The Arturo Fuente Short Story is one of those cigars that everyone should try at least once. One of the smallest cigars that Fuente makes, it is packed with flavor and is a favorite out of the Arturo Fuente line. Considering how many different smokes Fuente makes, that is saying something. In fact, quite a few people I have talked to mentioned that it took them quite a while to try a Short Story, based almost solely on it’s size, but after trying it, many of them decided to buy a box.

Arturo Fuente Short Story 1.png

  • Cigar Reviewed: Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story
  • Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
  • Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
  • Wrapper: Cameroon
  • Binder: Dominican Republic
  • Filler: Dominican Republic
  • Size: 4 inches
  • Ring Gauge: 48
  • Vitola: Perfecto
  • Est. Price: $3.00-$5.00

While many people just call this cigar short, I prefer to think of it as stout. Everyone of the many I have smoked have had a perfect construction and this one is no different. There is a very sweet smell to the light wrapper before smoking, one that is nice, but a bit odd coming from a tobacco product. As I take a prelight draw, that sweetness is confirmed, albeit intertwined with a great tobacco flavor, not too much or too little, just enough.

The cigar lights easily, and unlike some of the larger cigars with this shape, the burn and draw is perfect from the start—quite a few sticks with this shape and shapes like it burn unevenly and have problems with the draw until you get over the hump of the fastest part of the cigar.

The first third has that great tobacco flavor I mentioned earlier, intermingled with a little bit of pepper, but just enough to make the smoke interesting, not overwhelming at all. There is a little bit of sweetness, but not enough to really enjoy.

Arturo Fuente Short Story 2.png

During the second third, the pepper remains almost constant, but a wood flavor starts to dominate the stick. I know a lot of reviews mean cedar when they say woodsy, but I tasted wood, not necessarily cedar and very distinct difference in taste that I enjoyed quite a bit.

The final third is pretty much the same as the second third, which is not saying much, since it is such a small, sorry, stout cigar, but the pepper picked up a little bit and it started getting hot at the very end, but close enough to the nub that it did not effect the smoke at all.

Arturo Fuente Short Story 3.png

Final Notes:

  • As mentioned above, the construction, burn, draw and smoke were great, one of the best of any cigar I have reviewed.
  • The ash stayed on the stick for quite a while with little effort, and I—as I am sure many of you who have smoked one—made a game to see how long I could keep the ash on. The answer? Almost to the nub.
  • The Final smoking time was 47 minutes and I was taking my time.
  • This is one of the best short smokes I have had, and I would not hesitate to have a box around for times when you need a great smoke, but not a lot of time.
  • The band on the Short Story is the same general band as is on most of the Arturo Fuente cigars.
90 Overall Score

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.