Fuente Aged Selection

1. The November 2011 release of The Fuente Story comes with the biography of Carlos Fuente Sr., and 4 rare vintage Fuente Aged Selection cigars:1 Don Arturo Gran AniverXario, Natural; 1 Don Arturo Gran AniverXario, Sun Grown; 1 Don Carlos Edicion de Aniversario, Double Robusto; 1 Fuente Fuente OpusX, Scorpio Maduro
   The cigars will come in the limited edition macassar ebony Fuente Story travel humidor (humidifier not included). There will only be 2,011 released and MSRP will be $160.00.
2. Carlito Fuente has created a new cigar, Don Arturo Gran AniverXario, in a tribute to his grandfather,Arturo Fuente. These cigars are made with the legendary wrapper leaves from Chateau de la Fuente, the birthplace of dream. Carlito Fuente made Don Arturo Gran AniverXario cigars in 2001 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Arturo Fuente Cigar Company,which was founded by his grandfather in 1912. He planned to release Don Arturo Gran AniverXario cigars every year, starting in 2002, to celebrate the 100th anniversary. However, these cigars were never released except the limited releases in 2008 and 2009. Don Arturo Gran AniverXario Gran Corona cigars have been aging in the Fuente aging room since 2001. These 10-year-old cigars are being shipped to retail tobacconists
   worldwide this year to commemorate the 99th anniversary of Arturo Fuente Cigar Company and the release of his father’s biography.

Those are just 2 of the many being released as part of the Fuente Aged Selection. You can view the full brochure in PDF format.

God of Fire:

1. The God of Fire Serie B will be released this year in 2 sizes. The Robusto Gordo at 5 1/2 x 54 ($22.00 MSRP) and the Gran Toro 6 x 56 ($24.00 MSRP). Each size will have 10,000 cigars released.
2. God of Fire by Don Carlos will be released in a Robusto Gordo coming in at 5 1/2 x 54. The MSRP is $22.00 and will have a release quantity of 10,000 cigars.

Those are just 2 of the many being released as part of the God of Fire Selection. You can view the full brochure in PDF format.

Prometheus:

Prometheus stole fire from Zeus, the king of Olympian Gods, to give it to mankind. Enraged Zeus ordered Prometheus to be bound to a desolate rock and attacked by an eagle. Prometheus was punished for his love of mortals. The above painting, Prometheus Bound, portrays his unwavering endurance of suffering. Prometheus is a  ourageous hero for mankind, and also known as God of Fire.

For a look at the new lighters and humidors being released check out the full brochure in PDF format.

Opus X Love Affair

Today’s cigar review is a joint effort with my friend Lindsay Heller. I know I have spoken about her before and I am going to indulge once again. She just started a website a while ago and we decided to review this cigar together.

I was down at Holt’s in Philadelphia spending too much money as usual when I saw these sticks. I figured I would have some fun with the name and ask Lindsay if she would have a love affair with me. I  know this is corny, but it is my sense of humor. If you think this is bad just wait for the rest of the review .

Cigar: Opus X Love Affair
Size: 4 9/16 x 50
Wrapper: Dominican Republic
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Strength: Medium

Appearance and Construction (17/20): For me the cigar was a nice looking perfecto. Once I undressed the cigar by slowly removing the cellophane I liked what I saw.  An interesting looking perfecto with one thin vein that stood out on the backside. The Dominican wrapper had some nice oils but there was  minor flaw in the leaf near the cap.

Flavor & Notes (22/30): Before I lit this cigar up it offered up notes of clove and molasses which is typical of an Opus. Once lit however this was a totally different animal. There was some dominant spices which was a new to me. As I slowly worked past the nipple the spice faded and the cigar had excessive notes of wood. The second third the wood notes are still dominant but there is a slight sweetness trying to emerge that doesn’t totally make it to the top. The final third it began to burn hot and it had a wet dirty feeling, that turned the love affair raunchy.

Burn/Ash/Draw (21/25): This Opus X love affair had a horrible burn. It was very uneven and needed to be touched up on numerous occasions. The strong ash was multiple shades of gray but was very flaky. Unlike many perfecto’s that start off with a tough draw this one was perfect from the get go.

Overall (20/25): I had a lot of fun smoking this cigar with Lindsay. Not often can you get away telling a room full of guys in a cigar shop that you are having a love affair with someone as lovely as her without getting slapped. I was also able to tell her she had a nice ash . This was probably the worst Opus I have ever had, but the company made it the most memorable.  Sadly though Lindsay had issues with her wrapper, and when I asked “was it good for you?” I got that look of disappointment that I have come all to accustom to.

Rating: 80
Price: $12.75

Make sure you check out what Lindsay thought over on her site, The Holy Trinity

Opus X Lost City

When I heard the Opus X Lost City was going to be coming out from those who went to the trade show in August it had my intrigued to say the least for two reasons. The first reason being if it is new I have to try it. The second reason being I knew this cigar would be hard to track down and I love the challenge of finding something. Well it turns out this cigar was not that hard to track down. I picked up the lancero version of the stick at Davidoff on Madison. I then later found other sizes at Cigar Inn in NYC.

The Opus X Lost City was born in 2004. Actor Andy Garcia was filming the move The Lost City in the Dominican Republic when he decided to shoot a scene in the lush tobacco fields at Chateau de la Fuente in June. The problem with that is the tobacco is harvested in March and there was no tobacco to be found. In order to save the scene Carlito Fuente helped Andy Garcia film that scene by offering to plant tobacco that would be 3 feet tall by the time shooting began.

When the scene was over Andy Garcia asked Carlito Fuente what he planned to do with the tobacco now that shooting was over. He was met with the response, “If the tobacco is good I will use it”.  Well, after five years of aging the tobacco turned out to be excellent and the result is the Opus X Lost City.

I decided to splurge and spend the $37.00 on this lancero and I bring to you the review. Before I even light up I am questioning my sanity to purchase a cigar of this price let alone a few of them. I am only smoking one for purpose of review. The others are carefully tucked away inside my humidor.

Cigar: Opus X Lost City
Size: 7.5 x 41 (Lancero)
Wrapper: Dominican Republic
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Strength: Full

Appearance and Construction (20/20): Amazing, is how I would define the appearance of this cigar. The silky smooth wrapper is flawless. There are no veins to be found on this lancero and the roll of the cigar is flawless. Trying to determine where the seams were had me baffled. I simply could not locate them. The pigtail cap gives the cigar a nice look as well at the top of a perfect triple cap. The band of the Opus X is different then the normal line. There are colors of black red and gold and states Forbidden X off to the sides of the logo. There is also a secondary band that denotes The Lost City.

Flavor & Notes (28/30): The notes of this cigar prior to lighting up is spices from the foot, while the draw reminds me of cinnamon and brown sugar. Once the cigar is lit the first thing one notices is the spice especially on the back of the throat. As the spice fades notes of wood and leather begin to emerge on this rich smoke. As I continue to smoke the cigar I am occasionally teased with some notes of cinnamon. The second third of the cigar the strength begins to hit me. There is no doubt about it this cigar is stronger then the usual Opus X. Leather remains the dominant note here, and the wood remains. The cinnamon still teases mostly on the finish and thankfully the harshness of the cigar is gone as it becomes very smooth and creamy. The final third of the cigar offers notes of clove and cinnamon. The cigar has a long finish of cinnamon and some brown sugar.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): The cigar burns almost perfect. It occasionally got jagged, but nothing that ever alarmed me. The ash was typical of a lancero in the sense that it did not hold long. It was light in color with no flake or ridges. It was like the wrapper, smooth. The draw was ideal as well and the cigar produce a nice amount of smoke.

Overall (20/25): While I am glad that I picked up a few I was left a little disappointed. I expected so much more out of this smoke and when it comes down to it I prefer the regular Opus X line. Especially when you factor in the price and you can find the regular Opus line for half the price.

Rating: 91
Price: $37.00

Opus X Petit Lancero

It’s that time of year again where the Opux X and Anejo Cigars from Arturo Fuente begin to hit the shelves. These cigars are released a few times a year in very limited numbers and I always question myself asking if these cigars were on the shelf all year long would I still be ga-ga over them.

It is also getting near that time of year where I can smoke at the beach and stare out at the water and watch the women walk past me on their way to their spots on the sand in their dental floss bikinis. Brighton Beach is full of Russian women with little to no shame, and many of the beach goers are drop dead gorgeous. That is until they hit 35-40 when the Chernobyl factor kicks in. It seems for the most part Russian women do not age well.

Cigar: Opus X
Size: 5 1/8 x 43
Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Dominican Republic
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic

Appearance and Construction (17/20): The Opus X Petit Lancero has a slightly larger ring guage then most lancero cigars. The cigar features a beautiful rosadao wrapper grown on Fuentes own farm. The wrapper is toothy with many bumps and ridges that could confuse a blind person into thinking they were reading a novel. Upon close inspection there are quite a few imperfections on the wrapper including some small holes and tears. The cigar has an incredible looking belicoso cap, and the foot appears slightly loose.

Flavor & Notes (30/30): From the get go it is evident this cigar is different then most Opus X sticks. There is heavy cinnamon on the prelight draw and the first third of the smoke continues with cinnamon joined by molasses which are both easily definable. The second third reveals some subtle pepper and molasses notes joined by some oak. As we reach the final third of the cigar the cinnamon returns with the oak notes. Occasionally the final third is joined by some notes of molasses that come and go.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): Like most lancero cigars the ash of this smoke is weak and does not hold for any period of time. The burn was mostly straight until the end of the smoke when it canoed slightly. The draw was a little loose which is a change for most lancero cigars that I have smoked recently.

Overall (24/25): One reason a lot of people reach for the lancero size cigar is because you get more of the flavors of the wrapper. That is definitely the case here as this vitola has far more flavor then any cigar I have smoked in this line. The cigar is also closer to medium bodied instead of the full bodied experience one comes to expect from the Opus X. In fact this cigar is one smoke I would definitely reach for if it were available year round.

Rating: 94
Price: 14.00

The cigar smoking experience:

Opus X Perfexion A

I’ve been sitting on this cigar for about 9 months, and the person before me had it for quite some time. Lew from Don Francisco Cigars gifted me this when I converged on his place with another user from the cigar boards to complete a pass. I knew I would keep it til this day, and that it would be my birthday cigar. I was a little miserable to be entering a new decade, but I moved my site to a new host this morning, and I have decided to move forward on future plans for acigarsmoker.com The first of which will be a redesign in the coming months.

Cigar: Arturo Fuente Opus X
Size: 9.25 x 47 (PerfecXion A)
Origin: Domicin Republic
Wrapper: Domicin Republic
Binder: Domincan Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic

Appearance & Construction (17/20): Considering the size of this cigar and the fact that it practically uses an entire leaf I was shocked at how smooth the stick was, and how it had only minimal veins. I was upset when I opened the casket and saw a split of about a 3/4 of an inch at the foot, but it held as I smoked the cigar. The Opus X label needs no description, and the split while due to aging is reflected in the score. The fact that it held on after being lit makes it only a mere 3 points.

Flavor & Notes (28/30): I love the smell of a cigar with age on it, as the foot offers nice rich notes. I lit this baby up and decided to kick back and relax before heading over to a friends place for dinner and tequila. I was blown away by how this full bodied smoked had mellowed with age.  The first thing that caused a verbal ‘wow’ to escape from my lips was the subtle sweetness that came off the wrapper. As I worked the first third, the notes were raisins, and some sweet spices. The second third of this marathon smoke offered more raisin but the sweet spices began to dissipate and began to get occasional notes of mocha and nuts with some pepper as well which made this one complex smoke. The final third of this smoke becomes the full bodied opus x I have grown to love. The notes of raisins remain with some pepper, and mocha.

Burn/Ash/Draw (25/25): The cigar burned very straight throughout, I was surprised that for a cigar of its size I never had any burn issues. The draw was equally as impressive. What blew me away was the 4″ ash I had going before I decided to dump it. Very impressive.

Overall (24/25): There are 3 things I was looking forward to the most on my birthday. This one was the first, the 2nd was being sung happy birthday in Chinese by a very dear friend of mine, and the other was enjoying the day for myself, getting things done that matter to me for a change. I’ll wind up doing the party thing this weekend when more friends are off from work, but this was just what the Dr. ordered.

Rating: 94
Price: $54.99 Each @ Tex Cigars!