Issue: Cigar Insider, Oct 07, 2014

Score: 92

A well-made pyramid that is full of rich and sweet tobacco. Toasty caramel notes take on touches of coconut, vanilla and chocolate before an almond paste finish.

Issue: Cigar Insider, Jun 25, 2013

Score: 92

This reddish-colored torpedo burns and draws superbly, balancing nut and cocoa flavor with a touch of red pep- per spice and sweet cedar.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Jan 01, 2013

Score: 94

The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos line of cigars is a testament to excellence. Carlos Fuente Jr. blended the cigar to honor his father, Fuente patriarch Carlos Fuente Sr., for whom the cigar is named. The cigar has long been prized for its flavor and consistency. Unlike the company's spicy Fuente Fuente OpusX brand, Don Carlos cigars are nuanced. The cigars are wrapped in toothy Cameroon harvested from Western Africa. The filler and binder leaves include some of the oldest tobaccos in Fuente's extensive and massive tobacco inventory. The No. 2, which first hit the market in 1997, is a considerably fat pyramid, with a portly 55 ring gauge. As with most Don Carlos cigars, the smoke is a slow starter

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Jun 01, 2011

Score: 89

This well-crafted pyramid draws easily, starting with toasty notes and a light vanilla flavor that builds to medium-bodied notes of wood and almonds.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Dec 01, 2010

Score: 90

This veiny cigar draws and burns evenly, starting out with mellow notes of nuts and cocoa, but picking up earth, coffee bean and spice flavors.

Issue: Cigar Insider, Aug 24, 2010

Score: 90

This veiny cigar draws and burns evenly, starting out with mellow notes of nuts and cocoa, but picking up earth, coffee bean and spice flavors.

Issue: Cigar Insider, May 19, 2009

Score: 88

A thick torpedo with an even draw but an uneven burn. It is a mostly earthy-tasting smoke with some notably dry woody notes throughout.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Feb 01, 2008

Score: 89

A toothy, well made torpedo that smokes rather well. It has a woody flavor core accompanied by some meaty flavors and a tangy finish.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Feb 01, 2007

Score: 87

Good construction and color on this figurardo, which has a vine draw. It has a solid medium body, with hints of coffee grounds. It’s slightly flat on the finish.

Issue: Cigar Insider, Jan 24, 2006

Score: 91

Well made and attractive, this cigar has a smooth draw and even burn. Wood flavors carry traces of cinnamon and leather, finishing on a toasty note.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Dec 01, 2002

Score: 87

Firm and oily, with a slightly crooked tip, this cigar has a metallic taste at first before turning woody. A medium bodied smoke.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Apr 01, 2002

Score: 88

This well-made maduro torpedo burns well, with an easy draw. The smoke is spicy and leathery, with floral notes and a hint of cherry. Medium to full bodied.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Apr 01, 2001

Score: 90

The tip on this pyramid is sharp, and the wrapper is a bit mottled. There is a sweet quality to the cigar, with a solid core of cedary flavors on the finish with a hint of anise. Medium bodied.

Issue: Cigar Insider, Apr 01, 2001

Score: 90

An attractive pyramid with an easy draw. It has black pepper notes and an herbal quality.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Jun 01, 2000

Score: 91

A cigar filled with notes of coffee and sweet spice, and some hints of cocoa bean. A solid woody finish, and a medium- to full-bodied texture. Excellent balance.

Issue: Cigar Insider, Jan 01, 2000

Score: 88

A well-made torpedo with a chocolate-colored wrapper. It's very rich, with hints of chocolate and hazelnut. A spicy finish. Some inconsistency was noted.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Apr 01, 1999

Score: 88

A complex medium bodied cigar. It has an earthy core of flaovrs and some toast and nuts hints. A woody finish.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Mar 01, 1998

Score: 89

A very smooth-tasting cigar. It has a core of herbal spiciness, with a sweet woodiness on the finish and the palate.

Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Jan 01, 1970

Score: 92

The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 2 came on the market in 1997 and quickly gained a reputation as one of the finest cigars made in the Dominican Republic. It was also one of the best examples of a non-Cuban cigar crafted in the classic Montecristo No. 2 shape. The 6-by-55, Cameroon-wrapped cigar is a notorious slow starter: the first half inch or so is typically uninspiring and hardly indicative of the complex, delicious flavor that’s to follow. Fuente has impressive inventories of aged tobaccos, and it reserves its oldest leaves for use in the Don Carlos line, which is named after family patriarch Carlos Fuente Sr., who created the blend with his son Carlos Jr. and tobacco grower Rick Meerapfel. The cigars were impossible to find during the boom years of the 1990s, and while still not a common sight in cigar shop humidors, they are much easier to find than in years past.