Arturo Fuente Sun Grown Chateau King B
Size: 6 x 55
Filler: Dominican
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown "rosado" wrapper
Price: $6 (box price); $15 (single)

CigarsDirect (a great online site that specializes in high-end superpremiums) gifted me one of these as a "thank you" for participating in their online NCAA Tournament Challenge. I decided to give it a go at my monthly St. Andrews church poker game. Shaun and I both smoked ours that night, provoking much jealousy among our friends who did not participate in the bracket. It was a lucky stogie, since I won $120 at the table.

The cigar is named after an outdoor tavern in Ybor City, Florida named the "King B", where many of the Cuban immigrants gathered in the afternoon to share drinks and stogies after work.

Since I reviewed this same cigar in a smaller size three months ago, I'm just going to hit the highlights in an abbreviated review:

1. My earlier experience with the Fuente Sun Grown was no fluke: They take the Gran Reserva line to a whole new level. They have more flavor, more spice, and more body.


2. I thought I would enjoy the King B more than the Chateau because it is a larger cigar. Whereas the chateau felt like it burned too hot for so much flavor, I assumed a larger ring guage would taste more balanced. But in fact, the larger cigar had lots of complex, balanced, fun flavors at the beginning and at the end. But in the middle there was a letdown where the cigar seemed to become mild and very muted. Both Shaun and I remarked on it.

The Chateu rated a solid 8.0 leaves out of 10 in the C&S scale. We decided to award the King B a slightly lower 7.5/10.

Postscript April 10, 2009: Last night, my friend Daniel gave me a Fuente Double Chateau Sun Grown, which is longer than the King B (6.75 in) with a smaller ring guage (50). This proved to be the perfect size for the Fuente Sun Grown line. Perfect balance between spice and strength. Never burned too hot and never lost its flavor. I'd rate the Double Chateau Sun Grown a 9/10. Its only negative was a canoe at the very beginning, which is an anomaly in a Fuente product.