn

The only gripe I have about the burn performance is the quick burn. The burn lasted around 50 minutes, which is about 20 to 30 minutes short of how long it typically takes me to get through a robusto. Aside from that, ashes held on tight, burn temperature was cool and the burn was even.

Draw

The draw was slightly snug through the first two thirds and then became even tighter in the final third.

Overall

This cigar was a departure from the enjoyment level I’ve found from all of the other cigars in the Fratello portfolio. The complex mustiness in the first third was unique, but I felt could be monotonous if it was going to last the entire cigar. It didn’t, but the transition was for the worse as it was primarily an increasing char note along with some bitterness. A tight draw, while I don’t think affected flavors, wasn’t something that helped overall enjoyment. I’m looking forward to trying the Boxer vitola in this line as I’ve found it’s always been the best representation in the other lines. For this Robusto, I was a bit disappointed.

Draw

Striking the ideal medium between air flow and resistance, the draw was perfect.

Overall

Following in line with Fratello’s style, this is another good example of a medium strength formula with full flavors. The initial third’s level of fullness in natural caramel sweetness is rarely reached. But it’s not just sweet without a back up of other flavors. The light oak, minerals and wooded bitterness along with the caramel worked well together. An easy recommend if you are a fan of Fratello’s style or one to enjoy medium strength, full flavors.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.35

Cost/Point

$1.96

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

7.07

Cost/Point

$1.49

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Fratello Navetta Discovery