Aarrgghh!!

Arturo Fuente Opus X Fuente Fuente

Once again Dan, Ryan, and I journeyed to Center City, Philadelphia for a stop at Holt's and Mahogany on Walnut. It's becoming a regular event for us. We find ourselves wanting to go back again and again. I think there is only reasonable explanation: someone is slipping opium into our cigars.

A weird thing happened tonight. Not Andy Dick in a car commercial weird, but never happened before weird. Dan and Ryan ordered the Dalmore Cigar Malt and the bartender brought over a small cup of dark chocolate shavings. He said that the tastes tend to blend well, and they must of because Dan had some sort of flavorgasm. Which explains why he suddenly got really tired.

Anyway, no more stalling on to this disappointment of a cigar.

Construction: For such a highly touted cigar I have to say that this cigar was not well constructed at all. the draw was too loose. It didn't light well. To get it to light I had pull on it pretty hard which of course made it burn hotter. It went out a bunch of times. It thought it was just me, but Dan had similar problems.

Taste: It started a little spicy, but that toned down as the cigar cooled. It was very mild, but it did have a complex flavor. I would have to say that the taste was good when all was said and done.

Stats: It's 5 5/8 inches by 46 ring gauge. It's entirely made of Dominican tobacco, even the wrapper. Holt's sells them in store for $9.00 a piece, but they are a behind the counter cigar and you are limited to 2 per customer.

Overall: This was supposed to be Jesus tobacco. C'mon multiple sites referred to it as the Holy Grail of cigars (Luxist, Just for Him). For $9 it should be perfectly constructed, which it clearly wasn't. The taste was good, but not exceptional. This was not a good use of cigar money. Sorry, Arturo Fuente, I love all of your other cigars, (and I've heard that you manufacture my beloved Ashtons) but these feel short of the mark.


September 24, 2005 Posted by Terrence Ryan at 1:24 AM

Cigar Reviews, Cigars,



Comments

I disagree. I have been smoking for three years and I smoke mostly Cubans. I finally have been able to get the FAMOUS Opus X. They are best after they have aged a few years but they are a fine smoke for $9. Heck, you should try some of my $25-$35 cigars. What did you expect them to do. They won't even give you a lap dance for that! try the 40th Anniversaire by Padron. FOr $25-$50 if you can fine it. Would you even "get it"? Jean Paul


Posted by: Jean Paul at July 24, 2006 1:37 AM

Aarrgghh Guy! I've been toying around with the idea of giving this another shot.

That being said, I think that cigar prices are still a little inflated. It's not unreasonable to ask for a premium cigar to be well constructed.

Finally if you are proud of over-spending for your cigars, I'm not going to convince you that you shouldn't.




Posted by: Terrence Ryan at July 31, 2006 10:48 PM

It is exceptionally hard to construct a Dominican Puro. That's why there are only 2 worth mentioning - Opus X and Exquisito Limitado(if you can find those at all).Hardship is mostly due to the thickness of binder and wrapper. To take care of that there is only one thing - aging, aging, aging. But with the insane demand for Opus, it's almost impossible to do in the factory. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Enjoy it for what it is - a complex andd rare cigar.


Posted by: imaginapolis at February 17, 2007 12:13 PM

I find myself lucky then to have had a friend of mine accidentally leave me an OpusX of his. We were going to smoke it together after he made it back from the Dominican Republic, but it looks like I'll be enjoying it in Myrtle Beach tomorrow on vacation!


Posted by: Jonah at May 26, 2007 9:18 PM

Are you sure it is a real opus X, last time I checked they sell for a minimum of 30 dollars!


Posted by: Sean at March 31, 2008 4:46 PM

Not at all Sean. Most of them are in fact under $30. MSRP for the regular shapes lingers between $8 and $15 afaik. There are stores selling them for a buck or two more. Of course, there are people that will charge $30 and wait as someone will always bite ;)


Posted by: imaginapolis at June 13, 2008 2:49 AM

I live in Orange County, Southern California, and I can say that, at least around here, for nine bucks what you can get is a low quality FAKE cigar on a liquor store. Now, if a waiter brings you an OPUS X cigar to your table in a bar: I can't fathom how could it cost nine bucks, because to make some kind of a profit the bar would have had to buy it for $ 4 and that's probably less than what an authorized dealer pays to Arturo Fuente. In other words: You smoked a FAKE. It's o.k. to do so, because now when you have the chance to smoke the real deal, you will notice the difference.


Posted by: nick at January 8, 2009 12:41 AM

He didn't smoke a fake if he got it at Holt's. I'm from Philly, it's a great place to go for opus x's. They kick ass, and the fuente fuente is usually spicy and rich throughout the entire smoke. 9-15 dollars depending on size is the real price around here. I go to a fuente only shop as well in south jersey.


Posted by: pags at May 20, 2009 4:18 PM

Sorry to tell you but he definitely smoked a fake. For the last nine months I've been working down in the Dominican Republic and I can tell you for certain that he did not buy a real Opus X for $9. It's impossible.


Posted by: steve at May 25, 2009 10:06 AM

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