8-5-8. What does that even mean?

2010 Big Smoke, Las Vegas.  8 guys 1 wife, 3 cars, Jay-Z in the CD player, hitting up the Barstow In 'n' Out Burger halfway and seeing who was gonna hit the first scratch off was happening.  Our yearly trip to the Cigar Heaven always started at Casa Fuente at The Forum Shops to catch up with and get some hard to find smokes from our friend, the General Manager Mikey Goldchains, sip lots of Mojitos from the beautiful waitresses, all while sitting and people watching as the escalator brought some serious sights to see.  Mike Tyson and Pete Rose were always signing autographs across the way.  Opus X, some Casa Fuentes, Sharks, and other rarities came to the table after my buddy would somehow get his hands on them after disappearing for 10 minutes or so into the Opus Humidor.

That year I was hoping for some big wins to help my rather meager wallet.  I didn't have alot of extra cash to spend on crazy expensive cigars, but still wanted to smoke something that was special and good.  My friend looks at me and says, "do you see what I see?"  I was like, "um yeah..  lots of good cigars I can't afford."  And thats when he said those three numbers... 8-5-8.  I was like, "really?"  See, I had smoked the maduro and the natural many times and I liked the cigar, I thought it was good, but for Big Smoke?  C'mon bro!  After a smack upside my head, he said.. "look bro (insert Armenian accent, more like.. brrro.) it's the 8-5-8 Sun Grown, it's da' bes. You HAVE to try this." That day started my love affair with this hard to find, incredible cigar.  Thank you Tony.

Since then I have always wondered what the 8-5-8 meant.  I mean the cigar isn't a 8 x 58, yes the numbers add up to 21 but what does that even mean, or maybe it's GPS coordinates for the special farm in the Dominican??  Yeah, no.

Carlos Fuente Sr. ( God rest his soul) explains the naming of this cigar. "My father showed me how to blend the tobaccos into a shape which later became known as the Flor Fina 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 that the number would be legible from both directions. It became very well accepted almost immediately. Since he was instrumental in originating this cigar, I am sure he would be delighted to know that the 8-5-8 is still our largest selling shape.”

Boom!  There it is.  After all these years it's just another thoughtful message about family from the first family of cigars.  Just another thoughtful message doesn't mean what you think it means, it means what it says..  this is again, another tribute, remembering, honor, love song, thoughtfully written about and to the Fuente family history.  Be aware, there are three versions of this cigar...2002, 2009, 2018 releases.  2002, super rare to to find (87 boxes of 50 cigars.  2009, it's possible to find some, it's the one I had back in 2010, and 2018.  The bands change color but the cedar wrapped red ribbon band at the bottom doesn't.

Finding that stick in Brick and Mortar Shops is always special to me.  Brings back many memories.  In my opinion, there is not another cigar in that price point I would ever choose over that cigar.  It is simply, Da' Bes.

Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8 Sun Grown cigars, as well at the Natural, Maduro and Candela can be found at Lord Puffer Tobacconist just outside of San Diego, CA.  With the largest selection of Fuente products on the West Coast it is the go to spot for all things Fuente.  Visit the website: www.lordpuffercigars.com