Daniel Marshall has built a reputation in the luxury segment of the premium cigar industry. Marshall is best known for producing some of the most sought-after luxury handcrafted humidors in the world. Along the way, Marshall has also produced his own line of cigars. Marshall has established many friendships with cigar makers. Names such as Quesada and Plasencia have produced cigars for Marshall. Another name whom Marshall established a friendship with is Carlos “Carlito” Fuente, and this would eventually lead to Fuente crafting a blend and cigar for Marshall. The two worked on the project for three years, and the end result would be a cigar that would be re-released for Marshall’s 38th anniversary in the cigar business, the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII Limited Edition. Today we take a closer look a the cigar.

While Marshall’s name is known for luxury cigar accessories, this has also carried over into the cigars he made. One cigar he released is the Daniel Marshall Red Label 24kt Golden Torpedo. This is a cigar that is literally wrapped with over 50 individual pure 24-karat gold leaves from Italy and is meant to be smoked with the gold on it. As Marshall and Fuente were developing the XXXVIII Limited Edition, Fuente suggested to Marshall that they also wrap one of the cigars in 24k gold. This is included in the XXXVIII Limited Edition set.

The Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII Limited Edition is not sold as an individual cigar. Instead, it’s sold in a set. This features: Daniel Marshall Limited Desk-Travel Humidor handcrafted in Macassar Ebony that was designed by Marshall and Fuente. The humidor includes:

• (1) Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente 24kt Gold XXXVIII Anniversary Cigar with 2 grams of pure 24kt gold personally rolled on each Golden Cigar by Daniel Marshall
• (7) Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII Anniversary Cigars
• (1) Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII Anniversary Cigar to be enjoyed in the “Virtual Campfire with Daniel”
• A hand-signed commemorative book, “38 YEARS,” a book that chronicles the story of this cigar and of the Daniel Marshall journey from the creation of a thank you gift in 1982 to today
• A complimentary membership in the DMCC – The Daniel Marshall Campfire Club. Upon enrollment, each member will receive a “Since 1982” Travel Aluminum Cigar Ashtray
• DM Cutter, DM Torch Lighter, and the DMQ Magazine as well as valuable benefits and exclusive offers.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Not many specifics have been revealed about the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII other than the fact that this cigar is a Dominican puro. Production comes out of the Fuente factory in the Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Country: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia

Vitolas Offered

The Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII is offered in one size – a 6 3/8 x 52 Torpedo. As mentioned there are eight of these cigars (along with the additional gold leaf-wrapped cigar) packaged in a humidor.

Appearance

The Dominican wrapper of the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII had a medium brown color. There wasn’t much in the way of oil on the surface of the wrapper, but there was a slight amount of mottling. There were some thin visible veins and thin visible wrapper seams. The torpedo tip had a gentle taper converging at the head of the cigar

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to commence the smoking experience of the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII. A little more than half of the tip was cut so that adequate tapering remained on the torpedo head. From that point, it was on to the pre-light draw experience.

Tasting Notes

The Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII opened up with notes of sweet natural tobacco, caramel, cedar, and earth notes. There was definitely a fair amount of sweetness early on and the sweet natural tobacco notes emerged as the primary flavor. As the cigar progressed through the first third, the natural tobacco shed some of the sweetness. The caramel, cedar, and earth notes were also joined by hay and black pepper notes. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of cedar on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII, the natural tobacco notes remained primary. The cedar notes increased early on. The caramel notes slowly diminished and were gradually replaced by some fruit sweetness. Toward the latter part of the second third, the pepper notes increased in intensity. Meanwhile, notes of earth and hay remained in the background as well.

There wasn’t much change in the final third. The natural tobacco notes remained primary. The cedar and pepper notes were the most prominent of the secondary notes. The fruit, hay, and earth notes remained in the more distant background. This is the way the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Overall the burn of the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII required some touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. While the touch-ups kept the burn on point, there were more matchups than I prefer. The resulting ash was mostly light gray with some darker spots mixed in. This was an ash that wasn’t overly firm, but wasn’t loose nor flaky. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature maintained ideal levels.

Draw

The draw to the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII performed extremely well. This was a draw that had a touch of resistance – which is something that I prefer. At the same time, the torpedo tip held up quite well during the smoking experience.

Strength and Body

The strength and body of the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII was medium for both attributes. During the smoking experience, there wasn’t a huge amount of variance in the intensity levels of the strength and body. At the same time, the strength and body balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overpowering the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

The primary band of the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII is highlighted by Daniel Marshall’s initials in gold font on a white background. This white and gold band had been used before on a line known as the DM White Label Series. The Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII is a different cigar, and is distinguished by a secondary band.

I have yet to see the humidor in person, but from the photos, it looks exquisite.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII delivers everything you would expect when two people like Daniel Marshall and Carlito Fuente get together. This is an excellent cigar. Being a Dominican puro, one might expect this to smoke like Arturo Fuente’s signature Dominican puro, the Fuente Fuente OpusX. This was simply not the case with the Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII. I found this cigar to be more dialed back, but not short on flavor.

In the end, with a score of 92, this cigar exceeds the standard of excellence on Cigar Coop (which is a 90-point score). However, this $1,500.00 (or plus) price point certainly does not make this an everyday cigar. But if you are able to get your hands on one, I highly advise doing so – as you won’t be disappointed.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Caramel, Cedar, Fruit, Earth, Hay, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Try a Sample
Score: 92

REFERENCES

News: Daniel Marshall by Carlos Fuente XXXVIII Anniversary Cigar, Limited Edition 2020 Heading to 38 Retailers
Price: $1,500.00-$2,000.00 for Humidor Package
Source: Daniel Marshall
Brand Reference: Daniel Marshall

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted