Last weekend Mr. Porch and I sat at the campfire, poured an ice cold Samuel Smiths brew and decided to endulge in a Don Carlos. (5 pack sampler at Cigars Direct) I selected the #2, and Mr. Porch decided to go with a Don Carlos Robusto.

It was rather dark outside, so my pre-light inspection wasn’t as thorough as normal but it didn’t matter; I’ve had Arturo Fuente cigars before and I know these are top notch.

When I made the cut, it felt a bit dry. I’ve been battling humidity for the last couple of weeks with the cool fall air but when I pulled them out, we were right at 62%rH.

After lighting, I came to the conclusion that the cigar wasn’t as dry as I had thought. The cigar had a relatively easy draw to it. As with other Arturo Fuente cigars I’ve smoked, this was a very smooth cigar. Mr. Porch made a comment that it had a bit of a grassy taste to it, and that he kinda likes that flavor. Other than the so-called grassy flavor, no other tastes jumped out at me. I was an overall great tasting medium flavor cigar.

While smoking at the campfire, my son made a s’mores for me. I was afraid I would contaminate my palate with it, but in trying to be a good father I ate it anyway. The chocolate and marshmallow complimented the cigar quite nicely!

After about an hour and a half, I was finished. This cigar is top shelf and I highly recommend it. There will always be a place for Arturo Fuente cigars in my humidor. As for the score, I’ll give it an A-.

As with other High Quality cigars, you can conveniently pick these up from our friends at cigarsdirect.com.

Posted by Sam

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I went on a camping trip this past weekend with Sam and he brought along a few Arturo Fuente cigars that we recieved from our friends at cigarsdirect.com. They were shipped in a zip-lock style bag with a humidification pillow to reduce “shipping shock”. Nice touch. Sam gave me first choice and I picked the Don Carlos Double Robusto. (5 3/4″ X 52)

It was a very good looking cigar with a nice grassy aroma and a light brown wrapper. It didn’t have many visable veins but it was a little hard when I squeezed it. The cut was a bit brittle and it lit pretty fast. It had a somewhat bland flavor at first but matured into a nice mild peppery finish, but still tasted a little “grassy”. A good even burn all the way down and it lasted about 35 minutes. It was an ejoyable smoke with no problems or issues and had a medium flavor.

I realize that this time of year (autumn) in the midwest can wreak havoc on humidor conditions and this is probably a better cigar than I’m giving credit for. I have had Arturo Fuente cigars in the past and have been very happy with them. This one however was not their best. Maybe I’ll try it again in the spring.

You can purchase Don Carlos and other high quality cigars online at www.cigarsdirect.com.

Posted by Mr. Porch

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This masterpiece from Arturo Fuente was provided compliments of CigarsDirect.com and has been waiting patiently in my humidor for about two months. Last night was the night.

Mr. Porch and I got off work late, then headed to his porch. We poured a cold beer, then both got down to “Cigar Work”.

After removing the cellophane, I took note about how well crafted this cigar was. It was solid, and had a chocolate colored wrapper. Inspecting this cigar revealed no defects worth noting, and had a consistent, firm feel throughout.

We cut and lit the cigars, and it was my experience that as the smoke progressed, the more flavorful it became. I was a bit surprised with the flavor. The dark colored wrapper gave the cigar a full flavored look, but flavor was actually medium bodied and smooth. I failed to mark the start/stop times but I would guess this lasted about an hour and a half. Mr. Porch and I were both impressed with this cigar and have yet to be let down by the Arturo Fuente brand.

I am looking forward to smoking more Arturo Fuente cigars in the future, and the 8-5-8 is one truly worthy of trying. I’m giving this one an “A-”. You can pick some of these up from our sponsor, CigarsDirect.com

Posted by Sam

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Another cigar, courtesy of Cigars Direct is the Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente. Wrapped in a cedar wrap and a green ribbon, Mr. Porch and I both smoked one of these at the same time, and shared noted. They were both great looking Connecticut style wrappers, except I noticed mine had some light green spots on the wrapper. I’ve never seen this before.

The smell of the cigar was that of straw and prior to cutting, I took notice the small cap.

After we lit up, we were pleased with the amount of white smoke this cigar produced. The “squeeze test” revealed that although there were no hard spots, it was definitely softer towards the foot but not too much. The draw on this cigar was effortless.

An enjoyable smoke, the went with the Tap Room #21 Pale Ale we were drinking. Mr. Porch had to relight twice, at least one time was just out of the blue, and not a result of jabber-jaw. The smoke didn’t last as long as the other Arturo Fuente’s I’ve tried, but a good cigar none the less. The cigar started burning hot at the band, and I dumped it at 1 1/2″ from the cap. Great cigar, no major complaints but could use a touch more flavor. I’m giving this a “B”. You can get these and other Arturo Fuente cigars at www.cigarsdirect.com.

Posted by Sam

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Mr. Porch and I each enjoyed one of these cigars last night in his garage, compliments of Cigars Direct. This was the second Arturo Fuente cigar I’ve ever smoked, and what a treat it was! My experience was not perfect, however. Let me explain.

This cigar came in a cellophane plastic sleeve, and had a cedar wrapper on it. Initial presentation was nice, even though I’m not much for gift wrapping cigars. This is a beautiful cigar. The veins were very small, and the wrapper was very dark and smooth with an oily sheen.

My initial cut let me know that this cigar was rolled very tight. I used a double guillotine cutter on this, and had trouble cutting through it. I put the cigar to my mouth for an initial taste and “test draw” and decided to cut it a little more. As I’m writing this review, I decided I need to invest in a punch for these type of cigars.

Before we lit our cigars, I checked for hard spots in it, and thought again how tight this cigar was, it didn’t have much give in the tobacco at all but it was consistent.

After lighting, Mr. Porch made mention about how there wasn’t much smoke. I had some trouble with my initial light. I try to light it with my butane lighter before puffing, I ended up having to puff while lighting. A bystander managed to get a decent picture of it. (Thanks Jon)

While smoking, Mr. Porch and I both decided that we really liked this cigar. Mr. Porch, who isn’t much for maduros commented on how smooth it was. I agree. After 25 minutes, he ashed for the first time.

The experience was near perfect until I started getting near the band, when one side started burning faster than the other. At one point, one side was burning about 1/4″ ahead of the other, then shortly thereafter it went out all together. Mr. Porch had to relight his twice, but he tends to tell more stories while he’s smoking and drinking beer.

As I progressed past the band, what was left of my cap came off. Probably because to cut it too much. It wasn’t a problem though, the cigar didn’t start unraveling or anything and continued to be a great smoke until I finally decided it was done - 1 hour and 45 minutes after lighting it. Mr. Porch made a cool 2 hours out of it.

Final thoughts:
When I was getting ready for this review, I did a little research on this cigar and learned that this cigar is a bit hard to come by and is known to be a very good cigar. Although this cigar is not huge (5.25” x 50) it sure did last a long time. Overall, a very good cigar. This cigar would have been an A- if not for the relights and my cap falling off. I’m rating this a very high B+. If this cigar was a bit cheaper, I’d probably have a bunch of them in my humidor. I’d be very interested to hear what others think of this cigar, if you need to find some you can fine these and other Arturo Fuentes cigars at our sponsor, cigarsdirect.com.

Posted by Sam

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I was at work, had some down time so I decided to take an extended smoke break with this Arturo Fuente Don Carlos #4, provided by Cigars Direct. After I removed the cellophane and prepared my cutter, I noticed the cap was a little larger than I’ve seen on a lot of other cigars. I like this quality in a cigar, just in case I cut a bit high.

After lighting up, I pondered the smoke and decided that this was indeed a very smooth tasting cigar. I’m not one that cares a lot about how a cigar burns, but the ash was a piece of art that remained tight and even until I finally knocked it off a few inches down. As the burn approached the band, I noticed a small tear in the wrapper, about 1/4″ long. This tear didn’t seem to affect the draw or take away from my experience and may have been caused by me transporting it in my bag to work.

Normally, I smoke my cigars until the draw gets hot and this normally occurs head-side of where the band was. However, with this Arturo Fuente it just kept going and going. I smoked this cigar until I couldn’t fit my fingers between the burn and my lips. Every moment of this cigar was delightful. I have several more of these, I can’t wait to smoke them. I’m giving this cigar a B+.

If you would like to try one of these, you can find these and other Arturo Fuente Cigars at Cigarsdirect.com.

Posted by Sam

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