Cigar Asylum Cigar Forum - Fuente Anejo Shark

Within a year after lighting my first cigar, which was a Cohiba Siglo II by the way, and reading a lot of information about the hobby I decided to smoke an Arturo Fuente Opus X because that was supposed to be the bomb. I can’t say that it was a bad cigar, because it wasn’t, but it was a let down, it’s an expensive cigar, the expectations were sky high and it didn’t give me the satisfaction that I thought it would give me so I stayed away from Opus for a few years until I was given an Opus X Shark. The size was intriguing, a box pressed foot with a torpedo top? How cool! And after smoking that cigar I was a believer, what a great stick, still expensive but worth the money. I guess I was just too unexperienced when I smoked my first Opus X.

And then you tell everybody that the Opus X shark is one of the best cigars that you’ve ever smoked until a few friends (like Kelmac & Ogre), who’s opinions about cigars I respect highly, say “nah, good cigar but the Fuente Anejo shark is better”. So the hunt began and I found some that I loved. About 3 years later my then employer got a lot of boxes is for a decent price of €22.50 per cigar so I bought a few and tonight I feel like lighting one for a review. Now if you don’t know the story about the Anejo, a hurricane left Fuente with a shortage of Opus X filler and instead of halting the production they decided to use a different wrapper, a 5 year old Connecticut Broadleaf that had been aging in cognac barrels and called the line Anejo. So in essence it’s an Opus X with a different wrapper.

The wrapper is beautiful, a flawless, dark, rustic wrapper with a silky touch and a little oil. The construction is unique and very good with that box pressed foot and the torpedo head. The aroma is mild and reminds me of a barnyard. The cigar has a cloth foot ring to protect the foot and a red ring with the golden Fuente logo and white letters A. Fuente Anejo. It surprises me that they went for the regular Fuente logo and not a twist on the Opus X logo as this cigar comes closed to Opus X than to a regular Fuente.

i had to use my xikar cutter instead of my preferred punch due to the vitola. The cold draw is fine and I taste a sweetness with some pepper and a bit of a cognac flavor, very mild though. I taste coffee with some metal and peanut shells. After three puffs I taste coffee with some pepper and a little natural sweetness. After a centimeter I taste a caramel like sweetness with wood and a hint of cognac. Slowly the flavor changes a little with a little citrus added to dark oak, mild caramel and some black pepper. Halfway I taste caramel, lime, pepper and nuts, all subtle and soft yet not mild. A little later I taste coffee again with some chocolate and pepper. The final part is nice salty, nutty, peppery and woody.

The white ash is super dense and very firm. The smoke is medium thick, I prefer more smoke, but the draw is great. The smoke is great, slow and pretty straight. The cigar is flavorful yet subtle, a cigar for experienced smokers, not because of the strength but because of the complexity. The cigar is medium full bodied and full flavored. The smoke time is a hour and forty five minutes.

Would I buy this cigar again? Every once in a while as a treat.

Score: 92

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