Review: Opus X BBMF

My review today is for a cigar that was given out at the "White Party" at the 2012 Procigar Festival. Something very special about the 2012 festival was that it was the first year that the Fuente family (the makers of this cigar) were back as full members of the Procigar organization. Luckily for us, we got to add their line of cigars we were able to smoke during the fest.

Now I am far from an expert on Opus products, but I'm going to give a shot at what this cigar was all about. I was told that this BBMF is different from the BBMF that was released in the special Opus coffin gift sets. This BBMF is reserved just for hand outs at big Fuente events or now the Procigar Festival. One difference you can see right away was this cigar didn't have the secondary banding.  I was also told that the BBMF was a stronger (or maybe the strongest?) Opus blend produced. Again, I'm not an expert, so maybe someone can leave a comment with more information.

I was lucky to get one of these because, unlike all the other cigars handed out at this dinner, it was not a calm, take-one-off-a-tray atmosphere when these arrived. I saw both big names in the industry and regular attendees taking handfuls of these from the ladies giving them out. Many people in the crowd did not get even one to smoke. Next year? C'mon people, show a little more class and love for your fellow BOTL. (I'm getting off of my soapbox now.)

On to the review.

Specifics
Vitola: Figurado
Length: 6 1/2
Ring Gauge: 64
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Price: Handout only
Smoking Location: Governors Smokeshop
Beverage: water

Pre-Light 

The BBMF is a prime example of one of the crazy, creative shapes Fuente makes for its special or limited releases. (To see some of the other shapes, check out the well-known site Vitolas.) There was a darker colored leaf at the tip of the foot of the cigar and also wrapped around what I would call a brush end cap. I'm sure there is a correct name for that style of cap, but I don't know what it is. After you get past all of the added extras, I'd describe the actual cigar as a well-shaped Figurado. The wrapper was medium brown in color and had zero visible veins. The pre-light aroma was faint, but smelled of some natural sweetness. The cold draw, on the other hand, was very strong and had a lot of fruity tastes to it...lots of raisin and date flavors.       

First Third

Ugh, this cigar would not light. I started with trying to light the very small tip of the Figurado with a soft flame lighter and had no luck. Then I tried lighting it with my torch and finally, when I did get it going, I manged to make it burn a big run down the side of the first inch of the cigar. The draw on this stick was so loose and, with the burn issues, getting any smoke out of it during the first third was very difficult. Out of the smoke I did get, the flavors had a lot of white pepper on the front and through the nose, with a bit of wheat taste on the finish. About an inch into the cigar, I started to get some honey sweetness on the front of the profile, too, which kicked back the spicy pepper some. I'd put this cigar in the medium nicotine strength at this point. The flavor was muted, but nice. The burn on the other hand...  

Second Third

First thing I want to mention in the second third is something that went for the entire cigar. This stick had one of the flakiest ashes I've ever had. Just lifting the cigar from the ashtray to my mouth, I would see bits of ash float off into the air. The flavors in the second third were dominated on the front by the sweet honey taste with that wheat taste on the finish. Unfortunately, just like the first third, the burn issues continued in the second third. I had to correct this cigar about every five minutes, as it just did not want to burn evenly on all sides. It was frustrating, to say the least, when smoking a cigar of such high expectations. The strength of the cigar did increase a bit and I would put it in the medium to lower full range.

Final Third and Final Thoughts 

Well something from the cigar gods happened at the start of the final third and the burn on my BBMF straightened out. Not only did it burn better now, it also tightened up on the draw a bit and I could get much larger clouds of smoke on each puff. Because of all of this the flavor, it increased a lot in strength. With that said, it was still the same flavors from the first and second third, just stronger on my palate (honey and wheat.) This was, by far, the best part of the cigar and thanks to that, I enjoyed this smoke down to the nub. The nicotine strength stayed in the lower full range.

Final thoughts on the Opus X BBMF? When the cigar performed correctly it had a basic, but nice flavor. When it didn't burn or draw correctly, it was incredibility annoying to smoke. Correcting a burn on a cigar is no big deal, but constantly feeling like you have to babysit it or it's going to go out/tunnel is another thing entirely. I'd like to smoke another one to see if mine was just a dud, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'd stick with the more traditional Opus X releases if I was paying the top dollar these demand.

Would I buy it again? N/A

Would I buy a box? N/A

Dan

REVIEW: Fuente Fuente Opus X Perfecxion No.5

Today's review is a cigar that everyone has heard of and most cigar smokers have tried, but nobody ever claims to smoke tons of them. Well maybe some people do, but not in the crowd I run in. The reason? Where can you find them? Opus X cigars are rare to come by and when you do happen on a shop that has some on the shelf, their is almost always a limit of one or two sticks per customer. I was lucky enough to have this cigar very generously sent to me from Cigars Direct. Opus X are known to be some of the finest cigars around and this is a new size to me, so I was pretty excited to give this one a try. Let's get it lit up and see how it performed.

Due to the size of this cigar, this review is only in two parts instead of the traditional thirds.

Specifics
Vitola: Perfecxion
Length: 4.88
Ring Gauge: 40
Wrapper: Dominican Republic Rosado
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $19.95
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water

Pre-Light  

My Opus X Perfecxion No.5 had a light brown wrapper that had some darker areas near where the veins in the leaf were found. The texture of the wrapper was very smooth and gave off a slight sheen in the sunlight. Squeezing the cigar from head to foot, it was evenly packed and had a nice give to it that predicted a nice draw. This cigar sat in my coolidor for two weeks and I could tell it was in perfect shape for smoking. The un-lit aroma smelled strongly of raisins mixed in with some citrus-type notes. As predicted, the cold draw was free with a slight resistance and tasted like a mulled wine with some strong clove flavors. I will admit, the first thing that came to mind with these flavors was the Chirstmas season, but that's because I always have equated those tastes to that time of year.

First Half  

This vitola has a small ring gauge and lit easily with a my triple torch. The cigar opened up nicely and produced a decent amount of smoke but nothing to heavy or thick. The initial flavors were strong and consisted of a balanced mix of clove and raisin, with some spicy black pepper on the finish. My mouth started to tingle after the first few puffs and the sweetness the cigar left on my lips made my mouth water. About an inch down, the cigar did start to canoe on me and required a touch up with my lighter, but after that I had no other burn issues. The ash was bright white and very flaky. I don't think the weak strength of the ash has anything to with the construction, but more to do with the size of the cigar and the blend of the tobacco used. The body was a solid medium.

Second Half and Final Thoughts  

Right from the start of the second half of my Opus X No.5, the cigar really mellowed. All of the complex flavor profile was there, but the actual strength of the flavors really diminished. I could still make out a nice blend of clove, raisin, and the pepper, but they were muted. I did find that the body of the cigar picked up into more of the medium-full range and the amount of smoke increased too. The second half of this Opus X No.5 burned slowly and beautify. Getting down to the nub, the stick did start to get a little hot, but nothing that was unpleasant or that would take away from the experience.


My final thoughts on the Fuente Fuente Opus X #5 are that this is a solid cigar. I know that these are highly in demand cigars and that they top a lot of peoples lists of best of the best, but for me, It was just "solid". The complex flavors are great, I just wish they would have been a bit stronger in the second half and kept my attention more. I would say this cigar is good for an end of the day smoke with a few friends sitting around and talking. I was by myself tonight, so towards the end, dare I say it, I started to get just a little bit bored. If you think I'm crazy and would like to get a few of these yourself, Cigars Direct was kind enough to send me this one so please visit there site here, and purchase some for yourself.

Would I buy it again? For me, these are out of my normal budget for cigars. I would like to keep a few on hand for special occasions with friends, but when I do buy some Opus again, I will try a different size.

Would I buy a box? I could not afford these in box quantities.

Dan