Founder's Review: Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Bull

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Bull

3 1/2 x 55

Wrapper - Cameroon

Binder - Dominican Republic

Filler - Dominican Republic

Cutter - Les Fines Lames Punch Bracelet

Lighter - Palio Squadra Angled Triple-Jet Torch Lighter

Pre-Light Notes: Sweet grassy notes with hints of cedar.

Initial Puffs: Notes of smoked almonds.

First Third: Slight natural sweetness on the lips with prominent notes of black pepper. Solid ash throughout first third. Strength is at a solid medium.

First Retro: Increased black pepper notes and reminiscent of bon fire aromas.

Second Third: Sweetness pops in and out. Notes of smoked almonds, black pepper, and hints of baking spices. Ash had to be removed in order to remove the band (this is a SMALL cigar). Strength dances between medium and medium plus.

Second Retro: Baking spice is taking the forefront with hints of what I can only describe as salt water.

Final Third: Sweetness is rare at this point. Baking spices have taking the forefront of the notes. Ash stayed strong still. Strength moved up to a medium plus.

Final Retro: Black pepper took back over the prominent note on the final retro with a stronger hint of salt water.

Overall Thoughts: I was surprised by this cigar. And that is not saying I was expecting it to be bad, because I wasn't at all. I was expecting a relatively quick (30 minutes or so) smoke with powerful notes from beginning to end with little transitions. That is my experience with most cigars of this size. What I got was a cigar that lasted over an hour (1 hour and 8 minutes to be exact) with transitions at every third and notes that I don't often taste (like salt water?!). The overall experience reminded me of having a cigar on a cool fall night next to a fire on the beach. This cigar was an experience from beginning to end that was as intriguing as it was enjoyable. Make sure to find one of these while you can as I'm sure this PCA Exclusive will be one of the more elusive releases this year.

Appearance - 9.3

Draw - 9.7

Construction - 9.4

Taste - 9.6

Overall - 9.5