Vitola: Toro- 6.25” x 48 ring gauge
- MSRP $29.90
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
In some ways it seems like yesterday that I had my first cigar on the porch of the house we moved into in Tennessee. The reality is…13 years…almost 13 years to the day since we moved in and about a month less since I smoked my first cigar (it was really cold that first month we were here…or at least it seemed that way…maybe I’ve just gotten used to it). Now it’s time to say goodbye. In less than 7 days I’m moving out of this house (long story…if you’re a close friend, you know it already…I won’t repeat it here), so this is very likely the last cigar review I write sitting in this space, as well as this being among the last cigars I will smoke sitting here. So I elected to make it something great.
The Don Carlos Edición de Aniversario is part of the Fuente Aged Selection, which is an offshoot of the Arturo Fuente Cigar Company’s offerings, made available for sale through Prometheus, partners that produce some amazing humidors and other accessories, as well as marketing the God of Fire series, Opus X Lost City, and other very rare Fuente-produced blends. I was given one of these a couple years back and was floored by it, so when I saw them for sale at my local shop last year, I had to pick one up.
According to the website for the Fuente Aged Selection, this blend is available in 3 vitolas, with the Double Robusto also being available in a Tubo. The blend is said to be Dominican for filler, binder, and wrapper. The blend was originally made by Carlito Fuente to honor his father, Don Carlos Fuente, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the regular Don Carlos cigar blend in 2006. This cigar has a secondary band that shows 2018, so I’m guessing that is the year it was made.
Notes
The presentation on these is simply outstanding, but that’s something I’ve come to expect in the high-end Fuente offerings. While their regular lines have become a little “ordinary” in terms of packaging and presentation, the Opus X, Don Arturo, and any of the Aged Selection lines are always an exquisite packaging and marketing affair.
The wrapper leaf was slightly oily with a funky mix of ripe earth and cedar. The foot had an even more potent earthiness, along with woody and metallic aromas. Once cut, the cold draw was excellent and had notes of bread, grass, earth, and sweet citrus.
Interestingly, the first cigar I smoked on this front porch was a Casa Fuente, another high-end blend from the company, and one that was only available at that time through their partner shop (also called “Casa Fuente”) in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. I hadn’t really intended to come full circle, but that’s what I ended up doing.
The temptation is to think of this blend as a twist on the Don Carlos, which is what we got with the highly-rated “Eye of the Shark” release in the last decade. This is totally different, though, and far, far better, in my opinion. It started off its a rich, complex flavor profile that had sharp cedar, sourdough bread, sweet and sour citrus, and red pepper.
I remarked on this being a bit an auspicious occasion to a friend and she responded with something that read like a free verse poem, so that’s how I will relate it to you…
Leaves are carefully grown
Chosen
Blended
Aged
Shipped
Smoked
Savor a passing moment of your life,
Recognize the temporal in all experiences
Instead of fighting to hold onto them
Sit in the moment.
I poured some Four Roses Yellow Label to go with this cigar. Maybe not the best whiskey in the Four Roses lineup, but it’s still quite nice…sweet with notes of marshmallow, vanilla, and oak.
Overall a spectacular way to bid adieu to my old front porch. My favorite place to enjoy a cigar over the last decade-plus. The location I wrote almost every review that has shown up on these pages over the year. As I finish up it’s pouring rain…as the old blues song says, “The sky is crying.” I just finished reading a book by one of my favorite authors…it had to be Stephen King or Koontz…it’s Koontz this time around because hope is always a central theme in his works. Time to start a new chapter in life.
