Don Carlos

With my buddy Joe heading overseas for work we decided to meet up yesterday for a quick smoke of a cigar. It was a last minute thing, and since I am no longer carrying cigars with me other then my morning smoke due to the lack of natural humidity outside I had to stop at a local B&M to pick up these smokes.

I stopped over at The Humidor located at 9212 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn, NY which is where it all began for me as a cigar smoker. The well stocked humidor is full of goodies, and they have a nice little smoking area with comfortable chairs and tables.

Cigar: Arturo Fuente Don Carlos
Origin: Dominican Republic
Size: 5.75 x 52 (Double Robusto)
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Strength: Full

Pre-Smoke: The scent of the foot was an odd mix of some sweetness and peppercorns in this well rolled cigar which was firm to the touch  The wrapper looked very aged with little magnesium bumbs all over the place which for me is the sign of a cigar that will be enjoyed. The pre-light draw was that of anise.

Smoke: This full strength cigar offered some nice notes throughout the smoke, that starts off with some anise and nuts which is different then a lot of cigars I have reviewed lately. As I moved on to the second third of the cigar the nuts remained but were joined by some nice coffee notes. The final third of our smoke the coffee was joined by strong earthy notes. As a result the cigar had a very earthy finish.

Overall: The cigar was a little annoying for me from the start as I had draw issues that did not clear up til halfway through, but being this is a cigar I smoke on a semi-regular basis I can’t recall it happening in the past so it will not reflect the final score. As a rule of thumb I believe at least one cigar in every box will have some type of construction issue. It is not acceptable, but it does happen.

Rating: 89
Price: $11.50