Vitola: Heart of the Bull 1957- 5.25” x 50 ring gauge
- ~$28.00
- Cigar gifted by a friend
Background
In 2018, the Tobacconist Association of America celebrated its 50th year of existence. The group of 70 to 80 retailers gets together once a year, along with 20 to 30 manufacturers. They have meetings where they talk about the state of the industry and best practices in shops, and they have a “trade show” where member shops get some special deals on regular cigars, as well as the opportunity to purchase TAA-exclusive cigars. Every year we all look forward to getting our hands on the latest TAA releases from Tatuaje, Padron, LFD, Crowned Heads, and others. But the Arturo Fuente cigar company has never participated in the exclusive release part of the deal before this year.
For their first TAA-exclusive, Fuente reached back to some cigars that were first released to the world in 2012/2013…the Opus X Forbidden X 13 lines. There were 6 vitolas, and they came packaged 13 to a box. That is about as far as I can go with facts in this “background” section. Fuente is very tight-lipped about the makeup of their cigars and have not officially said any word on this blend. Regular Opus X cigars are Dominican puros with a sun grown wrapper developed specifically for the project. “Regular” Forbidden X releases are said to have tobacco aged in Calvados barrels, an apple brandy. No one has even speculated on where the Forbidden 13 tobaccos are from, although I’d be truly surprised if it was revealed that they were anything but Dominican. The whole Opus X brand is about showcasing how spectacular Dominican leaf can be. I know Fuente is cultivating tobacco in Nicaragua now (presumably to be used in their upcoming Nicaraguan factory), but it’s my guess (and just a guess) that if there is an Opus (or Opus-level cigar) from using Nicaraguan leaf, they will call it something completely different…at least bragging about how skillful they are with Nicaraguan tobacco.
Anyway, Burns Tobacconist (where I work) is a TAA retailer and we received the Opus X Forbidden X 13 TAA-exclusive in mid-September. Our first shipment sold out very quickly, but we were expecting to see some additional cigars at some point in the future. One of my friends gave me a single Heart of the Bull 1957 (Robusto) cigar and I decided to save it for sometime when I could share the experience through a review.
Prelight
The boxes for this release are quite overbuilt. They have wide bezels inside the box, along with a double-layer of wood, making them quite weighty. The appearance is elegant and rich, with dark-stained wood and gold type laid on it. The bands are a black version of the Opus X band with “Forbidden X” on one arm of it. The secondary band has a clock-face with roman numerals, with the XII replaced by XIII and a “13” in the center of the clock-face.
The wrapper leaf was almost the same color as the French Roast coffee beans I favor and there was a decent amount of oiliness both to the eye and the touch. Aromas from the wrapper were fairly faint, but I did pick up some hay, some leather and a touch of earth. The aroma from the foot reminder me pretty strongly of some of the hay, earth and vegetal notes I’ve gotten frequently from LFD sticks, reinforcing my notion that this is probably all—or at least mostly—Dominican tobacco.
I clipped the end with my trusty Xikar Xi cutter and got an excellent draw that tasted of hay, leather and dried fruit.
Flavor
Initial puffs of the Opus X Forbidden X 13 gave up intense earth and leather notes, a lesser sweet hay and vegetal flavor, and a not-inconsequential red pepper flake. My first impression was that this was unlike any other Opus or Opus variant I have had. It was full-bodied and fairly punchy right from the start, with more pepper spice than I can remember on an Opus since one I smoked almost 10 years ago (a Lancero I fired up on Thanksgiving 2008). Subsequent puffs had the smoke get a little creamier, but it was still heavy and leathery and peppery. The first third continued to burn slowly and evenly with chocolate notes creeping in every now and then to supplement the leather and earth and spice.
The second third trended more sweet, with dark chocolate notes being the most prevalent part of that. The pepper became more of a cayenne with a little less burn and a little more flavor. There was still leather and earth aplenty.
The last third came together with a crescendo of chocolate, pepper, earth and baking spice notes, while continuing to put out a thick, full-bodied, creamy smoke. The full-bodied aspect almost made me forget this was an Opus, but the smooth, creaminess brought that feeling back.
Construction
The draw was just slightly tight, but not nearly unsmokeable. The ash held on for almost an inch before I tapped it off. The burn line needed no touching up that I can recall.
Value
These are expensive because they are very rare, but they are exquisite so I’m going to say it’s worth the price…even more so than regular Opus X, in my opinion.
Conclusions
The Opus X Forbidden X 13 is one of those “impossible” cigars. It presents the smoker with both creamy, elegant richness, as well as a bold, full-bodied earthiness and spice. It’s rare for all that to exist in a single smoking experience, but the blenders at Fuente have done a masterful job with this one. Truly one of the best Opus experiences I’ve ever had and my second-favorite Opus variant right after the Don Arturo. Get your hands on these if you can.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
