Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at the Arturo Fuente Rare Pink Vintage 1960’s Signature. This is a cigar line that has been previously assessed, most recently back in November 2022 in the Happy Ending size.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
Signature: 6 x 46

Late in 2020, Arturo Fuente would release a limited production line of cigars known as the Rare Pink Vintage 1960’s series. Pink is a color that is associated with breast cancer awareness, and the Rare Pink 1960’s is a line that is meant to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research. Company Chairman Carlos “Carlito” Fuente got the inspiration to support this cause from his daughter Liana, who lost both her grandmother and aunt to breast cancer. The boxes of these cigars are pink in color and the bands have pink accents. The bands also have a retro 1960s-era vibe – which is the period in time when Carlito was growing up. We’ve assessed several sizes of the Rare Pink 1960’s Series. Today we take a look at the Signature size – a 6 x 46 figurado.

The Arturo Fuente Rare Pink Vintage 1960’s line features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over a Dominican binder and filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Like the Arturo Fuente Hemingway line, the Rare Pink line is an all-figurado line. Three of the sizes of the Rare Pink Vintage 1960’s are also in the Hemingway line. The Signature is one of those three sizes while the Short Story and Work of Art are the other two. Coming in at a 46-ring gauge, the Signature is the thinnest vitola of the Rare Pink Vintage 1960’s line.

The Arturo Fuente Rare Pink Vintage 1960’s Signature opened up with notes of coffee, natural tobacco, cedar, and black pepper. During the first third, the coffee notes took a slight edge as the primary note. The retro-hale delivered an extra layer of black pepper. During the second third, the cedar joined the coffee notes in the forefront. Just past the midway point, there was an increase in the pepper notes. Things held in the last third, the coffee and cedar remained primary. The pepper was more prominent at this point than at any other point in the smoking experience, but still was a secondary note. There still were also natural tobacco notes present in the background. The Signature would finish with a soft, cool nub.

Throughout the smoking experience of the Arturo Fuente Rare Pink Vintage 1960’s Signature, the flavors were medium to full-bodied countered by medium strength. The burn was excellent requiring minimal touch-ups. The draw was on the open side, and this gets a positive mark, but I still prefer a little more resistance on the draw.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Overall, when I look at the four original sizes of the Rare Pink 1960’s: Work of Art, Short Story, Happy Ending, and Signature; by far the best size of these original four is the Signature. The long, slender format of the Signature vitolas definitely made the flavors richer. The only downside was I thought the complexity level came down a bit with the Signature. In the end, the richer flavors made for a better cigar. This is a cigar I would recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would buy and even go for multiples to keep in my humidor.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Natural Tobacco, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Very Good