Don Duarte Reserva Privada Fuerte (Black Band)

The Reserva Privada Fuerte cigars come from the brand Don Duarte. All vitolas in this series are 100% handmade longfillers. The Reserva Privada Fuerte line was initiated by Dr. Roger Duarte-Rodriguez, a member of one of the oldest cigar dynasties in Nicaragua. His smokes are certainly among the most exciting insider tips from Nicaragua. The grandfather of the owner, Don Rafael Rodriguez, was one of the first to export Nicaraguan tobacco abroad. The great-grandmother was just as industrious – the lady with the imposing name Dona Mariana Duarte Boza was already active in the tobacco business a generation earlier. She owned a small tabacalera in Masaya. It is said that the Duarte-Rodriguez family were even among the founders of Nicaragua’s cigar capital, Estelí, in the north of the country.

Reserva Privada Fuerte Cigars by Don Duarte

The blends were created by industry legend Evelio Oviedo. Sadly, Evelio passed away far too early in 2009. He was always cheerful and spread good vibes – it’s a real shame we lost him so soon! Evelio was also responsible for the Dannemann Artist Line HBPR. Here at the Cigarworld Lounge office, we still have two photos of him – one with my sister Patricia and one with me. Fond memories of a true giant in the cigar industry!

Full-Bodied Don Duarte Cigars: Reserva Privada Fuerte

There used to be several variations of this cigar line: Fuerte, Doble Fuerte, and the Maduro version. The first two differ in the amount of ligero used, while the Maduro version is essentially a “regular” Fuerte wrapped in a Maduro wrapper. As you can probably guess, the Doble Fuerte is significantly stronger than the “regular” Fuerte, although even that one is still considerably stronger than the other three series from this brand.