July 14, 2023 Charlie Minato PCA 2023,  PCA 2023 Booths

PCA 2023: Arturo Fuente

Every year, Arturo Fuente makes some tweaks to its booth. Compared to last year, the notable changes were that there was more booth space for private meetings outside of the main booth. In addition, the aerial banners were changed. But, the main structure of the booth remains. There’s a square in the center made of display cases, and inside of the square is a private conference room. Seating areas are throughout, and there are also things like a coffee bar, a large Carlito bobblehead, etc.

I’d have a difficult time believing that Arturo Fuente isn’t the most-visited company at the trade show. The larger booth means it’s rarely cramped, but there are never just a dozen people in the booth. While I wasn’t explicitly looking for them, I didn’t see the infamous “no new accounts” sign(s). Typically, Fuente has signs out that indicate: a. the company will not open up new accounts at the trade show, b. the company will not give out free samples.

In contrast to last year, when Fuente seemed to have five new accessories for every new cigar product, there were no new accessories on display. It seems quite clear that this is related to Liana Fuente’s departure from actively working at the company last August. The branded accessories were part of Liana’s responsibilities and the lack of new items there seems like no coincidence. I don’t know if Fuente needs more accessories—especially given there are at least three other companies displaying Fuente-branded accessories in their booths—but the contrast was stark. For the record, Liana was in Las Vegas and in the Fuente booth. She remains a board member but is working day-to-day on non-cigar projects.

Arturo Fuente Cubanitos Maduro

In extremely stark contrast to everything else in the booth, here’s a new cigar from Arturo Fuente that costs less than $2.50. Admittedly, it’s pretty close to a cigarillo, though these are, in fact, made by hand. These have been in development for a few years now, so it’s cool to see them finally heading to stores.

You’ll notice that the tin says “River Valley Broadleaf,” a reference to the Connecticut River Valley.

  • Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
  • Binder: Dominican Republic
  • Filler: Dominican Republic
  • Arturo Fuente Cubanitos Maduro (4 1/4 x 32) — $2.35 (Tin of 10, $23.50)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2023

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Bull

This is the second year in a row that Eye of the Bull is on display at the Arturo Fuente booth, though it’s now for sale and actually shipping. In the U.S., this will only be sold to retailers that placed orders at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show, at least for now. It seems like it’s going to be offered internationally as well, I have to imagine, to stores that weren’t in Las Vegas.

It’s basically a short and wide Don Carlos, though there’s a darker piece on the cap that creates the eye of the bull.

  • Wrapper: Cameroon
  • Binder: Dominican Republic
  • Filler: Dominican Republic
  • Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Bull (3 1/2 x 55) — $12.80 (Box of 20, $256)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2023

Arturo Fuente Dream to Dynasty

This is a follow-up of sorts to the Assouline-produced coffee table books that were recently released. The entire package comes with three things that look like a book, though only one is an actual book.

There are two 11-count cigar samplers and one book. One of the 11-count samplers includes Arturo-Fuente branded cigars, most of which are sold directly by the company though there are some rare cigars. The other 11-count sampler contains some Arturo Fuente cigars, but also cigars the company produces for clients—Ashton, Elie Bleu, J.C. Newman and Prometheus—which is an interesting touch. There is also an Assouline book included.

Fuente is not disclosing an MSRP, but using the same math above, the industry-standard margin would put this at $2,200 per sampler for consumers. I was told that Fuente intends to release this later this year, though that wasn’t the most confident prediction. I don’t believe the company is disclosing the number of samplers it is making.

Est. Price: $2,200.

Production: Undisclosed

Release Date: 2023

Arturo Fuente The Impossible Collection

Shown off last year, the Arturo Fuente The Impossible Collection is shipping to stores in the U.S. this month. These samplers contain 13 cigars, varying from hard-to-find to unreleased Arturo Fuente cigars.

Fuente is still declining to disclose a suggested retail price (SRP), but using normal industry standard margins—which Fuente does not typically use—these would have an MSRP of $2,600. Given that Fuente typically uses SRP pricing that gives retailers less margin, it’s likely that these would have an SRP of around $2,300, though there’s not one listed. Given that many, if not most, retailers will mark up rare Fuente products (OpusX, Añejo, etc.) more than industry margins, I would suspect few consumers are going to be paying just $2,600.

These samplers were produced in 2022 for an event at the Arturo Fuente Cigar Club in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. They have been sitting in the Fuente warehouse in Tampa for more than a year.

In order to purchase these, retailers needed to place orders in person at the trade show.

From left to right:

  1. Fuente Fuente OpusX 20 Years Celebration Double Corona
  2. Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Lancero
  3. Fuente Fuente OpusX 20 Years Celebration Phantom
  4. Fuente Fuente OpusX Angel’s Share 2016 Perfexcion X
  5. Fuente Fuente OpusX Forbidden X 13 Perfexcion X
  6. Fuente Fuente OpusX BBMF Natural
  7. Fuente Fuente OpusX 25
  8. Fuente Fuente OpusX BBMF Maduro
  9. Fuente Fuente OpusX 2020 Sol d’Amor
  10. Fuente Fuente OpusX 2020 Viento d’Amor
  11. Fuente Fuente OpusX Perfexcion No. 77 Shark
  12. Fuente Fuente OpusX PJ
  13. Fuente Fuente OpusX Toy Maker

Est. Price: $2,600

Production: 500 Samplers of 13 Cigars (6,500 Total Cigars)*

Release Date: June 2022*

*As noted above, this is the 2023 shipment of these samplers, which were created in 2022. My understanding is that there were more samplers created than 500, just that 500 are being sold.

Fuente y Padrón Legends

Between Day 1 and Day 4 there seems to have been some development about when and how the Fuente y Padrón Legends cigar(s) will get released. That said, I have not been told those details. Padrón will still distribute these cigars, but it sounds like the “October” ship date is no longer the target. I don’t know if that means earlier or later, but I suppose we’ll find out.

One thing that I would add here: these boxes are huge. It’s actually a small part of the holdup, I’m told the boxes are so large it causes extra complications at Arturo Fuente’s box factory in the Dominican Republic. That said, the reason why these aren’t on sale yet isn’t related to box issues.

If you are wondering how many will be released, who knows? What I can say is that Fuente has produced fewer than 2,000 of these boxes, though I wouldn’t rule out there being additional production runs that are packaged differently. I don’t know if that’s been committed to, but I do know it’s been discussed. I would add that these details have changed a lot over the years, including plans changing during this trade show. So I would take everything you hear about this as “subject to change” because that’s been the case so far.

  • Wrapper: Undisclosed
  • Binder: Undisclosed
  • Filler: Undisclosed
  • Fuente y Padrón Legends (Arturo Fuente) (7 x 50) — Pricing Undisclosed
  • Fuente y Padrón Legends (Padrón) (7 x 50) — Pricing Undisclosed

Production: TBA

Release Date: TBA

Fuente Fuente OpusX Oro Oscuro Tins

Three existing vitolas within the Oro Oscuro line will now be offered in tins. None of the three sizes are new. In addition, you can expect to pay a slight premium over the Oro Oscuro cigars that are sold in boxes, as the tin costs money to produce.

These are regular but limited in production, with retailers allotted up to six tins of each vitola. They are heading to stores now.

  • Fuente Fuente OpusX Oro Oscuro Reserva D’ Chateau (7 x 48) — $23.15 (Tin of 3, $69.45)
  • Fuente Fuente OpusX Oro Oscuro Robusto (5 1/4 x 50) — $21.70 (Tin of 3, $65.10)
  • Fuente Fuente OpusX Oro Oscuro Perfecxion (6 1/4 x 49) — $20.05 (Tin of 3, $60.15)

Just as a heads up, there’s also a Hemmingway Sun Grown shipment heading out now as well. It’s not new, but it typically doesn’t ship this time of year.

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: July 2023

CRA Freedom Sampler Summer 2023

Arturo Fuente/J.C. Newman’s distribution company is handling the distribution of the latest sampler from Cigar Rights of America. In case you are unfamiliar, nine companies—the main benefactors of the CRA—donate the cigars, which are sold to consumers. The proceeds from these samplers are then used to fund CRA.

Three of the cigars (Oliva Serie V 8 x 52, Tatuaje 15th Anniversary Plus One Escasos, Padrón Black No. 52) are exclusive to the sampler.

While the CRA spent years trying to brand itself as a consumer organization akin to the NRA, its most tangible impact has been a nearly seven-year-old lawsuit, which it has helped fund. A year ago, the joint lawsuit filed by CRA and the other two cigar trade groups scored a major victory against FDA’s regulations of premium cigars. For that particular part of the lawsuit, the CRA paid the legal bill for Michael Edney, the lead attorney in the case.

MSRP: $204

Production: 2,000 Samplers

Release Date: August 2023

Toast Across America 2023

As the two companies do every year, Arturo Fuente and J.C. Newman are selling Toast Across America packs to raise money for the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which—amongst many other things—provides free K-12 schooling to students in Caribe, Dominican Republic. The Fuente and Newman families pay the operating costs for the charity, which means every dollar donated goes directly to the charitable efforts and not to the overhead.

A similar ethos is applied to the annual Toast packs. Fuente and J.C. Newman donate the cigars and the packaging, retailers buy the packs for $50 and Fuente and Newman ask the retailers to sell them for $50. The idea is that 100 percent of the proceeds go to charity.

For most of the last decade, the companies have used the Fuente Fuente OpusX Perfecxion No. 77 Shark and the Diamond Crown Julius Caeser Shark for these packs. This year, the packs are an absolutely disgusting Tar Heel blue color. #GoDeacs

MSRP: $50

Production: Undisclosed

Release Date: Fall 2023

Overall Score

Arturo Fuente Arturo Fuente Cubanitos Maduro Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Eye of the Bull Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Lancero Arturo Fuente Dream to Dynasty Arturo Fuente The Impossible Collection Arturo Fuente The Impossible Collection (2022) CRA Freedom Sampler Summer 2023 Fuente Fuente OpusX 20 Years Celebration Double Corona Fuente Fuente OpusX 20 Years Celebration Phantom Fuente Fuente OpusX 2020 Sol d’Amor Fuente Fuente OpusX 2020 Viento d’Amor Fuente Fuente OpusX 25 Fuente Fuente OpusX Angel's Share 2016 Perfexcion X Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Perfexcion X Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX BBMF (Maduro) Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX BBMF (Natural) Fuente Fuente OpusX Perfecxion No. 77 Shark Fuente Fuente OpusX Pussy Juice Fuente Fuente OpusX Toy Maker PCA 2023 Toast Across America 2023
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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.

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