Arturo Fuente Unveils Dual-Wrapped Don Carlos 90 Años to Honour Patriarch’s Legacy
Arturo Fuente celebrates what would have been Carlos Fuente Sr.’s 90th birthday with a unique twist on a classic. The Don Carlos 90 Años features a hidden dual-wrapper design, offering a fresh take on a beloved blend.
In a fitting tribute to one of the most influential figures in premium cigars, Arturo Fuente is launching the Don Carlos 90 Años, a special release created to commemorate what would have been the 90th birthday of Carlos Fuente Sr. This new expression of the iconic Don Carlos line offers a fascinating innovation in cigar craftsmanship: a dual-wrapper construction where one wrapper is hidden beneath the other.
While dual-wrapper cigars aren’t entirely new to the industry, they usually manifest as barberpole styles or blends using different wrappers for different sections of a cigar. The Don Carlos 90 Años, however, pushes the envelope. Initially, each 5 1/2 x 47 robusto is rolled with a Dominican binder and fillers, finished with the classic Cameroon wrapper. After ageing for a full year, the cigars return to the rolling floor, where they receive a second wrapper — a corojo-seed leaf from Chateau de la Fuente — carefully laid over the Cameroon. The cigars are then aged for another year before final packaging.
Priced modestly at $13 each and sold in boxes of 90, this release is a blend of tradition and ingenuity. The addition of the corojo wrapper reportedly imparts a subtle sweetness, offering a nod to the original Don Carlos cigars, which featured Nicaraguan wrappers in their earliest years. That practice ceased when Fuente’s Nicaraguan factory was destroyed in 1978, just two years after the Don Carlos line debuted.
Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. explained that this project is not only a tribute but also a return to form. With a new Nicaraguan factory set to open later this year, the Don Carlos 90 Años feels like a bridge between the brand’s storied past and its promising future. Despite the premium presentation and lengthy ageing process, the Fuente family has chosen to keep the cigar accessible, believing it’s what their late patriarch would have wanted.
Every other aspect of the cigar — from the filler blend to the humidity in the ageing rooms — remains consistent with the standard Don Carlos production. The dual-wrapper method, however, appears to be a first in the industry, with the second wrapper fully covering the first, hidden from view but evident in the flavour experience.
Expect the Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años to arrive on shelves by early summer, offering a compelling reason for both fans of the brand and curious connoisseurs to explore this innovative release.
