Rated No1 Cigar of the Year 2017 by Cigar Aficionado
Arturo Fuente Don Carlos The Man’s 80th – Eye of the Shark was created to mark Don Carlos Fuente Sr.’s 80th birthday, drawing on aged Dominican tobaccos from the Don Carlos family reserves. The blend opens with cedar, roasted nuts, and toasted bread, moving into espresso, dark cocoa, and black pepper through the middle. A natural sweetness runs beneath the profile, with leather and earth developing as the cigar settles. The finish remains long and composed, closing on cocoa, spice, and warm wood. It pairs comfortably with a well-aged single malt, a dark rum, or a straight espresso, each matching the cigar’s depth without distraction.
Length: 5 1/4″
Ring Gauge: 52
Strength: Medium to Full
Vitola: Shark
Smoking Time: 90 minutes
Wrapper: African Cameroon
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Arturo Fuente:
Arturo Fuente traces its roots to 1912, when a young Cuban immigrant, Arturo Fuente, opened a small cigar factory in Tampa, Florida. The early years were defined by hardship. A factory fire in 1924 destroyed the business, forcing the family to rebuild from scratch. Production remained small and family-run, carried forward by Arturo’s son, Carlos Fuente Sr., who kept the company alive through economic downturns and wartime shortages.
The modern era began under Carlos Fuente Jr. in the 1980s. Seeking consistent tobacco supply and greater control over quality, he moved operations to the Dominican Republic and began cultivating tobacco at Château de la Fuente, a farm that would become central to the brand’s identity. This vertical integration transformed the company, allowing it to produce the first 100% Dominican cigars.
