A Few Arturo Fuente Cigars and a Visit with José Blanco

Let me start with this:

This is an excerpt (about 4 minutes) from my final podcast episode in 2019 with Steve Saka where I plant the notion of a Candela Lancero in his head. First he says it won’t happen, then he backpedals a bit to leave the possibility open. As we now know, he’s made one, and actually likes it. I didn’t spring for the Lancero sampler, so I may never know what it’s like. The whole podcast should still be available wherever podcasts can be found (I know it’s on Spotify and Apple Podcasts), it was an interesting and unique conversation.

This week I went on a bit of an Arturo Fuente binge. José Blanco was in town being chauffeured around by Michael Rushing, the region’s sales rep for Fuente and J.C.Newman. I met up with them at the Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA. I took a half day off work because, when José is in town I gotta go hang out with him. I’ve had the very good fortune of knowing José for quite a while, I think the first time we met face to face was at the 2011 IPCPR show where he did a tasting session (he was with La Aurora at the time). It was in a room with about 500 people. One on one time with him is rare, so I made the most of it. Today is José’s birthday, wish him a happy one of you see him! They were visiting Cigar Mojo – The Grove afterwards, so I met them there, it’s on my way home after all. It’s always great talking to José, and it was great to meet Michael. I never have any regrets when I visit the Wooden Indian, Dave and his team are always gracious hosts.

I picked up some cigars while visiting the shops, some Arturo Fuente cigars that I hadn’t tried, or hadn’t smoked in many years. Before I get to them, let me tell you about the Casa Fuente Churchill that I smoked. This was a generous gift from my friend Stace, who I sent a few things to, not expecting him to return fire. The guy friggin apologized for taking so long! No apology needed for something that wasn’t expected! Anyway, what didn’t surprise me was the quality of the gift. One of the cigars was this Casa Fuente Churchill. This line used to only be available at the Casa Fuente in Caesars Forum Shops in Vegas, but they made it more available a few years ago. This is a 7¼” x 48 Churchill with a Cameroon wrapper over Dominican binder and fillers. I love the size, and it was a beautiful cigar. It was definitely a sweet, nutty cigar with some exotic spices that kept me entertained. Perfect burn and draw. I think the only other Casa Fuente I had was gifted to me at Casa Fuente in Vegas maybe a decade ago (TY Fich). This is a brilliant cigar.

When I picked out cigars I went with a theme. I could have done the 858s in all three wrappers, maybe I should have, but I decided to sample cigars across the Sungrown range. It’s come to my attention that the 858 Sungrown is now a regular release, not just a seasonal thing. This is a good thing, because the 858 Sungrown is a spectacular cigar, especially for $8ish. The 858 is 6″ x 47, a short Churchill, or a thin toro, I don’t know, nor do I care. This has some cedar and spice, along with a licorice sort of sensation. This is a cigar I want a box of, my only criticism is that I wish they put the green fuente band on this like the rest of the 858s, since it doesn’t seem to be a special release any more, it seems to me it should be consistent with the Grand Reserva line.

I also picked up a Cuban Belicoso Sungrown, which is in the Chateau Fuente line. This is a 5¾” x 51 belicoso, also with the Ecuador Sungrown wrapper over Dominican binder and fillers. Also priced in the $8ish range, this has some similarities to the 858 SG, but concentrated. I thought it started with some bitter wood, then got more licoricey, as in it was more pungent and cloying on the palate than the 858. Fortunately I’m not opposed to that, so I enjoyed it, and it lasted nearly 90 minutes, which exceeded my expectations for what I consider a short cigar.

Finally, I smoked a Queen B Sungrown, also in the Chateau series. This is a 5½” x 52 torpedo, similar in size to the Cuban Belicoso, but shorter and pointier. This has basically the same blend description as the 858 and the Belicoso, Ecuador Sungrown wrapper, Dominican filler and binder. All three of these come wrapped in a cedar sleeve, which is pretty obvious by the pictures. I’m not generally a fan of the sleeves, if they sit in the humidor too long in the sleeves the cigars end up just tasting like wood, which is fine if you like that. I don’t. I think if I had a box of any of these I’d remove the sleeves for long term storage. The Queen B is sort of in between the 858 and the Beli, it’s got the cedar and licorice, but not as pungent as the Beli but more pronounced that the 858. As with all of these, burn and draw were perfect. I’ve long been a fan of the Fuente Don Carlos, Hemingway, and Ańejo lines, but these Sungrowns are really good. I’ve been kind of lax in branching out across the brand, but I need to, there’s some great cigars, and they have been for many years.