Arturo Fuente Añejo No. 77 Shark

When the legendary Arturo Fuente Añejo line debuted in 2000, the blend was intended as a temporary remedy to take the place of Fuente Fuente Opus X cigars, which couldn’t be made on account of the damage caused by Hurricane Georges in the Dominican Republic in 1998. The storm destroyed the barns housing precious Opus X cigar wrappers, and Opus production was suspended for a time. Carlito repurposed his reserves of Opus X binder and filler tobacco for Añejo, an ultra-rich cigar finished in a dark and oily Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, matured in a cognac barrel for added sweetness. The result speaks for itself in a deep profile of dark chocolate, anise, cedar, molasses, and black pepper punctuated with buttery hints of cognac and spice. Only five sizes of Añejo were produced to start, but the first commercially available Shark soon followed, and the cigar remains one of the most desirable in the entire Fuente portfolio today.