Arturo Fuente Hemingway Best Seller – Cigar Review

Arturo Fuente is known for making some of the best selling Dominican cigars in the world. They’ve been around for quite some time and are a household name to cigar smokers everywhere. It’s rare to find someone who hasn’t at least heard of them before, so today I wanted to revisit a cigar I used to smoke all time back in the day. The Arturo Fuente Hemingway Best Seller.

What am I smoking?

Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Hemingway Best Seller
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Arturo Fuente
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Length: 5 Inches
Ring Gauge: 55
Vitola: Figurado
Strength: 5/10

Packaging & Design

This is a unique cigar to say the least. They come packaged in trapezoidal boxes of 25 cigars that feature a distinctive figurado shape. The bands are the classic Fuente bands, primarily red and white with simple black text. The box is a lacquered wood with the Arturo Fuente seal on top with the words “Best Seller” on the front in a scroll-type text.

First Impressions

The cigars themselves, like I mentioned, have a very distinctive shape to them. At the foot, the opening is incredibly small which quickly jumps to a thicker ring gauge, then tapers back down towards the head. The Best Seller is firmly packed and even throughout with minimal veins. Aromas from the foot include cedar and cracked peppercorn, both of which are translated into the prelight draw.

The Smoke

After lighting, the cigar has a tight draw which is due to the small tapered foot. But as soon as it opens up, the taste follows suit. Notes of dry white wine and cedar are very prevalent during the first third. Alongside that are nuances of oak and roasted almonds.

Getting into the second third, the burn started to favor one side, but evened out as the burn line creeped further down. It’s body is sitting at a solid medium, making for a pleasant experience thus far. Notes of cream and espresso are at the forefront with nuances of leather and earth in the background.

During the final third, the Best Seller started to heat up as the gauge got thinner (which I anticipated). I slowed my pace so it wouldn’t get too hot and started picking up on flavors of citrus and coffee beans. The finish of the smoke is short but offers subtle complexities as it fades. After about 45 minutes of smoking time, I decided to put the cigar down at the nub.

Final Thoughts

The Arturo Fuente Best Seller is a nice cigar for when you don’t have all the time in the word to sit down for one. It’s a very consistent smoke that hasn’t changed much since the last time I had one, which was about 4 years ago at this point. Although there was a slight burn issue I attribute to its odd shape, It’s an overall enjoyable cigar that has kept me entertained for the duration of the experience.

Rating: 90
Price: $8.79 / $174.99 (Box of 25)