As one of the best-selling lines of smokes Arturo Fuente offers, the 8-5-8 family of sticks is widely acknowledged to be one of the more unbeatable values in the world of cigars.
Late AF patriarch Don Carlos Fuente Senior described the role his father (legendary company founder Arturo Fuente) played in formulating its numerical name:
“…My father showed me how to blend the tobaccos into a shape that later became known as the 8-5-8. And when my father passed away at the age of 85, as a way of honoring him and as a means of expressing our eternal love for him, we called it 8-5-8, so the number would be legible from both directions. It became very well accepted almost immediately… He was instrumental in originating this cigar.”
The 8-5-8 Double Claros make use of an ultra-mild, bright green Candela wrapper to enclose premium aged Dominican long-filler tobaccos (the original blend dates back to 1975) sealed with a Dominican binder. The result is a well-balanced, mild-strength, mild-to-medium-bodied cigar that artfully showcases the dedication and passion of four generations of the Arturo Fuente family.
Creamy flavors of cedar, fresh grass, and sugary sweetness coalesce, concocting a well-balanced, relaxing smoke that delivers an easy draw and a slow, near-perfect burn, with no harshness, rawness or unpleasant bitterness. These are great morning, midday or early afternoon cigars.
Some say the 8-5-8s are perfect for “newbies” who are novices to smoking, but for all the quibblers who assert this, there are countless other aficionados who stay loyal to these sticks for decades, and even a lifetime.