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The duelling Cadet(e)s: H.Upmann vs. Fonseca?featuring cigar nudity
, I candidly admit I like smaller cigars (the size of the cigar you smoke is not equivalent to the size of your John Thomas guys! 
). I seldom have time for smokes that take more than 1 hour; on those occasions I certainly indulge in longer smokes, but generally it will be something that takes less time for me.According to Habanos only two Cadetes are made today, the Fonseca KDT and H.Upmann?s Coronas Junior. Thanks to Trevor?s incredibly useful Cuban Cigar Website I also found this never was a terribly popular Vitola? maybe I just like going against the fashion
.It would be nice to say that I had a deep cigar-inspired motive for comparing these side by side, but the honest truth is that I just needed an excuse to buy a couple more sticks.
Construction and Appearance: Fonseca KDT
If you?ve ever seen a Fonseca (Cuban) cigar you already know these come wrapped in rice paper. I?ve heard different stories to why this is the case and the most plausible to me is the one that claims that Fonseca used rice paper to protect cigars before the introduction of tubos. I find the rice paper appealing (certainly better than cello) and also it makes sure you can remove the band with zero risk of damaging the cigar. Once you remove the paper and band you get some SFW cigar nudity
:
The wrapper of the Upmann has a faint but typical Cuban cigar smell, which always makes me think of woodsy, earthy aromas and for some reason the smell of sex (maybe that?s why we love Cubans so much? Or maybe I?m giving myself away). The pre-light draw is good, just slightly tight (but I don?t mind that at all) and the faint aromas are of cedar and sweet spices. Once toasted and lighted it starts with a mild body; the main aromas remind of a latte (creamy, coffe, some sweetness) plus a little sweet spice. The burn line is almost perfect, the smoke is very creamy and the ash quite solid for a small smoke (just over an inch before it falls off). Moving into the 2nd third the sweet and creamy felling tend to disappear, replaced by more toasty, and woodsy/earthy (again, that Cuban aroma) plus some floral notes towards the end. Here the body picks up too becoming of medium strength. The final part becomes toastier, picking up some leathery tones and the smoke started becoming a bit hot; the burn line was a bit irregular requiring a touch up, but nothing major. I was impressed that this little cigar lasted a whole 50 minutes, albeit its ?puny? size.
Here the wrapper has pretty much the same Cuban aromas as the Upmann, although a bit more intense. The pre-draw made me think of something I couldn?t pin-point at first, but then it hit me? Toblerone (honey, milk chocolate and nutty)! The first third starts with a little spice, but rapidly turns into toasty notes dominated by an honey sweetness and just a hint of chocolate. The smoke, although mild, has a nice creamy feel. Getting into the second part the honey mixes with those (again) typical Cuban earthy/woodsy aromas and getting into the last part a fresh note (which reminded me slightly of eucalyptus) refreshes the palate. The cigar is pretty much a mild smoke until this point after which it goes just slightly stronger (mild/medium). The nice burn it had up to now becomes a wavier, and I needed to puff every 30 seconds to avoid it going off; since I smoke quite slowly the stick did go off once before I changed the rhythm. The final part becomes woodsy, with some pepper and the honey transforms into a sweet taste rather than an aroma. In total a pleasant 35-40 minutes
Would I buy either again? With so many Cubans still to try for a newbie like me, there are other sticks to try before committing to a box of either, but I wouldn?t reject either from a possible list of boxes to buy in the future.
/ Tj mode off 
) but probably I'll try a couple more Fonsecas before deciding. Also, if you read Simon's review you'll see that his experience wasn't as good as mine so maybe the KDT vary a bit in quality. They one I had was from a box dated July 2007. Also the Ttoblerone aroma/taste was mainly, pre-light and a little in the 1/3, but not really evident in the smoke.
), otherwise, the notes seem to be fairly comparable. It's definitely a stick that I would have again if time was in short supply - and at current prices, I may well pick a box up if I get a new humi).
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