Cigar Mission #28

My name is Agent 8. My mission was to review the Fuente Fuente Opus X. As an asset of The Cigar Spy agency, I promise to respect the A.S.H.E.S. code of honor. The information below is my debrief.

Target Name:

Fuente Fuente Opus X

Target Vitals:

Wrapper: Dominican Natural
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Vitola: Corona (5 5/8 x 46)
Strength: Full Bodied
Average Price: $10.00 to $20.00 or more depending on where you shop online

Background Info:

The Opus X brand is special in that all of the tobacco grown for use in this cigar is strictly from the Dominican Republic, brought on from the handy-work of Carlos Fuente, Jr. in 1992. Today, the Opus X brand continues to be one of the most popular premium cigar brands on the market today, favored by both industry writers and aficionados around the world.

Mission Debrief:

A friend of mine stopped by last week on business and to thank me for the Gurkha Factum I gave him the week prior. As a thank you, he left a couple of Fuente Fuente Opus X on my desk (Thanks again Rob if you happen to read this). I was a bit surprised as this quality of cigar was not something I was accustomed to. Even my brother who has a very limited knowledge of cigars knew of the high quality and (sometimes) price of the cigar. The only thing that was mentioned from my friend was that they were not taken care of as well as they could have been and could be a bit dry. Slightly dry, yes they were, but nothing too terrible.

Giving it the customary physical interrogation, the only issues I found with the cigar were in regard to its dryness. Translation: a bit of the middle part of the wrapper was coming apart from itself. Again, as it was a gift from a friend, it’s something I can overlook. Bought in a brick and mortar store or online in this condition would be unacceptable.

Lighting the cigar up and giving it a few full draws, like its standard and more unique Opus X siblings, the Fuente Fuente is quite complex in terms of flavors. Hints of wood and ever-so slight taste of sweetness, balanced out to where while it is certainly full-bodied right from the start. However, it’s not overbearing in the least; in my opinion, you would not need a full stomach to smoke this. I didn’t feel that the overall strength of the cigar increased until the last fourth, so you can expect to have a consistent full-bodied flavor throughout the two-hour smoke time. And even though it is a very bodied cigar, I didn’t find the finish to be any longer on the palette than normal.

The ash is also welcomed to this cigar in that it has an excellent white hue and it stays firm to the end, leaving little worries in everyone’s favorite “ash gifts.” Besides the wrapper slightly off of itself midway through the cigar, it didn’t interfere in the cigar’s burn.

Recommendations:

Fantastic cigar, although I really expect nothing less from the Opus X brand. If you are lucky enough to find these at a comfortable price, pick these up immediately. Otherwise, the Fuente Fuente Opus X is delegated to the “special occasion” category of cigar purchases.

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