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Unlit Impressions

Espresso bean brown in color, and smelling the part, the uniquely fermented San Andrés maduro wrapper on The Fry adds a nibble of salted dark chocolate to aromatics. Pigtailed, tightly constructed, and marketed via an identical dual-band design as the full-size version, this little "gordita" looks and feels great at just 4″ x 48 in total.

Stewed cherries and a faint mixed licorice note flood the nose with aromas out of the foot, with familiar dark smells of Nicaraguan soil, coffee, and cocoa coming thereafter. Interestingly, there is very little, if any, cedar, milk, or Christmas cookie spice to be smelled. All of which were quite prominent in the larger version. 

Dark, oven-roasted meats of the unsmoked variety strike the tongue after the cap is cut, followed by cherry cough syrup, toasted almonds, a scrap or two of leather, and the lingering aftertaste and tingle of black pepper.

Compared to the full-grown version, The Fry contains far less pepper spice though, and feels a bit more creamy and full in texture even prior to light. Both cigars smoked also had some excess "cigar glue" in spots near the foot, which on my review cigar proved to be a mixture of this all-natural plant product and a dab of glue from the bottom band.

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Initial Smoke

 Well if there wasn't any black or red pepper to be detected in cold pulls or prelight aromatics, initial impressions are more than happy to let us know that they are indeed present. Oiled leather and a generic wood flavor get in line right behind, and those trusty, darker mocha maduro notes we all love. The draw is good, if but a touch tight at first, and the smoke is extremely creamy and full.

1st Half

As this heavy whipping cream and the creaminess that it embodies builds, chunks of chewy cedar and dark cherry light up the cigar flavor profile with a lot of enjoyable moments. Semi-sweet chocolate and stronger espresso beans balance the bitterness with caffeine-fueled bliss, with retrohales growing smoother and more satisfying every other second. 

With the introduction of peppered jerky toward the end of the first third, you would expect that the cigar would get spicy on you, but instead, it becomes more of a slow-burn situation. Meaty and leather-like, the second third squeezes out every ounce of flavor it can with its tiny tentacles. Milky and nutty at times, dark and terroir-backed at others, this balance between creamy almond milk and bittersweet cacao nibs continues in full-bodied, full-strength, and full-flavored format. 

2nd Half

Tastes and aromas from prior continue to produce many of the same smoking experiences for the next half hour or so, all the way up until the final third is reached. Here, the addition of tannin tastes and the dry texture upon the palate that they often produce pop forth. 

Smooth yet undeniably strong, familiar maduro flavors retain their grip for the remainder of the cigar, with a medium-grade dosage of nicotine putting the squeeze on well past when those creamy aftertastes dissipate.

Parting Puffs

Mildly funky, and nuanced by caramelized sugars and far less intense coffee tastes, parting puffs let you down easy on a creamy seafloor bed. The addition of sourdough rye and some mixed peppercorn flavors liven things up a little, and with the body and mouthfeel of the smoke gradually getting dry, I am left closing out on the lighter side of dark than expected.

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Despite its "small fry" size, this blend burns extremely slowly and forms plenty of smoke in the process. And while the draw is near perfect, and the texture of the full-bodied smoke is pure smoking bliss, the need for touch-ups along the way did disappoint. The stick itself also does like to heat up on you if you aren't careful, so slow, steady puffing is required for this little guy. 

Final Thoughts 

Tiny but mighty, El Pulpo "The Fry" is one of the more intriguing cigars in the Klaro collection. So much of the blend is built around the original El Pulpo that it is hard to imagine it being all that different. Yet it is...

The chewy texture and almond milk taste of the smoke, the milder funkiness, and the way in which the cigar manages to go a bit light toward the end are quite different than the regular version. It's still a strong smoke, and 100% Mexican maduro in nature for much of the time, but it is definitely not the exact same cigar. This is just further proof that a different vitola and a slight tweak to the aging or fermentation process can result in a unique sort of smoking experience. 

Although I wasn't too wild about how the same maduro mocha cigar flavor profiles remained in control for much of the cigar, and how the blend burned a bit hot and unevenly at times, I must say that The Fry is a very satisfying stogie. Just don't expect to burn through this blend in thirty minutes or so, because this stick demands to be savored and will light you up if puffed with wild abandon. 

Stogie Specs