2010 May | El Cubanito Cigars

Cigar review of the Arturo Fuente Opus X

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Fuente Fuente 5.6 X 46, Dominican Puro

Presentation : over the top, this cigar comes in a cellophane wrapper, with a decroative foot band of red silk cloth, a cedar wrapper on the body, and a very elaborate cigar band, bearing the Opus X label.

Pre-light sniff gives some slight hint of cedar must surely from the body band just removed.

The wrapper on this stogie is very smooth, almost no veins to speak of, a rich reddish brown color.

The roll is tight, no soft spots noted at all. A beautiful triple cap.

Snip, Snip and lets light this baby up, on pre-light draw, I picked up a nutmeggy to ginger like flavor, thats a first.

On light up, the black pepper hits hard, even for a cigar thats been aging in my humidor for over a year, and was at least three years aged prior to being given to me.

About an inch in and the pepper is joined by a hint of ginger on the finish, some creamy notes are also evident. But the prominent flavor is pepper. Although the initial burn started a bit uneven, it has since straightened out to near perfect.

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Some licorice has surfaced in conjunction with the ginger, its a bit odd, but interesting never the less. the pepper has taken a back seat to this flavor combo. at about 2 inches the ash was holding on strong but I tipped it off so as not to mess up my lap top.

The draw is excellent on this cigar, producing a thick smoke . About half way now and the flavors have come together well, smooth finish, some pepper, ginger, and licorice still thriving.

The power on this stogie is formidable. I must say its not for the meek and mild.

The last leg of this cigar has powered up. But smooth all the way.

I can see why this cigar is so sought after, rightly so, an excellent Dominican puro.

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Tags: arturo fuente, cigar review, cigar reviews, dominican puro, el cubanito cigars, opus X

DSCN0426 This cigar review of the tatuaje black label is the second go round. Although the first review clearly stated it was a good stogie, I met with some controversy from several cigar lovers in my circle. They felt I was under rating this cigar. Soooo, I put a couple into the humidor for a month or two and Im pulling one out to fire it up today and see if opinions are like what Ive always heard. You know, everybody has one… What did you think I was gonna say. This is a cigar review of true moral values, dont ya know.

Lets get to it:

Torpedo stogie

All Nicaraguan blend

Rustic wrapper with some veins and mottleing

Foot is unfinished, that is to say left without a final cut, once again rustic

Prelight sniff gives a great barnyard aroma, very much what I like

Prelight draw has a minute pepper to it, which I didnt get the first time

Lets light up: spicey, right from the onset, on the tongue throat and yet a slight creamyness on the lips, not sweet really just a sensation

The finish is initial spice diminished after a puff or to and gave way to a nutty, hay taste with some sweet notes, and now some slight sweetness on the lips.

Early nose-hale yields smooth smoke with little to no spice, some leathery aroma is however present.

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About an inch in to it and the ash is a nice whitish grey, some black mottling, appears to be pretty firm, no blooming.

The burn at this point is even. If I re-call the last one I smoked had some consistent burn issues, i.e. uneveness.

I believe I just picked up a hint of ginger on the last draw, mixed with nuts, interesting. Another puff confirms it, ginger is definitely what I would describe it as. Now its about 12:30 mid day and Ive had a good breakfast of cuban bread and coffee, but Im feeling the power of this stogie. Its got a kick to it, pretty nice indeed.

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Ohh! that puff at about 2 inches changed alot, spice is back, cayenne pepper like on the palate and tongue as well as the nose, when exhaled.

Lots of ginger, with pepper and again a creamyness, with slight sweetness on the lips on the next couple draws. The complexity of this cigar is astonishing. It is quite a bit different than the first black label that I reviewed. I dont know what to attribute it to but its definitely a different smoke. At about 3 inches the ash released.

The burn has remained quite even to this point, the smoke is not as thick as I would like. The draw is very good and the cigar has remained firm to the half way mark. With the last puff I was again hit with pepper all the way to the back of the throat, pretty intense. The sweetness on the lips has increased along with the creaminess. Its almost like a “sweet and spicey” tag team match with this cigar.

I think the most appealing part of this cigar is the fact , theres no long lasting parched taste on the palate. The way some cigars leave. There is none of that here, adding to the overall enjoyment.

On the last third now and everything is building, spice, ginger, sweetness, creaminess all getting to the forefront hand in hand. Even the amount of smoke has built up to where Im very pleased and slightly overwhelmed but happy!

This cigar review has definitely moved the black label up a notch or two on my favorites list but I still favor the Conoju 2003 model, from TATUAJE. I think if the amount of smoke had reached this level earlier in the stogie I would have a tough decision on my hands. But this is a really outstanding cigar through and through. The Complexity, burn and overall smokeability of this cigar is wonderful. I would definitely recommend this cigar and cant wait for a few more months til I hit the other one in my humidor.

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