Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto Review

Buy the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Famous Smoke Shop

• Size: 5″ x 50 (Robusto)
• MSRP: $208.08 (box of 20); $10.00 for a single
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Wrapper: African Cameroon
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Dominican
• Body: Medium
• Strength: Medium Plus
• Humidor Time Prior to Review: 2 months
• Cigars Smoked Prior to Review: 0
• Source: Purchased with Personal Funds
• Date Smoked: November 24, 2018

Today I’m smoking the Arturo Fuente Reserva Don Carlos in robusto. I imagine one day when I make it as a big shot cigar reviewer, manufacturers will inevitably approach me to make the “Reserva Dan Carlos”. You know, to hitch on to the cache of the esteemed TightWhiteAsh.com brand. Maybe I’ll name one branch of the line “Val Verde Gold”, in honor of the best action movie of all time. Until then I’ll have to settle for this Reserva Don Carlos.

And that’s probably a good thing. Don Carlos is a legend in the tobacco world, so he has earned the right to have his name on a line of cigars. Me, I’m just a schmuck sitting in his back yard with a shared hosting account.

This cigar blend is made from rare and vintage tobaccos. It’s supposed to hit you with a sweet and savory combination. Smooth and refined. Those adjectives have been used to describe me on occasion. We shall see.

The “Eye of the Shark” variant won the 2017 Cigar of the Year award by Cigar Aficionado. I’ve been wanting to check out some more expensive Fuente Cigars, and picked this one up while paying a trip to my local tobacconist. Regular readers will be chagrined to learn I paid full retail for this stick. About $10. But I couldn’t leave the shop empty handed and didn’t want to spend $30 on an Opus X. So here we are a couple months later with my Don Carlos. Lets check it out.

Appearance and Pre-Light Aromas

This is a light brown cigar. It has been nicely made, and the tobacco leaf looks old. A little washed out, spotted, and mottled. The wrapper is oily, and there are veins and tight but visible seams. There is also some light tooth to this stick. As far as weight in the hand, the cigar feels about average for it’s size. Maybe on the slightly dense side. Topping things off is a neatly applied double cap.

Sniffing the wrapper yields a musty aroma with soft wood, raisin, and natural sweet tobacco notes. From the foot I get a slightly more intense aromas of must and wood. A little cedar in addition to the more generic wood smell.

I clip the cap and take a test draw. Sweet tobacco, earth, cedar, and a little nutmeg.

I start toasting and light up. Start time is 10:05 A.M.

First Third

Upon first light I get some light nuttiness, black pepper, and some honeyed sweetness. A light creaminess shows up along with some cedar and earth.

My girlfriend is sitting out here with me. This is unusual as she hates cigars, but she has commented that the aroma smells like “peppermint”. The aroma does have a sweet and spicy component to it. Actually, it smells quite sweet.

Cedar is ticking up a little. Generic wood backs it. I’d say the cigar is at a solid medium now. Very smooth.

So far the smoking qualities have been great. A perfect draw, plenty of smoke output, and a stable burn line. Half an inch or so of compact gray ash is forming.

Chocolate has entered the building. The body has ticked up to medium full. Good complexity here, and transitions are coming in hot and heavy. Cream, chocolate, sweet tobacco, earth, cedar, black pepper, and a slight nuttiness.

Its a nice day in Southwest Florida. 2 days after Thanksgiving. Yesterday was kind of a throwaway day. After a full Thanksgiving day of traveling up to Tampa and eating, you kind of need a day to settle and relax. Worked on the computer, cleaned the house, went fishing (caught nothing), smoked a cigar (a Herrera Esteli Miami), and finished a biography of Bruce Lee. Not a horrible day, but I should have gone to the gym. There is always something…

Our Don Carlos is chugging along, throwing out some pretty good flavors and burning great. 20 minutes in, and an inch or so of ash is hanging tough. At the moment, an aromatic cedar is the strongest flavor. I’m getting a lot of it on the retrohale. Cream and chocolate on the draw with more cedar. My girlfriend has commented that the aroma has changed to something harsher and more unpleasant. I hadn’t noticed. Still smells sweet to me.

I’m getting some raisin in this cigar. Good sweetness in this stick. Not a ton of savory elements at present. It is still smooth and easy to retrohale.

Second Third

Smoke time is around 25 minutes. I decide to decant the ash before it falls on my lap. It pops off the cigar and sticks up head first in the ash tray. A solid ash, very impressive.

The flavors have retreated back to medium for me. Cream, honey, raisin, wood, earth, light chocolate, light wood. Cedar on the retrohale with a tiny sprinkle of black pepper. Just enough to tickle your nose. I’m enjoying it, but for a $10 cigar I’m not sure I’m ready to run back to my tobacconist for a box. At this point I’d probably spend a little more money and get a Padron 1964 in Maduro for a higher end / celebratory stick.

Still, this cigar ain’t bad and I’m having a nice morning. My girlfriend is running around the yard watering the plants. This is why I feel a little guilty about smoking a cigar in the morning. Usually we gotta do our various chores and bullshit around until she gets worn down a bit and retreats for an afternoon nap. Then I can sneak in a cigar. I’m whipped… what else is new.

I finished the Bruce Lee biography last night and started on a bio of Michael Jordan. I’m not a big basketball fan, but I watched a short video interview Michael did with the editor of Cigar Aficionado and it piqued my interest. Michael seems like a strange cat. A lot going on beneath the surface. I guess you gotta be, to be the GOAT. Should make for some interesting reading.

The Bruce Lee book was good, thorough but a little bland in it’s presentation. Almost a clinical look, which is good for an honest biography, but I found it ponderous at times. Bruce exhibited a level of neuroticism that even made me uncomfortable. Again, you gotta be crazy to be really good at something. If you can harness that neuroses and swing for the fences you have a shot of making your mark on history. Normal can get you a comfortable, yet unremarkable life. Crazy ambition and raw talent may lead you die of exhaustion at 32, but people will still talk about you 50 years later.

We are at the half way point and coffee is creeping onto the scene. It plays well with the chocolate and raisin flavors, and I’ve got something of a mocha experience going on here. Light nuttiness buttresses it. Good stuff. For a few minutes the cigar was getting unremarkable, so I’m glad to see this change up in the roster.

We are quickly burning through this cigar and approaching the band. I snap one more photo for posterity, and then shuck off the one and only band. It pulls away effortlessly, leaving the naked cigar.

The wrapper has a few liver spots on it. Not the prettiest leaf, but the flavors have gotten good so I won’t complain to loudly. After all, the primary goal is to smoke the thing, not look at it. Chocolate and coffee flavored smoke wafts about my head.

The Final Third

Smoke time is right at 50 minutes, making for 25 minute thirds and putting us on pace for at least an hour and 15 minute smoke.

I will say that this cigar has burned flawlessly so far. That is nice to see, and a hallmark of a premium stick in my book. If this cigar was smoking poorly I’d be upset, but whoever rolled it knew what they were doing. The second ash falls effortless into the ash tray forming a conga line of ashes. Good stuff, Fuente. Good stuff.

Strength is creeping up on me. Nothing overwhelming, but palpable. I feel relaxed. Ready for a nap and it’s not even noon. At this rate I’ll need some smelling salts to get me to the gym. Or a shot of pure adrenaline straight to the heart.

Plenty of sweet raisin, coffee, nuts, and a touch of chocolate. Fuente promised “sweet n’ savory” but I’m getting more desert like elements than savory elements from this cigar. That’s OK, I like a naturally sweet cigar. Reminds me of the greyhound we used to have. He liked to get into the cat’s litter box on occasion. I called him Sweet Tooth.

Cedar has worked its way back into the flavor profile. The cigar has gotten slightly harsh. I’m probably smoking too fast so I let it simmer. It smokes away in the ash tray. Not quite Liga Privada levels of resting smoke. More like a dying camp fire than a barn fire.

Alright I’m getting a little loopy if you couldn’t already tell. Not nauseous, but this cigar definitely has me feeling froggy.

I’m getting a lot of sweetness now. It’s hitting directly on my tongue. Very sweet cigar at this point. Brown sugar and a little citrus mingles with the coffee and cedar. Is it possible for a cigar to be too sweet? I’d rather see the cigar be sweet than bitter. Especially in the final third.

A small red headed wood pecker bobs around in the oak tree above us. Chirping demurely in the waving branches. Life is good.

It has been a while since I’ve enjoyed the final inch or so of a cigar this much. Some black pepper has crept in, making me sneeze. Sweet and smooth, with a peppery hit on the finish. Brown sugar, coffee, chocolate, cedar, pepper. Very nice. Man this Don Carlos is finishing strong.

At the final inch I get a little light leather. That shouldn’t surprise anyone as I have been getting leather on the tail end of pretty much all the cigars I have been smoking recently. It’s a secondary flavor to the sweet flavors.

A few minutes later and the flavors begin to wash out. The cigar goes out on its own. A good stopping point.

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto Review – Final Thoughts

Now I have to caveat this review by stating this is the only Don Carlos I have smoked. I usually try to at least buy a 5 pack and smoke a couple before reviewing the cigar. That way I can get to know the blend a little. I went into this review blind, and that may not be fair to the cigar. Especially if I get a cigar with construction issues. But this cigar smoked perfectly. Not so much as a touch up required. I got lucky. If I got a plugged stick I would have scrapped this review to give the cigar the benefit of the doubt.

So the Don Carlos gets top honors for its construction. It also gets good marks on the flavor front. Honestly the first 2 thirds were good but not great. I don’t think it would have thought as highly of it if the tail end of the final third didn’t come on as strong as it did. That last bit of the cigar was excellent. I’d probably give the first 2 thirds of the cigar a 3.75/5, especially if adjusted for price, but the final third was more like a 4.25/5.

Body hovered around medium. Maybe starting slightly under, and finishing at medium full. Strength ended up at medium full. I’m heavily buzzed, but not comatose or sick.

All in all this was a very good smoke. I don’t see myself buying a box at $10+ a stick, but on the off chance I can find these at $8 or under I’d jump on it. Especially a 5 pack. That’s likely a pipe dream as higher end Fuentes rarely go on sale. At full freight I’d get a Padron 1964 before the Don Carlos, but the Padron appears to be a slightly more expensive cigar. If I get the itch to try out another expensive Fuente I’ll reach for an Anejo or possibly an Opus X. Gotta review an Opus X at some point.

Final Score: 4/5 or a “1” on my 0-2 scale (I’d buy it again, at the right price)

Final Smoke Time: 1 hour 20 minutes.

I recommend purchasing the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos at Famous Smoke Shop. Please consider that purchasing things through any of the links on this website, including Amazon.com, helps support the website and keeps it going. Any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.