The Fuente Factory Is Still A Stunner
Seeing the fountain at the Fuente factory in the Dominican Republic never gets old. One doesn’t get tired of seeing the Trevi fountain in Rome or Prometheus in New York City. At least I don’t. And I feel the same way about Fuente’s. It’s a multi-tier fountain framed by a two-level courtyard meant to evoke the Columbia restaurant in Tampa, Florida, where the Fuente family is from. It’s also right in the middle of a rolling gallery where cigars are made as earnestly as any other operation I’ve ever been to.
When it comes to setting a tone in the cigar workplace, no company has invested as much in beauty and atmosphere as Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. None that I’ve seen anyway. The skeptic in you might think he’s being showy, or maybe even wasteful, but I don’t think so. I think he’s a man who values aesthetics and believes that employees are happier when they work in a nice environment. Since the beginning of this project, Fuente said that he wants people who work at or visit the factory to feel like they’re coming home. Last year, his facility produced around 36 million cigars by hand, including lines such as Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente, Don Carlos and Fuente Fuente OpusX.
I recall when he first expanded Tabacalera y Fuente y Cia. to the lush, byzantine property it is today. Cigar Aficionado was the first to share it with the world back in 2018, but it took some convincing. The factory wasn’t completely finished and Fuente didn’t want us to paint a partial picture. I assured him that photos of the main courtyard alone, called “The Cathedral of Tobacco,” would be enough to drop a jaw or two.
Eventually, he let me do the story, and judging by the reader responses at the time, I was right: it stunned the cigar community. In the beginning, Fuente didn’t even allow his factory to be shown on ProCigar tours. He’s since softened his stance, and thankfully so. With its many chambers, caverns and corridors—and of course, the “Cathedral” courtyard—the Fuente factory is one of the seven wonders of the cigar world. It should be experienced by anyone who loves cigars.
On my visit during the ProCigar festival last week, I stopped in and put together this blog afterward. But it’s a photo essay as well, so maybe it’s a phlog. Is that a thing? There are vlogs aren’t there? Whatever you call it, scroll below and have a look at the pics. I’ve been here many times and there’s always something new to see—or perhaps a new way to see it.
