The Fuentes are the best and only company that knows how to blend with the Cameroon wrapper. It's becoming my fav wrapper as well recently. I would choose Hemingway and Don Carlos over Padron annis
Your coverage of this event has been absolutely top tier. I’ve seen plenty of videos of the chateau but never of the factories. Absolutely mind blowing to see the pride and passion the Fuentes have.
Very happy to see a Co. treat employees properly this will help them produce better cigars, Cuba u have a lot to learn and to catch up not just because of its brand name only.
Thanks for the video coverage.... what a cool event! A super memory that I have..... I was able to get a personal tour from Carlito for a couple of hours back around 1995 or so while he went about his business around the office and factory and I've never forgotten it... and like you mentioned... the AROMA of the aging rooms is really something incredible. What a super nice guy he is. Your footage of the old/original rolling gallery looks very much the way I remember it - I'll have to dig out my old photos and compare! The box making operation looks huge now compared to when I was there. I remember them unloading a shipping container of Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata) timbers (I think I recall mostly 6x8" size and up) that were to be resawn into box materials. What an awesome cigar company!
Woooow that's absolutely incredible! Did you go when they were first launching the Opus X project? That would have been in 1995 if I'm not mistaken. Super cool of you to share this and give me a perspective of how it was back then!!
@@StogieLads My visit wasn't related to the OpusX launch. I don't remember Carlos mentioning anything about it at the time..... I think that came later. It may have been 1994 that I was there....not really sure if it was 94 or 95. I was buying cigars at the time from Mark's Cigars (in NJ) via mail order. It was a little pre-Internet back then so everything was done by mail, fax or phone. (Including doing International wire transfers to Spain to buy Cubanos and doing the communications via fax!) During a phone call with the Mark's Cigars owner, Jody Kish (I just looked him up and he died in 2017) I mentioned I was going to be in Puerto Plata soon, as my family has had a place there since 1986. Jody said "Why don't I put you in touch with Carlos... maybe he'll invite you over for a visit?" I said sure, and he gave me his #, so while I was there I called, Carlos answered, and we set up a day for me to go to Santiago. It's about an hour from where I was and I had a rental motorcycle so I set off for the Zona Franca and ended up spending a couple of hours with Carlito. He said, "I hope you don't mind just tagging along with me as I attend to some things around the factory... I've been gone for a few days." It was such a cool experience, and I took a bunch of photos. I have one of me and Carlos in front of the office with a beautiful new carved door that had just been installed as part of a renovation. At the end, Carlos took me into a room with a ton of boxed cigars ready for shipment and told me to pick a box for me to take back with me. I selected a box of Chateau Fuente maduros. I didn't want to come across as greedy by going for something more high-end like the Hemingway series. (The Don Carlos series wasn't even out yet as I recall.) I still have a Mark's Cigar's flyer from 1994. The prices would BLOW YOUR MIND! I'm looking at the list right now....Box of Hemingway Short Story, $41.95, Flora Fina 8-5-8, $30.95, Davidoff Mouton Cadet #1, $79.17, Partagas #10 (box of 10), 25.95! I also have a faxed 4-page price list from 1996 from El Credito in Miami where I mail-ordered cigars several times. That was shortly after the CA feature on El Credito where Ernesto was introduced to the world. I fell in love with Lisette from the photo of her in the feature :) Those La Gloria Cubanas at the time (Wavell, #2, etc) were INCREDIBLE and some of the best smokes I've ever had. They truly don't make them like that any more. But I keep going back to Fuente, for sure. Good times!
@@festerofest4374 Wow that insight is absolutely incredible. Those prices! Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this, man. It's been a pleasure to read!
Just had my very first cigar ever and it was An Arturo Fuente Chateau, WOW is an understatement! super nice and clean smoke, Almost as if I could taste the quality control and cleanliness of the factory. Although not as “good” or expensive piece as other brands it was such a nice introduction to cigars! I cannot wait to burn another one tomorrow!!
Fuente is such an amazing brand with so many to choose from. Im a year into discovering cigars and I still love them above all others. Try a queen b or gran reserva, 2 of my faves.
We left the festival with over 100 cigars each. I smoked a bit over 20 cigars during the week there if I remember correctly. If you want a more detailed answer we actually went through all of this in the podcast episode that we did about the festival!
Hey lads! It's like heaven!!! 🤯🤯🤯🤯 So cool video, thanks for sharing! Can't wait for the last part! Take care! Ps. Any chance you have a giveaway with some items from the trip? Just want to be part of the trip as well... 😂😂😂
@@seminky5341 So if only smoke Cuban cigars you know what’s going on in Cuba .. No rolls there cigars got sun spots and there aging rooms are lost at sea.. They are decreasing their cigar- production targets. They are beginning to return to traditional methods of curing and fermenting tobacco. They stopped using some hybrid tobaccos that weren't right for their fields. And they are working hard to reimpose stringent quality controls in the production process
Allow me (or not) to correct your statement: Nothing USED TO beat Cuban cigars IN THE DISTANT PAST, more like. How long have you been smoking those? I personally started smoking cigars at the end of the '90s. Mostly Cubans. At the time, in France, outside Paris, there wasn't much available except Cubans, by the way. I'd say that since the 2010s, Cuba has been slowly going downhill, even more so since Covid-19 and Hurricane Ian. You can still find great Cubans, but most of them have construction issues. In general, Cuban cigars are nowhere near what they used to be, both in terms of construction and flavor. They lost most of their experienced torcedores who fled the country. A country falling apart sadly in recent years, which doesn't help. Crops are massively overfarmed again and again without resting the soil. Quality control has truly become appalling. And on top of that, since they sell so easily in China/Singapore (people there are notorious for preferring bling over flavor), they are pricier than ever despite the loss of quality. I still have a lot of Cubans, but it pisses me off how so many have a crappy draw or don't taste half as good as they did back then. I still have affection for them, since my most memorable times were with an H. Upmann Sir Winston and a Partagas Lusitania back at the beginning of the 2000s. I still have a 17-year-old aged Lusitania in one of my humidors. They're nearly impossible to find now, outside a few shops here and there.
The Fuentes are the best and only company that knows how to blend with the Cameroon wrapper. It's becoming my fav wrapper as well recently. I would choose Hemingway and Don Carlos over Padron annis
Your coverage of this event has been absolutely top tier. I’ve seen plenty of videos of the chateau but never of the factories. Absolutely mind blowing to see the pride and passion the Fuentes have.
Thank you so much for saying that! I was more than happy to share these experiences!
Thanks for sharing. Gorgeous factory!
Thank you man! It is truly something special.
Thank you for sharing these videos! Such a cool experience.
Thank you for watching man!!
Thank you so much for this tour ! I really enjoy the Hemingway best seller size. It’s my go to after many years. Best to you !
Very happy to see a Co. treat employees properly this will help them produce better cigars, Cuba u have a lot to learn and to catch up not just because of its brand name only.
Thanks for the video coverage.... what a cool event! A super memory that I have..... I was able to get a personal tour from Carlito for a couple of hours back around 1995 or so while he went about his business around the office and factory and I've never forgotten it... and like you mentioned... the AROMA of the aging rooms is really something incredible. What a super nice guy he is. Your footage of the old/original rolling gallery looks very much the way I remember it - I'll have to dig out my old photos and compare!
The box making operation looks huge now compared to when I was there. I remember them unloading a shipping container of Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata) timbers (I think I recall mostly 6x8" size and up) that were to be resawn into box materials. What an awesome cigar company!
Woooow that's absolutely incredible! Did you go when they were first launching the Opus X project? That would have been in 1995 if I'm not mistaken. Super cool of you to share this and give me a perspective of how it was back then!!
@@StogieLads My visit wasn't related to the OpusX launch. I don't remember Carlos mentioning anything about it at the time..... I think that came later. It may have been 1994 that I was there....not really sure if it was 94 or 95.
I was buying cigars at the time from Mark's Cigars (in NJ) via mail order. It was a little pre-Internet back then so everything was done by mail, fax or phone. (Including doing International wire transfers to Spain to buy Cubanos and doing the communications via fax!)
During a phone call with the Mark's Cigars owner, Jody Kish (I just looked him up and he died in 2017) I mentioned I was going to be in Puerto Plata soon, as my family has had a place there since 1986. Jody said "Why don't I put you in touch with Carlos... maybe he'll invite you over for a visit?" I said sure, and he gave me his #, so while I was there I called, Carlos answered, and we set up a day for me to go to Santiago. It's about an hour from where I was and I had a rental motorcycle so I set off for the Zona Franca and ended up spending a couple of hours with Carlito. He said, "I hope you don't mind just tagging along with me as I attend to some things around the factory... I've been gone for a few days."
It was such a cool experience, and I took a bunch of photos. I have one of me and Carlos in front of the office with a beautiful new carved door that had just been installed as part of a renovation. At the end, Carlos took me into a room with a ton of boxed cigars ready for shipment and told me to pick a box for me to take back with me. I selected a box of Chateau Fuente maduros. I didn't want to come across as greedy by going for something more high-end like the Hemingway series. (The Don Carlos series wasn't even out yet as I recall.)
I still have a Mark's Cigar's flyer from 1994. The prices would BLOW YOUR MIND! I'm looking at the list right now....Box of Hemingway Short Story, $41.95, Flora Fina 8-5-8, $30.95, Davidoff Mouton Cadet #1, $79.17, Partagas #10 (box of 10), 25.95!
I also have a faxed 4-page price list from 1996 from El Credito in Miami where I mail-ordered cigars several times. That was shortly after the CA feature on El Credito where Ernesto was introduced to the world. I fell in love with Lisette from the photo of her in the feature :) Those La Gloria Cubanas at the time (Wavell, #2, etc) were INCREDIBLE and some of the best smokes I've ever had. They truly don't make them like that any more. But I keep going back to Fuente, for sure.
Good times!
@@festerofest4374 Wow that insight is absolutely incredible. Those prices! Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this, man. It's been a pleasure to read!
Just had my very first cigar ever and it was An Arturo Fuente Chateau, WOW is an understatement! super nice and clean smoke, Almost as if I could taste the quality control and cleanliness of the factory. Although not as “good” or expensive piece as other brands it was such a nice introduction to cigars! I cannot wait to burn another one tomorrow!!
Fuente is such an amazing brand with so many to choose from. Im a year into discovering cigars and I still love them above all others. Try a queen b or gran reserva, 2 of my faves.
human creativity at it's best
The factory is truly amazing!
awesome tour, thank you for sharing
Way kewl man thanks for sharing... U inspired me to try to make it there one day
Thank you for the great coverage. Could you make a video about prices for the festival and how many cigars you where given per day it looks great.
Freaking awesome
Fantastic video ..happy smoking from the UK..
I'm smoking a arturo fuente cigarillo. Short, thin, but just like the original. Very well rolled. Nice and compact and solid. Love it
Awesome to hear man! Their stuff is great quality across the board!
Hello. Went is the next festival. ????
Amazing enjoy Bro and thx for sharing the passion
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Very Nice tour👍 amazing factory
It truly is amazing. Thank you for watching!
Amazing video. Did you felt sick smoking that much all day? Or how much did you really smoke, I really wonder.
Excelente!
Wheres the Opus X room? Getting tired of that cigar being sold out.
Is it pronounced Opus "X" or Opus "ten"?
@@BuffaloNickel9"X", as in the letter x. Pronounced: "OH-PUS EACKS".
What would you estimate on how many cigars you left the festival with and how many were you able to smoke while there
We left the festival with over 100 cigars each. I smoked a bit over 20 cigars during the week there if I remember correctly. If you want a more detailed answer we actually went through all of this in the podcast episode that we did about the festival!
The Don factory up and running nice to see 😎
Incredible cathedral of cigars!
Went is the festival. And were. ??? 😊
Lovely event
Hey lads! It's like heaven!!! 🤯🤯🤯🤯 So cool video, thanks for sharing! Can't wait for the last part! Take care! Ps. Any chance you have a giveaway with some items from the trip? Just want to be part of the trip as well... 😂😂😂
Hahaha thank you man! Giveaways are tough nowadays so I'm not sure if that will happen. Thank you for watching and enjoying the videos though man!
@@StogieLads no worries! Thanks for sharing your experience, still awesome!
I will have to try that smoked rum 😆🍸
Hahah fun to do but doesn't do much with the flavor
Incredible content!
Thank you! Very kind of you to say!
Really cool video!
Thank you!
Såja! Ge oss mer 💥
Hahah uppskattar entusiasmen!!
de burde gi deg gratis inngang for den råe dekningen du utfører av festivalen! Litt mer fra festene og sigarene så hadde det vært 100 🙌
Hahaha snällt av dig att säga!
They dont have anymore tobacco from 1990 any more they lie
I feel pity for american. No matter how hard non cuban cigar tried to marlet their product, nothing beats Cuban cigar.
Nonsense. Cubans are severely overrated.
I bet you never tried a Cuban cigar . You ever heard of the saying same shit different day.
@@BIGO787 i only smoke cuban cigar.
@@seminky5341 So if only smoke Cuban cigars you know what’s going on in Cuba .. No rolls there cigars got sun spots and there aging rooms are lost at sea.. They are decreasing their cigar- production targets. They are beginning to return to traditional methods of curing and fermenting tobacco. They stopped using some hybrid tobaccos that weren't right for their fields. And they are working hard to reimpose stringent quality controls in the production process
Allow me (or not) to correct your statement:
Nothing USED TO beat Cuban cigars IN THE DISTANT PAST, more like.
How long have you been smoking those? I personally started smoking cigars at the end of the '90s. Mostly Cubans. At the time, in France, outside Paris, there wasn't much available except Cubans, by the way.
I'd say that since the 2010s, Cuba has been slowly going downhill, even more so since Covid-19 and Hurricane Ian. You can still find great Cubans, but most of them have construction issues. In general, Cuban cigars are nowhere near what they used to be, both in terms of construction and flavor.
They lost most of their experienced torcedores who fled the country. A country falling apart sadly in recent years, which doesn't help. Crops are massively overfarmed again and again without resting the soil. Quality control has truly become appalling.
And on top of that, since they sell so easily in China/Singapore (people there are notorious for preferring bling over flavor), they are pricier than ever despite the loss of quality.
I still have a lot of Cubans, but it pisses me off how so many have a crappy draw or don't taste half as good as they did back then.
I still have affection for them, since my most memorable times were with an H. Upmann Sir Winston and a Partagas Lusitania back at the beginning of the 2000s. I still have a 17-year-old aged Lusitania in one of my humidors. They're nearly impossible to find now, outside a few shops here and there.