Cigar Review: Fuente Fuente Opus X No. 4

If you’ve been reading me for awhile, you know that I don’t spend extravagantly on one single cigar. I didn’t on this one either as it was gifted to me in a cigar bomb and had been resting up in my humidor for a good six months. This has been a particularly bleh week so I decided to grab something a little more special out of my humidor for tonight’s smoke.

Appearance: This is always an excellently presented cigar with an exquisite band. They’ve got to justify the cost somehow, right? The cigar itself wasn’t anything special to look at. The wrapper had prominent veins and even had a scar where I would assume the tobacco leaf had been perforated at one point before its use in this cigar.

Taste: Now, this is where I start to go south on these. This isn’t my first one, and I don’t know why I keep expecting these to be better than the last one, but what taste? There’s spice and tobacco and LOTS of it. The strength of this cigar overpowers any kind of possibility for a smooth distinctive taste. As usual.

Aroma: You can smell the strength in this cigar by holding it to your nose. I was surprised by a honey-like note when sniffing the wrapper. The smoke is extremely pungent and is not one I exhale through the nose unless I’m looking to torture myself.

Construction: So far you’re probably thinking this sounds like a review of an average cigar. I wish. Now, I know I didn’t pay for it, but these retail from $20-25 per stick and I have to say for that money, I expect perfection. What I got was way below expectations. This thing was hard to light and keep lit. A ragged burn and loose, flaky ash showed poor, uneven rolling. The draw was a little loose, but I don’t mind that.

Overall: Well, one thing that is consistent is that this cigar always isn’t as good as I hope it will be. I prefer the Litto Gomez Diaz sticks which are half the price and twice the flavor. I know many people like this cigar because of its prestige, but I’m not that kind of person. I like a good $3 stick as much as I like a good $25 stick. This was neither.

Cigar Rating:

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1. 

   BrewMeister says:

   May 25, 2008 at 9:57 am

   I’m with you. Good trading material, other than that I don’t smoke many of these.
2. 

   tobacmon says:

   May 26, 2008 at 5:24 am

   I as much don’t see what many see in this cigar other than the price tag. I could name meny smokes that are 1/3 the price of this cigar that I and many others enjoy to the nub. I have let em rest for 1 year, 6 months, etc.. no differnece to me.i have one sleeping that I will try in about another 6 months that making it 2 years of sleep. I agree that this cigar is well over arted. Would love to see a blind review on these smokes and put the padon up against it anytime.
3. 

   brian says:

   May 27, 2008 at 2:48 pm

   I have a small collection of the Perfecxion No.5′s that I managed to snag AT MSRP (which alone is a shocker) and those are actually pretty good smokes when they behave. The problem is, they can’t be relied on to do so very often! The last one I lit up tarred up on me. Tar?! From an Opus X?! Madness!

   But I have to agree with your verdict, these cigars are generally not worth their price tag. Even at the $8.50 I paid for mine, I expect more. I generally buy these now because they trade so well at herfs. (And people seem to love getting ‘em in cigar bombs!)
4. 

   Andrew says:

   March 19, 2010 at 1:48 pm

   I just smoked my third, and final, Opus X last week. The three that I tried were spread out over the last 5 years. Not one of them had an even burn or a bearable taste. The spice is almost caustic. Every stick had to be re-lit at least 6 times.

   I managed about 2 inches of ash on the last cigar. I had maybe 3 puffs of pleasurable smoke until it went out.

   The Hemingway Short Story is one of my favorite cigars of all time. I expected a whole hell of a lot more out of the Opus X.

   Honestly, I wouldn’t even pay $3 for one of these.

   I’m finished with them.

   I’m just glad to see that other people have had the same reaction.