Last week on the Smokin Tabacco Show, we welcomed Carlo “Carlito” Fuente Jr. back to the show to catch up but mostly discuss the special new project that Arturo Fuente is releasing to honor the victims and the 25th Anniversary of the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. This special project is called the Fuente Fuente OpusX ReXilient, and it will be shipping to stores this week.
This project was first shown at the 2026 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show in New Orleans, Louisiana back in April. Carlito went on to discuss on our show how the project came to be, including the story of where he and his father were on 9/11 and how it always stuck with him. ReXilient is a twenty-count box that features sixteen churchill vitolas and four box-pressed cigars. They are split into two levels, each featuring eight of the churchills, with two of the box-pressed cigars fully wrapped in American flag bands in the middle, slightly raised higher than the rest. The cigars are the first fully box-pressed cigars the company has made, and they both also feature flat tops and bottoms. The top of each also says “Never Forget” printed on the flag wrapping covering the cigars. Carlito did not disclose the blend, but says these cigars are “magic”.
In addition, Carlito worked with the NYPD, FDNY, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to make a special insert sheet that lays on top of the cigars that showcases the badges of each of those organizations but also features badge numbers of those that perished on that day.
However, other media outlets have severely downplayed the true meaning and gift behind these cigars. The ReXilient does have an official MSRP of $535, although many retailers will inflate that price quite a bit so beware. Carlito told us that he has partnered with Tunnels 2 Towers Foundation and is donating $11 per box to the foundation. But that isn’t all he did. He attended a charity event called Havana Nights last week in Los Angeles where they auctioned off two boxes of these, bringing in $40,000 that is being donated to Joe Mantegna’s foundation for veterans. In addition, Carlito also said Arturo Fuente is donating 125 boxes to Hope for Heros for an event in New York City on November 10th, 2026. 125 VIP guests who each donated $1,000 will receive a box plus two cigars, all donated be Arturo Fuente with the proceeds going to Hope for Heros. On September 11th, Carlito will be attending an event at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
The purpose of this release was to honor the people who were lost on September 11th, 2001, and to help raise whatever money they could for the charities that support them and their families among others and was never about a money grab. Carlito wanted to stress, just like what happened with the Fuente y Padron Legends, this was about honoring people and raising money for charity. “But it’s not the money man, it’s that I am able to speak to people and tell them, ‘Never Forget’, they’re not going to be forgotten.” says Fuente Jr.
These cigars are going to available in very limited quantities, and Carlito did not say if he would re-release these again or not.
