7 Best Arturo Fuente Cigars (All Tastes and Budgets)

Arturo Fuente cigars have a cult following, and I use them as a benchmark for a lot of other brands in terms of flavor, construction, and value for money.

Their cigars consistently compete with far more expensive sticks, and it’s all down to quality tobacco and attention to detail.

 “We don’t hurry things; we just do things the way they are supposed to be done.” 

Carlos Fuente Sr. 
Best Under $5
Arturo Fuente Especiales Cazadores

Especiales Cazadores

Sweet and nutty decadence at a surprisingly low price.
Flawless construction in a smooth, Ecuadorian Habano wrapper.
Available at:
Best Overall
Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story

Hemingway Short Story

Layered, evolving flavor packed into a short 45-minute stogie.
Perfect construction in a Perfecto shape – which is not easy to pull off.
Available at:
Best UNDER $10
Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Belicoso

Don Carlos Belicoso

An impeccable balance of sweet woods and spices.
Smooth and creamy smoke that pairs beautifully with coffee.
Available at:

Some of the best Arturo Fuente cigars will only run you $10 or so – and their Chateau Natural is only $3.50.

If you’re looking for a premium quick smoke, check out the Hemingway Short Story. It’s one of the best small cigars of all time, with no hyperbole. 

Don’t listen to the hipsters, it’s won stacks of awards for a reason.

In this guide, I’ve tried to cover something for everyone. Short or long, mild or full-bodied – there’s an Arturo Fuente cigar that should have a place in your humidor.

So let’s check them out.

TOP PICKS

7 Best Arturo Fuente Cigars

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story: Best Arturo Fuente Cigar Overal

Arturo Fuente Especiales Cazadores: Best Arturo Fuente Cigar Under $5

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Belicoso: Best Arturo Fuente Cigar Under $10

Arturo Fuente Chateau Natural: Best Mild Arturo Fuente Cigar

Arturo Fuente 858 Claro: Best Sweet Arturo Fuente Cigar

Arturo Fuente Exquisitos Maduro: Best Maduro Arturo Fuente Cigar

Arturo Fuente Añejo: Best Congnac-flavored Arturo Fuente Cigar

The 8 Best Arturo Fuente Cigars

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story – Best Small Arturo Fuente Cigar 

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story

I had to try out these smokes, named after my favorite author Ernest Hemingway. I loved his novels, and I love these stogies, too.

This medium-bodied smoke is the perfect accompaniment for after work when you need to relax but don’t have all the time in the world. Pull up a chair, kick back in the garden, and take 45 minutes to reflect on how good life can be. 

Hemingway Short Storys come in the Perfecto shape, which is one of the hardest to pull off while maintaining good construction and consistent draw. 

It packs evolving, layered flavor without overpowering. The whole journey is smooth, but with enough body to feel like a serious smoke.

The ash stayed for half the cigar, which tells you all you need to know about the construction quality at play here.

StrengthMedium
ShapeFigurado
Size4 x 48
CountryDominican Republic
ColorNatural
Wrapper OriginAfrican
Wrapper LeafCameroon
Hemingway Short Story Stats

Arturo Fuente Especiales Cazadores – Best Arturo Fuente Cigar Under $5

Sold in boxes of 30, Especiales Cazadores is one of the best value Arturo Fuentes out there. They are excellent value for money – at this price, I get to smoke AF’s every day.

Arturo Fuente Especiales Cazadores

This is a good-looking cigar with flawless construction in a smooth, Ecuadorian Habano wrapper.

The Dominican filler produces plenty of smoke, too. More than you might expect.

It’s an evolving stogie that starts off pretty mildly but builds towards a medium body as you approach the final third, brimming with sweet, nutty woodsiness throughout. 

It is, as I’ve come to expect from the best Arturo Fuente cigars, perfectly balanced.

Especiales Cazadores have an even burn with a smooth easy draw that didn’t require a single touch-up.

Dollar for dollar, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better smoke. And if you do, please let me know in the comments.

StrengthMedium
ShapeToro
Size6 x 50
CountryDominican Republic
ColorNatural
Wrapper OriginEcuadorian
Wrapper LeafHabano
Especiales Cazadores Stats

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Belicoso – Best Arturo Fuente Cigar Under $10

Another great value pick here with Don Carlos Belicoso, housing the vintage Fuente Chateau filler I love in a rare Cameroonian wrapper.

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Belicoso

This is a medium-bodied smoke that delivers a nuanced balance of sweet woods and spices for a smooth and creamy smoke.

With hints of cedar and nuts, this is a versatile cigar that will pair equally well with breakfast coffee or as an evening nightcap. There’s not a hint of harshness here, just tantalizing, spicy nut elegance with a savory aftertaste.

This is a cigar that benefits from a bit of humidor aging. 4 – 6 weeks in the humidor will take Don Carlos Belicosos from good to great. With that bit of patience, you will start to notice dryer, leathery notes emerge in a fuller, stronger palate.

Construction is notably stellar, with ash that holds like cement in this perfectly balanced stogie. 

StrengthMedium
ShapeBelicoso
Size5 3/8 x 52
CountryDominican Republic
ColorNatural
Wrapper OriginAfrican
Wrapper LeafCameroon
Don Carlos Belicoso Stats

Arturo Fuente Chateau Natural – Best Mild Arturo Fuente Cigar

Chateau Fuente natural is one of the harder Arturo Fuente cigars to find, but if you can get hold of a box you certainly get the rewards.

Arturo Fuente Chateau Natural

This smooth and aromatic smoke is a memorable blend that draws upon natural accords of hay and greenery, with evocative hints of leather and crushed black pepper.

As the smoke develops, sweeter notes of cocoa and vanilla arrive to lend Chateau Fuentes a gourmand quality and brighten up the earthiness.

This beautifully wrapped cigar burns evenly, and holds ash very well – it lasted almost half the cigar for me, and that was in the garden with a breeze.

Each cigar comes beautifully presented in a sleeve of Spanish cedar, and opening them feels like a real “event”. This is the perfect cigar to buy a box of to dish out to friends and loved ones – they will think you’re gifting them much more than a $3.50 cigar.

StrengthMedium
ShapeRothschild
Size4 1/2 x 50
CountryDominican Republic
ColorNatural
Wrapper OriginEcuadorian
Wrapper LeafConnecticut Shade
Chateau Natural Stats

Arturo Fuente 858 Claro  – Best Sweet Arturo Fuente Cigar 

I don’t have much experience with Candela wrappers, but the 858 Claro has inspired me to explore it further. I’d always considered it a bit of a cheaper option, which turned me off – but here, Arturo Fuente uses it very well to produce a very impressive, mild smoke.

Arturo Fuente 858 Claro

The smooth wrapper has a smooth, silky feel, with impeccable construction as I’ve come to expect. 

The Dominican Fuente blend combines so well with the Claro wrapper that I almost burn my fingers because I just didn’t want to part with this one. I could smoke this refined stogie every day and not get tired of it. Incredibly satisfying

The only drawback to this cigar is, like Chateau Naturals, it can be tricky to get a hold of. If you get the chance to buy a box, jump on it.

ShapeCorona
Size6 x 47
CountryDominican Republic
ColorClaro
Wrapper OriginConnecticut
Wrapper LeafConnecticut Shade
858 Claro Stats

Arturo Fuente Exquisitos Maduro – Best Maduro Arturo Fuente Cigar

This hand-rolled cigar goes perfectly with espresso, with the naturally sweet notes of the dark Maduro wrapper melding gorgeously with the bitterness of the coffee.

Arturo Fuente Exquisitos Maduro

The smooth, clean draw is packed full of chocolate, tree nuts, and cedar. The body is lusciously dark and doesn’t have the salty/sour quality that poorer quality Maduros tend to suffer from.

Exquisitos Maduros break all the rules of a smaller cigar. All the depth and complexity you would expect from something weightier is present here, with a volume of rich smoke that belies its smaller form.

Perfect if you want the full cigar experience in half the time. Occasional smokers and experts alike will enjoy this smoke that proves you don’t need to pay large sums for a top-tier Maduro.

StrengthMedium
ShapePanatela
Size4 1/2 x 33
CountryDominican Republic
ColorMaduro
Wrapper OriginConnecticut
Wrapper LeafBroadleaf
Exquisitos Maduro Stats

Arturo Fuente Añejo – Best Congnac-flavored Arturo Fuente Cigar

Anejo is a phenomenal line. These smokes blur the line between subtle and strong – there’s plenty of flavor in this inherently smokeable stick.

Arturo Fuente Añejo Maduro

The rich, 5-year-old Maduro wrapper undergoes the same Cognac aging process as the Opus X, lending it that unique Arturo Fuente creaminess.

This underlying buttery sense grows throughout the smoke, with the addition of a little pine nuttiness towards the last third. It rests on top of peppery, leathery depth, with a little bright sweetness thrown in to mellow out this complex blend.

There’s enough going on here to keep me fully engaged for the full 2-hour ride, that’s for sure.

The velvety smoke has an incredible mouth feel, with an earthy retrohale that won’t overpower you. The flavor lingers in your mouth for 15 – 20 seconds per draw, which is perfect for my pace.

Anejos are worth every penny – I just wish I could afford to smoke them every day.

StrengthMedium – Full
ShapeVarious
Size6 5/8″
CountryDominican Republic
ColorNatural
Wrapper OriginConnecticut Broadleaf
Wrapper LeafDominican Republic
Añejo Stats

What You Should Know About the Best Arturo Fuente Cigars

The Story Behind Arturo Fuente Cigars

Established in West Tampa, Florida, Arturo Fuente cigars have been in business for over 100 years.

In 1902, a 14-year-old Cuban named Arturo Fuente left his hometown in the wake of the Spanish-American War in search of a better life.

He started production 10 years later, using Cuban tobacco to produce cigars out of his three-story wooden factory.

Wooden being the operative word, unfortunatley.

In 1924 the whole building caught fire and was completely destroyed, leaving the company in tatters.

Fuente didn’t resume production for another 22 years, when he restarted out of his own home in Ybor City, Florida. It became a family affair, with his wife helping him roll the cigars by hand full time, and his two sons doing their part after they returned from school.

The Cuban trade embargo in 1962 provided something of a reset for the cigar market that the Fuentes were able to capitalize on, producing blends that mimicked the Habana flavor American consumers had grown to love. 

This allowed them to establish themselves as one of the market leaders in the new cigar landscape and start doing some serious business.

Who would have known that such humble beginnings would lead to a brand that’s now known the world over? 

Where are Arturo Fuente cigars from?

At the moment, Arturo Fuente operates out of a factory in the Dominican Republic. They produce over 30 million cigars per year, taking advantage of the rich volcanic soil in the Santiago region.

What’s the best place to buy Arturo Fuente cigars online?

It’s hard to believe with over 17 million cigar smokers just in the US that there are little more than a dozen credible places to purchase cigars online. Now of course there are small shops all over that sell online cigars, but just don’t come up on any broad google search.

Most will let you down somewhere – if they have good shipping, they’re expensive. If they’re the right price, you’ll lack a proper guarantee.

My favorite online cigar store – Famous Smoke Shop -strikes a great balance, and most importantly – they’re reliable.

There’s nothing worse than your cigars arriving late, not showing up at all, or receiving dried-out stogies in terrible condition.

FAQs – The Best Arturo Fuente Cigars

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