The FFOX Lost City Carlito's A is one of the most extraordinary releases in the entire Fuente catalog — a 9.25×47 Double Corona built from tobacco with a story unlike anything else in the premium cigar world. In 2004, Carlito Fuente grew a special summer crop at Chateau de la Fuente specifically for the filming of Andy Garcia's movie The Lost City — a departure from the normal winter-to-spring cultivation cycle in the Caribbean that gave the leaf a flavor profile unlike any other tobacco he'd grown. That crop was then aged for more than ten years before it ever became a cigar, and the Carlito's A was released in a total of just 500 boxes of 10 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Lost City line. Five dollars from every stick sold goes directly to the Lost City Scholarship Fund benefiting the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation.
The 9.25×47 format is as commanding as it gets — a true Double Corona that demands patience and rewards it generously. The Dominican Corojo wrapper from Chateau de la Fuente sits oily and rich over aged Dominican binder and filler, and the decade-plus of aging has done exactly what great aging does to great tobacco: rounded the edges, deepened the complexity, and given the blend a cohesion and smoothness that no amount of blending alone can achieve. The construction, as with everything from Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia, is flawless — an even burn across a substantial length, a draw that stays open and comfortable from first cut to last inch, and a smoke output that never thins.
Medium in strength and silky smooth throughout, the flavor profile runs through cedar and leather up front, oak and spice building steadily across a long middle third, and a creamy, naturally sweet finish that carries all the character of the summer-grown Dominican leaf. This is a two-hour smoke built for the occasion that deserves it most. With only 500 boxes ever produced, finding one is the first challenge. Lighting it is the easy part.
