The Don Carlos line of smokes, named after the late, larger-than-life Arturo Fuente patriarch Don Carlos Fuente Senior (who sadly passed away in 2016), has since been acclaimed as one of the best families of cigars AF has ever produced.
It’s scored the highest rating from Cigar Aficionado magazine that Arturo Fuente has ever received (an unheard-of 97 [only four cigars have ever scored higher, and two were rolled in the 1950s]), and the line has been rated 90 or above an astounding 65 times, landing in the publication’s Top 25 Cigars of the Year list on no less than seven occasions. This specific vitola comprised three of those placements — with ratings as high as 94 — as recently as 2014; in fact, this No. 2 vitola has been rated 90 or better no fewer than 13 times (the lucky number of Don Carlos Fuente), earning a 91 rating in 2019.
What’s the cause for all this commendation? It starts with a toothy, tangy Cameroonian wrapper used to enclose the oldest Dominican filler and binder leaves in Arturo Fuente’s inventory. The balance (overseen by both Don Carlos Senior and Junior, in concert with famed Central African tobacco grower Rick Meerapfel) created by the wrapper and the aged fillers is exquisite. The pyramid-shaped No. 2 — which takes its name from the classic, popular Montecristo No. 2 cigar — offers up a mosaic of earth, spice, cedar, cocoa, vanilla and coffee notes that mingle with effusions of nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut, almond and toasted caramel.
Burning evenly, drawing superbly and satisfying sumptuously, the medium-strength No. 2 is a complex, immaculately constructed smoke that’s a fitting tribute to the memory of Don Carlos Fuente. These understated cigars only taste better and better as they’re smoked. Give them a try today, and sample some of the very best Arturo Fuente has to offer.