Pre-light Experience

Seth: The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años is softly pressed. It has a nice give to touch, and few veins are present throughout the cigar. The veins present are smaller in size, and the coloring is that of soft Colorado. It has an antique brown coloring. There are aromas of wood, tobacco, soft spices and leather.
John: The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años has a Colorado color wrapper. For artisanal complications, the cigar has a soft box press shape. I weighed the cigar at 13.1 grams and measured the humidity with the Humidimeter Pro at 65.7%. Aromas from the wrapper included sharp, fresh wood with a dusty, wet tobacco sitting underneath. From the foot, I was getting mild hay, tobacco and wood.
Jiunn: The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años has another 2026 fiscal year trendy box shaped vitola. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll on the loose end and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give faint cedar and barnyard.

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años

First Third

Seth: The first third begins with some cream, cedar, soft spices and tobacco notes. It is a balanced cigar. In terms of strength and body, I would classify the cigar as a solid medium.
John: The first third begins with bread and spices, as sweet tobacco takes up the center and sweet wood makes up the finish at medium strength. The baking spices move to the forefront through the retrohale, increasing in intensity to medium strength. Fresh wood joins the finish at light strength as the first third settles in. As the first third continues, the profile settles into a balanced combination of creamy spices, sweet tobacco and wood to round it out. The post draw is largely defined by wood at this point.
Jiunn: Flavors are bland but easy going with lightness in minerals, soft wood tannins and a hint of plastics. Retrohaling is by far my the best part as it’s distinct with dried red pepper spice. Finish is long with minerals and plastics. Strength and body is medium.

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años

Second Third

Seth: The second third delivers warmer spices than before, and I am getting some red pepper qualities. Strong coffee, tobacco, earth and leather are present. Stronger than the first third, but still complex and balanced. Medium to medium-full in strength and body.
John: The cigar moves into the second third leading with creamy mild spices and wood, with sweet tobacco falling to a background note. The post draw remains wood-driven, now with developing tannins. As the second third continues, baking spices begin to linger into the post draw, joining the wood, with both flavor components sitting at medium-minus strength. The baking spices that were initially mild have increased to medium-minus strength by the halfway point.
Jiunn: The second third’s flavors are still mild but the plastic taste is now a bit sour and quite frankly off putting. The retrohale continues to be the best part as there is clear and distinct dried red pepper spice. The finish lengthens even more but in the worst way possible given the plastic nature. Strength and body continues to be medium.

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años

Final Third

Seth: The final third delivers a flavor profile that is not as heavy and spicy, but finishes with coffee, tobacco, earth, minerals and leather. It has a very natural and old-school flavor profile. Barnyard and manure. Body and strength are around a medium level.
John: In the last third, creaminess returns to lead off at medium-minus strength, while the baking spices recede back down to light-plus on the post draw. The spices and wood are both at light-plus strength at this stage. Tannins return to the post draw wood as the final third settles in, increasing back up to medium-minus strength. Light bitterness begins to accent the post draw wood by the halfway point. Wood carries the profile through the bottom half, with tannic and mildly bitter accents.
Jiunn: The final third is the same as second third. Still the off-putting sour plastic notes dominate the palate making the finish long lasting. Please let this review be over soon.

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años

Burn

Seth: The burn is very good from start to finish.
John: The burn started straight and became uneven, which continued into the second third. Eventually, a touch-up was required in the second third. The burn remained uneven for the remainder of the review but did not require further intervention.
Jiunn: Burn performance was great with an even burn, tight ashes, cool burning temperatures and ample smoke production.

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años

Draw

Seth: The draw is good from beginning to end with the cigar.
John: I measured the draw at 50 inches of water with the Cigar Medics draw machine. Subjectively, I found the draw to be 2 to 2-1/2 notches towards the resistant spectrum.
Jiunn: Draw performance was great as well with the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años is a good cigar. It has a flavor profile that is complex throughout, and the cigar shows some nice transitioning from beginning to end. The body and strength increased in the second and final third, and it has a nice burn and draw as well. The size on the blend is great, and I am curious to see what other vitolas there are with the blend. This is a good cigar, and I look forward to discovering the blend and brand.
John: This cigar delivered a balanced and fairly enjoyable experience early on, but ultimately settled into a more wood-driven profile that lacked enough evolution to elevate it beyond average. The first third was the highlight, offering a well-integrated combination of creamy spices, sweet tobacco and wood. The progression of baking spices through the retrohale added some nice dimension, and the overall balance made for a solid start. As the cigar moved into the second third, the profile began to shift toward a more linear experience. While the baking spices maintained some presence and even built in strength, the sweetness faded into the background, and the developing tannins started to take some of the shine off the earlier balance. It remained enjoyable, but less engaging. The final third continued this trend, with wood and tannins driving the profile and a touch of bitterness creeping in. While the bitterness never became overwhelming, it did further flatten the profile and reduce the nuance that was present earlier on. The cigar never became unpleasant, but it also didn’t find a second gear to bring things back to that initial level of balance. From a construction standpoint, the cigar performed reasonably well. The burn required some attention early but stabilized, and the draw, while slightly resistant, remained within a manageable range. In the end, this Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años is a solid but ultimately average cigar that starts with promise and balance but gradually leans too heavily on wood and tannins without enough complexity or evolution to stand out. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 56 minutes.
Jiunn: What a disaster of a smoking experience. The cigar went from faint and timid flavors to disruptive and off-putting. The plastics influence was terrible and I couldn’t wait to be done with the review. I’m sorry in advance for shitting all over this Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años.

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.77

Cost/Point

$1.92

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.70

Cost/Point

$2.28

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

4.68

Cost/Point

$2.78

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Don Carlos 90 Años