Fuente Creates New Brand

David Savona
Posted: December 16, 2009

A new line of Arturo Fuente cigars has just come to market after several years in the making. The Arturo Fuente Rosado Sungrown Magnum R line of three cigars features extremely old Ecuadoran wrappers culled from the lower primings of the plant.

The cigars are attractive and reddish brown, with an entirely redesigned Fuente cigar band heavy on gold and red, with a band of white at the very bottom (a look that's somewhat reminiscent of the extremely limited Arturo Fuente Añejo cigar.) "It's the original John Oliva wrapper from Ecuador," said Carlos Fuente Jr., president of Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia., referring to Oliva Tobacco Co. in Tampa, which grows the tobacco in Ecuador. Fuente said the leaves were eight to ten years old. "We set those wrappers aside when we first created the [Arturo Fuente] Sun Grown line."

While Fuente has released many cigars made with mid to upper primings of Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper, these wrappers are from much lower on the plant, the second and third primings. "We were going to release the brand last year," said Fuente. "The cigars were made more than one year ago."

Fuente said he intended to go old school with this blend, moving away from the power trend that he helped create and come up with a very balanced and elegant smoke. "They have a sweet, long finish. It's very flavorful, very complex—it's my father's idea of what a good cigar should be."

The cigars come in three sizes, each named for the thickness of the smoke. The Vitola Fifty-Two measures five inches by 52 ring gauge, and has a suggested retail price of $6.75. The Vitola Fifty-Four is 6 1/4 inches long by 54 ring, and sells for $7.60. The Vitola Fifty-Six, the largest of the trio, is 5 5/8 by 56 and sells for $7.25. For a vertical brand tasting of the new line, see an upcoming Cigar Insider.

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