Cigar Aficionado

Carlos Fuente Jr. had never been to Greenwich, Connecticut before last week. After the night he had at Burning Tree Country Club, it’s likely that he’s going to come back soon.

“An Opus Xodus,” a cigar dinner and charity auction thrown on October 11 by The Tobacconist of Greenwich, sold out long in advance, with 150 cigar lovers sitting down to artisanal cocktails, a surf ‘n’ turf dinner and plenty of cigars made by Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. in the Dominican Republic. Upon walking in, the guests each received a four-pack of smokable goodies: an Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto; a Fuente Fuente OpusX Double Corona (a cigar once named Cigar of the Year); a Casa Fuente Lancero, a slim smoke that one can typically only find out in Las Vegas, at the Casa Fuente cigar lounge and bar; and a ForbiddenX Cigar in the Bottle, another rarity. 

Cigars were lit, drinks were sipped, and Frankie Sands and his band played songs by Frank Sinatra, setting the mood for the evening. Soon, Michael Cafagno, owner of Tobacconist of Greenwich, took to the stage to welcome his guests and to introduce Fuente Jr., the man of the evening. Fuente greeted the crowd and spoke about his family and his business. Soon after, videos played depicting the company’s state-of-the-art tobacco farm in the Dominican Republic, Chateau de la Fuente, along with the charity the event was raising money for—the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation. The footage showed the efforts of the Foundation, namely creating a school for the impoverished children who live in and around Bonao, Dominican Republic. 

After the meal, Cafagno returned to the stage to begin an auction benefitting the charity, with auctioneer Chris Ward taking control of the bids. Most of the items were cigars—but not just any cigars. All were difficult to obtain in one way or another, and some were taken right from Fuente Jr.’s personal humidor, starting with the first cigar sold, a Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion A, a nine-inch-plus long cigar in a wooden coffin, signed by Fuente himself. The one cigar sold for $5,500.

Each lot closed for impressive prices, some as high as $30,000. They included such rarities as a Purple Rain Humidor, a round of golf at Sebonack in the Hamptons, a trip to the Dominican Republic to see the Fuente factory and fields and all kinds of other rare cigars. The bidding on a bundle of 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX 20th Anniversary Lanceros (the ones with the blue bands, a cigar that’s not sold at retail) reached $25,000, or $2,500 per cigar; the interest was so high and the prices so dear that Cafagno allowed the two highest bidders to split the lot, and Fuente agreed to give each of them a bundle. They auctioned off Fuente’s trademark hat, even the sign above the dais that read “Fuente Fuente OpusX.” In the end, the auction plus ticket proceeds raised $335,000 for the charity. 

“I’m just overwhelmed by the event,” says Fuente Jr. “The amount of money that was raised was just incredible.”

Cafagno was also blown away. “We had a crazy goal today,” he says. “Cigar Family Charitable Foundation is an amazing charity.”

When it was all over, Fuente Jr. was surrounded by people hoping for a photograph and an autograph—and there was another cigar to take home. Each diner received a box containing 10 special OpusX Oscuro Maduro Double Coronas, packed in bright, orange boxes. Neither the cigars nor that box had ever been made before. “We wanted everyone who attended to have a very special cigar to commemorate the evening,” says Fuente Jr. “The orange box was made exclusively for this event and has never been sold or seen before.”

To contribute to the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, click here.

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