Over the last few weeks, I’ve been smoking through a sample pack of cigars from multiple brands, at various gauges and lengths, from all over the cigar-making world: Davidoff, Cohiba, Hoyo de Monterrey, Montecristo, Tatuaje, etc. While I’ve only been into cigars for a few months, I think I’ve already found my brand: Arturo Fuente.
Not only is the Arturo Fuente Reserva Don Carlos Robusto a truly inspirational smoke, the story behind the Arturo Fuente family and the adversity these people had to overcome before finding success is also incredibly inspiring. If you’re interested in learning more, I would highly recommend watching this 20+ minute documentary. Starting over 100 years ago in Tampa, Florida using Cuban tobacco, a series of fires, multiple armed revolutions, hurricanes, and other acts of God has tested the Arturo Fuente company for more than a century; but it never managed to keep the family down.
Today, all the cigars are made in the Dominican Republic with wrappers from Cameroon on many of the higher-end sticks. The sweetness of that wrapper with the robust flavor of the tobacco and the creaminess of the smoke is something truly special, especially with the Don Carlos. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Opus X a while back, but I didn’t appreciate what I was smoking unfortunately. Sort of like if someone handed you a glass of Port Ellen before you really knew what you were drinking.
If you’re interested in checking out the full range of Arturo Fuente, we have an entire multi-tiered shelf dedicated entirely to the brand in our Pasadena store, plus a healthy inventory in the other four Mission locations.
Odds are, you’ll find me in snooping around the walk-in humidor as well, looking for the next adventure.
-David Driscoll