Opus X belicoso XXX

[Don Fernando]

I got this Opus X belicoso XXX with a date sticker of May 2006 in a trade and decided to light this well praised 4 5/8 x 49 Dominican puro tonight. The cigar is packed in cellophane and has a red ribbon on the foot. The wrapper looks nice dark and oily but has some big veins. Usually a vein isn’t anything to mock about, but when you spend top dollar for a cigar you can expect something that looks a bit better.



The aroma of the cigar makes me think of chocolate, pepper and something sweet. It is a unique aroma and I can even smell some cinnamon. The construction feels good and the fine predraw gives off a peppery flavor.



The first flavor is wood, I don’t know what kind of wood, but it is a specific flavor which I only tasted in Opus X and Liga Privada #9 before. I also taste some sweetness and mild chocolate. The flavors are rich, deep and complex but not overpowering. Halfway some pepper accompanies the wood, the sweetness and the chocolate, although the sweetness is disappearing slowly. At the same time the chocolate and wood are getting stronger. The finale is that typical Opus X wood again.



This cigar produces a lot of pretty smoke. I had terrible burn issues with this cigar, I had to light it over and over again which made the cigar bitter at some points. If it wasn’t for a review I would have tossed the cigar due to the burn issues, I never had a cigar burn worse than this top shelve stick. The ash is dark and frayed. Due to the flash the ash looks light colored on the picture, but in real life it was dark, ugly and frayed.



Would I buy this cigar again? I still have a few and they are very nice without the burn issues, but are they worth the money? Don’t think so

Appearance: 7 / 10
Construction: 8 / 10
Draw: 8 / 10
Smoke & ash: 7 / 10
Burn: 4 / 10
Aroma (first part) 8 / 10
Aroma (middle part) 8 / 10
Aroma (last part) 8 / 10

[kelmac07]

Thanks for another fine review Ferdie!!

Thanks fro the review. I'm sorry you had this experience with the XXX. I've had a few opus now and one was eh. But the XXX I had recently came straight out of the box and was a piece of heaven. I smoked it until the nub was so small that I could barely hold in in between my finger nails. I do hope it works out better for you next time around.

[OHRD]

I continue to hear that the Opus is hit or miss and generally not worth the money; I personally haven't spent the money on one...

[Blindjimme]

This is also what I've come to believe about Opus, hit or miss. Everyone I talk to it's either great or not so much. Not what you would expect for the cost. My own experiences have been good so far. I have a handful in the humi, I hope my liuck continues. Nice review Ferdie.

Originally Posted by matthewjmichael

I continue to hear that the Opus is hit or miss and generally not worth the money; I personally haven't spent the money on one...

That XXX in the shop cost me $20 after tax which seems to be a good price out here in Cali from what I've seen. It last me damn near two hours and was worth every penny and then some. To each his own though.

[Adriftpanda]

Originally Posted by matthewjmichael

I continue to hear that the Opus is hit or miss and generally not worth the money; I personally haven't spent the money on one...

Yes, Opus are hit and miss and to imho a lot of cigars are like that. It's a little unfortunate when you pay top dollar for a cigar and it turns out to be that "miss" I recently smoked a LFD Chisel and I had to dump the thing half way because it just wasn't doing it for me. Just comes to show you even the top names can be a miss.

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

That XXX in the shop cost me $20 after tax which seems to be a good price out here in Cali from what I've seen. It last me damn near two hours and was worth every penny and then some. To each his own though.

$20!!! That's just nuts for these sticks. I've seen them for around $13 around my hood. Either way, I'm glad you enjoyed the stick Mario, and hey, if it was worth the money, that's all it matters!


Very nice review Don. Keep up the awesome reviews brother.

[Langod]

I smoked an Opus X at the Casa Fuente bar in Vegas in August. It was a FANTASTIC cigar -- BUT... I had serious burn issues too. In fact after about 2/3s of the cigar it just went out, and wouldn't stay lit again. The staff was understanding and didn't try to shift the blame --they gave me another one ($30) which I thought was great.

Except for the burn issue, it was easily the best cigar I've ever smoked in my admittedly limited experience. I still have the one they gave me, haven't cranked it up yet, but hopefully it wont have the same problem.

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by Adriftpanda

Just comes to show you even the top names can be a miss.

Some high dollar sticks are hit or miss, but I muss say that I've never had a bad Padron. Always hit, no miss with them.

(Shameless plug for Padron)


Nice review, Ferdinand. Keep up the good work.

Originally Posted by Adriftpanda

$20!!! That's just nuts for these sticks. I've seen them for around $13 around my hood. Either way, I'm glad you enjoyed the stick Mario, and hey, if it was worth the money, that's all it matters!

Huy. I'd rather pay $20 than the $35 they want down the street for the same damned thing. If I ever need a lot of OPUS X I'm gonna have to go where you go.

[pfm721]

I'm fortunate enough to be able to go into the Fuente place here in FL from time to time and get them. MSRP is right around $9 and at that price I have enjoyed all of them that I smoked. Generally given the prices that I hear they go for they aren't worth it especially if you encounter problems like the ones in the picture above. A lot of quality smokes out there in that price range that don't have the consistency problems that these seem too. Thanks for the review.

Thanks so much for the honest review! It's great to get honest opinions on over-hyped cigars.

I still haven't tried the Opus X. It's so interesting that people's opinions on these are absolutely all across the board. Also, it seems from what I've heard that this is one of the lines where vitola really matters--and there are so many freakin' sizes!

If I could find them near me I'd be tempted to try one if it was close to retail, but from what I hear most places charge 2x retail or more. It's hard for me to consider paying so much for some cigars that so many think are over-hyped--especially when the Tat Blacks are being re-released soon at $14 and I know I LOVE those! I never pay that much for a cigar, but I think I'll be making a special exception for the Blacks

Originally Posted by pfm721

I'm fortunate enough to be able to go into the Fuente place here in FL from time to time and get them. MSRP is right around $9 and at that price I have enjoyed all of them that I smoked. Generally given the prices that I hear they go for they aren't worth it especially if you encounter problems like the ones in the picture above. A lot of quality smokes out there in that price range that don't have the consistency problems that these seem too. Thanks for the review.

Can you PM me some details on this place? My dad's in Miami. For that price I'd ask him to send me a box. The prices are even higher online than my local B&M! Cheapest I've ever paid for an Opus is $17 from another BOTL. For $9 a stick a box would work out nicely for me!
Thanks!