Initial Thoughts
This time of year is one of my favorite times, not only do we have the NHL & NFL going, but it’s also gearing up for the holidays. That also means that it’s prime time to start hunting for hard to find bourbons. November is when distilleries start shipping out things like Pappy Van Winkle and the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. I know what you’re thinking, what does this have to do with the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark cigar review? Well my friends, everything. I came across this cigar when I stopped in a liquor store south of Nashville. I ran into an old friend who manages the humidor in the back of the spirit store! Not only did he showcase his boxes of Opus X (next review), but he turned me on to this Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark which I had not heard about! Needless to say, I was super excited to give it a try.
As you’ve probably noticed I’m not one for reviewing a ton of cigars from the big brands, I’ve always been more of a boutique guy myself. However, it’s hard to deny that a company like Arturo Fuente who have been around 30+ years obviously make some great freaking cigars, or they wouldn’t still be around. So when I dug around and looked at their site it was great to see info on this Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark. Named in honor of the founder and patriarch of the company this cigar is honoring his 80th birthday and 30 years as a company. So it better be pretty special! So let’s jump into it and kick off the review.
Looks
First off, this is a great looking cigar. The band is a bit different from most of the Arturo Fuentes that are on the market. They went with a special black band that has gold as the secondary color and opting for the AF red as the highlighted color on the outside of the band.
This Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark has a unique shape as well. It’s a figurado, more specifically a pyramide. It’s a 5 3/4″ x 52 ring gauge. Not a ton of cigars out there that are this size and I really enjoy the size. Another feature of this cigar is the Cameroon wrapper it’s very delicate, yet has plenty of texture to it. Overall, a great looking cigar and I love the change up of the style of bands for this special release.
Function
I tend to cut all figurado / torpedo cigars the same way. I use my Xikar Xi cutter and make a slanted or angle cut. I feel that it provides better air flow down the barrel and helps present more flavors. Once I made the angle cut on this Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark I could taste some great flavors and I knew I was in for a good smoke. The draw was fairly wide open which is nice it allows a lot of smoke to down through the barrel. So enough jibber jabber let’s light this thing up and get the flavors out of it!
Flavor
Right out of the gate I pick up a nice cedar sweetness on the cold draw. That is followed up by a some notes of sweet tobacco and slight hints of leather. Once the flame hits the tobacco I’m met with a good jolt of sweetness. The most notable flavor that I’m picking up is cedar it’s a nice compliment to the hint of spice on the retrohale. There are notes of leather throughout the entire smoke that give the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Shark a nice bit of balance between the sweet and the spice throughout. This cigar is fairly complex yet subtle in flavors which I believe is very difficult to achieve. Too often cigars can be in your face with the flavor profile, but I actually prefer the subtle complex flavors and this cigar has that in spades.
Overall this cigar built to medium-full in terms of strength. Never really grew above that which I’m totally ok with. I have a feeling the Opus X which is up next will be packed full of strength and put a hurting on me if I’m not careful.
Would I Buy It Again?
Absolutely, I would highly recommend a box of these if you can find them.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Not at the price tag, but I sure wish I could smoke this every day, I’m sure Don Carlos did.
Would I Buy a Box?
If the price is right, I would. Not sure that I can pull the trigger on a $300 box though. It takes a lot for me to shell out $300. This cigar definitely warrants the price, I’m just super cheap 🙂
Conclusion
Seriously, I can’t praise this cigar enough. So much flavor, perfect draw and just an incredible joy to smoke. If I still rated cigars I would easily give this a 10/10. I think it’s that good. If you can track one down, go find it right now.
