Opus X ... Am I Missing Something

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Garbandz

I have been given Opus and purchased them for years,NEVER had one yet worth the money. Smoked Fuentes products in the 80's and 90's,they were good then.
Now I do not even bother with them,there is a whole world of better cigars.

My first "premium hand-rolled" cigar was a Chateau Fuente in the fall of 1980. I smoked AFs by the box, predominantly Chateaus (nat. & mad.) and Rothschilds. When I wanted to splurge, I bought Hemi. Short Stories ($60 a box back then).

When the Opus line came out, we were all excited. I bought my limit of 2 on a couple of occasions to get some in my humidor. I smoked a few ROTT, but quite a few sat, their price was such that I was smoking these for special occasions. Their taste was always different, usually good, but sometimes lackluster.

But it was the construction that caused more grief - I have never had cigars that burn as erratically as the Opus. I am not talking a little run, but issues that need constant attention and thereby seriously detract from the enjoyment of the cigar. Even the ones I have had recently have had such issues. I had a 3 yr. old Power Ranger that was seriously giving me the WOW factor during the first inch & a half, but then developed a 1/2 - 3/4 inch run that would not take any correction, even when putting it down and allowing it to go out and lighting only the un-run side. I got about 4 puff and the run was again off to the races.

Anyway, the Opus line came out near the end of the boom years ('97). With all the Don's coming out of the woodwork trying to sell their $15 wonder-sticks to cigar snobs who wouldn't know a Cremosa from a Camacho, I think they lost a bit of their market share. There were rumors that they also lost some of their rollers. It is a definite fact that they tobacco that they were purchasing was now being snatched up by all these "Donnie-come-lately" companies and so they had to pay more for tobacco that probably wasn't as good.

It was during those boom years that we watched AF prices sky-rocket. And, something happened to the blends, they were not the same - and still are not to this day.

Today, my personal favorites in their normal lines are the Sun Growns, although the Rothschilds with their Cameroon wrapper are quite tasty, just harder to find. I still enjoy the Hemingways, but the price has more than doubled (and my salary hasn't), and they are not the flavor bombs they used to be. The construction, burn, and quality are impeccable with all their regular production lines, even the new Rosadas (excellent smokes), which has always been the case.

Of all the AFs, the Anejos however are stell the creme de la creme in my book.

All said and done, I love my Fuentes. There are always a few in my humidor. It is that time of the year now to look for deals on Anejos. AND, I will continue to try the Opus line. Like I said, I have a few the have been gifted to me in the last few years that have taken up abode in the bottom tetris row in my igloodor. I will reach for them to reevaluate again when the time is right. I really, really, really want to enjoy them.

Peace of the Lord be with you.