Initial Thoughts
The Fuente Fuente Opus X is one of those cigars that is legendary in the cigar community. If you ever hear someone talk about this cigar it seems that everyone else has a story that tries to top the other’s. I remember the first time I smoked an Opus X, I thought I was ready for the strength when I smoked it, but it turns out I was wrong. My initial round with the Opus X brought me to one of the sickest points I’ve ever had smoking cigars. So needless to say I was gun shy to give it another go around for this review.
However when these cigars became available at my local shop I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to buy a couple of them. Although they were labeled with a $16 price tag I went ahead and bought two of them. So in case some of you haven’t heard the backstory about how this Opus X came into being I’ll rehash what the Arturo Fuente site says about it. The Fuente Fuente Opus X is supposedly the first Dominican Puro, apparently the Dominican soil wasn’t ideal for growing wrapper leaf, but after years of tenacious work from the Fuente family they deemed it was ready to start growing this incredible leaf.
As I said above the Opus X is one of those cigars that has such a legendary following that it’s hard to say anything about it that hasn’t been said before, so let’s just get into the review and see what all the hype is about this stick and maybe I can survive this one without getting sick!
Looks
One of the first things that pops out about this cigar is the band. It’s big, bold, and flamboyant. It pops out with its gold trim and bold red background. What I love most about this band is the Double F on in the center, shorthand for the name Fuente Fuente. This band is different than the original Arturo Fuente band that you can see on the Anejo. Behind the double F this a big bold X which lets you know that this cigar is special and of course that it’s the Opus X. I’m not going to say something corny like X marks the spot, because I know you guys don’t appreciate corny things like that, or maybe you do and I just offended you. I’m not sure.
Once you get passed noticing the band you will probably see that this Fuente Fuente Opus X has a cedar sleeve wrapping the barrel of the cigar. At the foot of the cigar there is a beautiful satin red band holding the cedar sleeve in place. This satin sleeve reminds me of the Flor De Las Antillas it’s not the same color but they both have similar sleeves and I think it adds a nice bit of flair to the cigar as well.
Once you get past all the flair of this cigar you get down to the nuts and bolts and begin to notice that beautiful Dominican wrapper. Near the head of this cigar the color is a nice dark brown, however where the cedar sleeve was covering the cigar the wrapper is a lighter shade of brown, not quite a tan color but definitely a few shades lighter than the head of the cigar that’s for sure. Alright, I think we’ve talked as much as we can about how this Fuente Fuente Opus X looks lets dive a little deeper and take a look at what else this cigar has to offer.
Function
The head of this cigar has a beautifully placed triple cap to close up to the top of the cigar. There are some very distinct seam lines that show all the levels of the cap. I tried to get a nice zoom in on the cap and it turned out ok. The foot of this cigar is cut perfectly and after taking a look at it it appears the amount of tobacco placed in the filler is perfect it has a nice bounce back to it when squeezed and it doesn’t look over stuff like some cigars I’ve had in the past.
I think it’s time to nip the cap on this Fuente Fuente Opus X and test out the dry draw to see how this cigar will perform. I busted out my double guillotine and made quick work of the head. Honestly, this cigar has one of the best pre draws that I’ve ever experienced. The perfect amount of air is pulled through the barrel with very little resistance. I’m able to pick up on some nice flavors as well which I’ll discuss down below. All signs are pointing towards this being an excellent cigar! I think it’s time to fire it up and see what we have going!
Smoking
After running out of butane in my Xikar lighter on my latest review of the Kill Bill I reloaded and I’m ready to toast the crap out of the foot on this Fuente Fuente Opus X! Haha, ok I’m not going to overtoast it, but I’m ready to nonetheless. Once I put the flame to the foot this cigar just takes off and starts pouring out smoke. The draw makes it incredibly easy to get this cigar going and burning perfectly.
I’m just amazed at how well this cigar starts pouring off smoke. The first third starts out great and the burn is near perfect. The ash however begins to flair out just a bit which to me isn’t a huge deal, but it doesn’t make it very aesthetic. The draw is very crisp and clean, it may not make sense, but those are the two words that come to mind when describing this draw. There is just something clean about it. The smoke coming off is so thick and it just permeates the air and swirls all around me. I think that is one factor that makes this cigar so potent is how thick the smoke is it just lingers around you while you smoke it.
During the second third I lost the ash at around an inch and half and it helped get rid of some of the flairing that I was seeing during the first. The draw continues to stay clean and crisp and the smoke just continues to pour out through this third. The body of this cigar is starting to rear it’s head. I’m starting to feel the effects of it as my hands are shaking while I’m holding the cigar and I’m starting to get a little worried that I may experience a similar sick feeling that I did the first time I smoked a Fuente Fuente Opus X.
During the final third this cigar has stayed on point and consistent just as the other two thirds were. I’m really enjoying the overall smoking experience this stick is giving off even though it’s building in it’s strength. Enough about the smoking experience lets get into those flavors that everyone talks about!
Flavor
The pre light notes on this Fuente Fuente Opus X are easily recognizable the first thing that I picked up on was a honey maple brown syrup note on the wrapper. For some reason this note just popped right out to me. The second thing I noticed was the sweet smell of tobacco. It reminded me of the scent of Copenhagen snuff, now I’ve never snuffed before but I’ve around plenty of friends that have and that is the smell that instantly comes to mind.
Once I got this cigar lit I got blasted with some spice especially on the lips. There was a bit of sweetness on the tongue that lingers after the retrohale. I pick up on it even more when I rub the tongue on the roof of my mouth. The dominant notes are spice and savory and it reminds me of tasting a delicious meat that is covered with spice. At this point the cigar is really hitting it’s stride and building into a full body smoke.
I had a fairly large meal before smoking this cigar and I didn’t expect it to affect me the way it was beginning to. On the retrohale I began to pick up a very strong and potent spice. The spice is beginning to overtake the savory meaty notes. I get hints of coffee, although its more of a bitter note than I prefer it’s still very recognizable as a coffee note. While during the second third I had an unexpected visitor try and come inside my garage. A pesky skunk came walking by and thank God I didn’t startle him because he was less than 3 feet away and that’s prime time zone for getting annihilated with their spray. I shuffled my feet slightly which was enough to get him to move along without alerting him enough to spray me. I guess even the wildlife loves the allure of the legendary Fuente Fuente Opus X!
During the final third the spice has picked up and has completely taken over on this cigar. The cigar is completely full bodied and maybe even a note higher than it if were possible. I say it’s possible, so it’s higher than full bodied! It’s fullest bodied! Boom how about that. This is by far the strongest cigar that I’ve ever smoked. The potency of the tobacco is incredible, lets just say I’m glad that I didn’t have any bourbon by my side with this cigar because more than likely I wouldn’t have been able to get out of my camping chair.
Would I Buy It Again?
Yes, absolutely, even though it’s a high price point I would easily purchase this again.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Definitely not, it’s too high of a price point and it’s too full body for me to smoke everyday. It’s a speciality cigar for me.
Would I Buy a Box?
Definitely, it would have to be at the right price, but these cigars are definitely box worthy.
Conclusion
The status for this Fuente Fuente Opus X is legendary for a reason. It’s a phenomenal cigar, excellent burn, draw and everything you want in a cigar. It’s a little stronger than I prefer, but hey sometimes you have to venture out of your comfort zone to experience new and exciting. If you ever come across one of this cigars then by all means buy them up and smoke them, just make sure you have a decent sized meal before lighting it up!
