Smoking A 20-Year-Old OpusX

Source from:  Cigar Aficionado Online 10/09/2015

The December Cigar Aficionado features a story about the 20th anniversary of Fuente Fuente OpusX cigars. To accompany the piece, we smoked several first-release cigars to see how they have aged. The issue, featuring Jon Voight on the cover, is on newsstands beginning October 27.

Ever wonder what 20 years of age can do to a Fuente Fuente OpusX cigar? We did. And seeing how this year marks the 20th anniversary of the brand's commercial release, we thought to ourselves what better way to celebrate than to light up some of the original, two-decades old cigars? Not that we need much of a reason to reach for an OpusX of any age. The cigar is known for being big, bold and earthy with plenty of leathery snap and spicy zing. But after 20 years in an unopened cedar box, something happened. Something changed. More on that later.

Here's what you need to know:

On November 18, 1995, a few New York City retailers had the privilege of selling the first commercial run of Fuente Fuente OpusX cigars. Some of you might have even been there.

The project was esoteric because, at the time, no one had grown quality wrapper tobacco in the Dominican Republic. The Fuente family not only accomplished this, but created the first high-profile premium cigar that consisted solely of Dominican tobacco.

There was demand for the cigar before it even came out. Between the preliminary story published by Cigar Aficionado ("Seeds of Hope") and the high ratings published by the magazine, everybody wanted an OpusX and was willing to pay top dollar for it.

The rest, you probably know. Here's something you might not know. The first boxes looked nothing like the boxes you see today. They started out with a pyramid top. That didn't work. Yes, it was eye-catching, and sure, the pyramid even resembled an X when you looked at the top, but it was impractical and too expensive. Then the Fuentes moved to a slide-lid format. Better, but sliding out a plank of wood didn't have quite the same striking effect as lifting up a hinged lid and watching the dramatic spectacle of cigars materialize right before your eyes. Ultimately, the Fuente's went with a hinged box.

But here in the humidors at the Cigar Aficionado offices, we happen to have an entire vertical of the first-run boxes. That includes both pyramid tops and slide-lid boxes. Some of them were still in their original shrink-wrap-and we cracked one open. Or better to say slid one open. A box of Double Coronas to be exact. We also dipped into a box of robustos.

The first thing we noticed was how yellow the cellophane was, a great indication of age. The second thing was the tobacco at the foot of the cigar. Twenty years ago, Fuente Fuente OpusX cigars were rolled in the accordion method, whereby tobacco was folded into s-shapes rather than scrolled into tubes, using the entubado method. Today, all OpusX cigars are made in entubado style.

As for the classic, in-your-face Fuente Fuente OpusX strength and power, 20 years have mellowed out these cigars considerably. Earth, spice and leather have turned into cinnamon, cedar and flowers. In all of the Double Corona's nearly eight inches, hints of earth, coffee bean and nutmeg came and went, but the cigar is nuanced and mature, perhaps with nothing to prove anymore after 20 years of maturation. It burned cool and slow and really showed the softer side of an OpusX. The Robusto was a bit stronger. Like the Double Corona, it came from an old slide-lid box, but unlike the Double Corona, some of its stronger barnyard and leather qualities were still perceptible underneath the floral and tea-like elements.

Our conclusion: there's still life left in a 20-year-old Fuente Fuente OpusX. It isn't the powerhouse you might expect it to be, but an interesting period piece and a glimpse into the past of Fuente's experimental cigar-turned-phenomenon. Enditem