The cigar: Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 3

Nutritional information
Vitola: Corona 5.5x44
Origin: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Binder: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon

Smoked at my local lounge while camera-less; sorry for the lack of photos.

Pre-Light
This corona-sized cigar looks quite nice. Its smooth, dark cameroon wrapper is oily and has very little tooth. It feels firm in the hand, no soft spots, and good bunching evident at the foot. It's well wrapped, with very unobtrusive seams and an expertly-applied cap. The only blemish: some smears of glue (?), something I've found on other high end Fuentes, including an Anejo. Curious, particularly at this price point.

The aroma is faint and mild, cedar and tobacco, without much barnyard.

The head takes a skim cut very well. The draw is excellent: just the slightest resistance. The cold draw delivers dark tobacco, wood, and perhaps some soft spice.

Construction/Burn
The cigar burned perfectly: it lights easily after a nice toasting, burns laser straight, and produces a long and solid light gray ash that drops in inch-and-a-half to two-inch pellets. It ashed only twice before I nubbed it. And it delivers clouds of smoke. Simply put, it's everything you could ask for in a burn.

The prelight appearance doesn't lie: this is an exceptionally well-rolled cigar. Perfect draw, excellent wrapping, great cap. I've got to subtract some points for the smears on the wrapper, but it's hard to find anything else to complain about.

Flavor
Smooth, rich, and complex. It starts with some wood and nuts, with a hint of sweetness. Interestingly, I don't notice much of a Cameroon flavor. There's a bit of that cammie tang at the very start, but after that the flavor is deeper and darker than I usually associate with a cammie, and the contribution from the wrapper is deep in the mix, balanced with all of the other flavors. It doesn't stand out in the way it does, say, with an Upmann Vintage Cameroon.

The progression of flavors from this cigar is fantastic: the wood and nut at the beginning start to grow into darker, richer, rounder flavors, with some soft baking spice in the background; no pepper here. The body and strength at the start is solidly medium. From there it builds into more leather and coffee in the middle third, with the spice growing, and the body getting fuller, rounder, and richer. The last third is fuller still, with more pronounced chocolate notes, more cinnamony spice, and a wisp of anise on the finish.

Summary
I came to this cigar with high expectations and it met them. Construction is top notch, and the flavor is smooth, complex, and delicious. With so many hyped cigars falling short, it's a nice change to find one that lives up to its reputation. This is one of the best coronas I've ever smoked, and a real treat.
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Nice Review Eddie :-)

Just about done with a box of the DC Bellicoso. Great smoke
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thanks for the review
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Nice review... my favorite DC is the #3 or #4, but to be fair I haven't ever tried the Lancero yet (a problem that will be fixed shortly). :-)
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I've had the belicoso, the robusto, the #2, and the #4. I have yet to meet a DC that I didn't like.
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I have a couple boxes of Don Carlos, I love them.
The only complaint I can come up with is that the wrappers are thin and they tend to explode on me from time to time.
I'm down to about 63% now, hopefully that'll put an end to that problem.
Thanks for the review, Eddie. Well done!!! :-)
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I smoke a lot of Fuente and Gurkha (I know start the cheap shots Gurkha haters :-)) and a few of them both have fragile wrappers. I have gotten to the point where I dry box them for a day or so or put them in a desktop without any humidification then smoke them.

That stopped the exploding wrappers for me.

Chas
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:-) They make lanceros :-)

I've only had the #4, but I love them!
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Unless I'm mistaken The Lancero size is made in extremely limited quantities and available only as part of the Don Carlos sampler pack.

I think I also saw somewhere they can be bought in Vegas with a 2 a day limit.

Chas
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Nice review Eddie!
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Great review. I've got one of these resting and almost lit it tonight. I've never had one. I've come to the conclusion that I like the spice the Fuentes exhibit on occasion and picked up a few different ones to try out. I'ma get to the Don Carlos promptly.
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Thanks for the good review Eddie.
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I had my first Don Carlos last week. It was the Robusto. One of the best cigars I have had.
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Great review. I love the Don Carlos line, really fond of the robusto's.:-)
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Great review! DCs are some of my favorite cammies and gotta love the Fuente construction. :-) I might have to pull one out of the humi this weekend to enjoy. :-)
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DC#3 is one of my all-time favorites. Great review!
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Thanks for the great review Eddie. Which lounge were you at?

I have always loved the Don Carlos series myself. Need to get more.
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My local haunt is Churchills over on North Street, across from Quincy Market.
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I went there once. Pretty spacious place compared to CM. We need to herf together oneday.
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Thanks for the review. I was sitting at the local lounge and trying to figure out what to smoke and her eit was ... Made it an easy choice.
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