Vitola: Robusto- 5.25” x 50 ring gauge
- $34.99 (single stick from Opus 22 box)
- Gifted to me
Background
With Fuente’s Opus X brand celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2015…although the 20 Years Celebration cigar didn’t actually ship until very near the end of 2016. The other special release that Fuente used to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of their most sought-after brand was the Rosado Oscuro Oro, a collection that shipped in a large gold box containing 15 cigars: 3 each of 5 different sizes. The shop I work at ended up not selling any of those sticks as singles and I only got to see the boxes in passing. I didn’t even know whether to expect to see the cigars again at all, but they did show up as a couple of the selections included in the 2016 version of Prometheus’ Opus 22 collection. I remarked to the shop owner that I had not had a chance to try this version of the blend and he ended up giving me the Robusto from the Opus 22 collection for Christmas. I elected to burn this one on New Year’s Day 2017 as I put together one of those typical “year that passed/year to come” articles.
The Opus X Rosado Oscuro Oro uses all Dominican filler and binder leaves, as well as a Dominican Rosado Oscuro wrapper leaf. Word is that the wrapper is from the Chateau de la Fuente farm, which is the same place they grow the regular Opus wrapper. It’s an assumption that the filler/binder is the same as the regular release, though that’s an assumption that is also made by many for the Angel’s Share, Lost City, Anejo, and Don Carlos releases…and which many be completely true…or could be completely false. I’ve asked for more detail from our Fuente rep in the past and he claims to not know…and Fuente’s website, marketing, and price lists generally don’t give any more detail than “Dominican Republic.”
Not many places had any real detail on these cigars, but halfwheel produced a review a while back that has a pretty good depth of detail and bears looking into.
Notes
Opus X is one of those bands that is almost so ornate that it should be laughable and over-the-top, and yet somehow it isn’t. How is that something with more gold foil and embossing than a Gurkha band simultaneously comes off as less cartoonish and vulgar than that same band? Brilliant design and marketing, I guess. The wrapper leaf was as dark as most Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro leaves, though it was smoother to the touch and had just a touch of red when it caught the light certain ways. The aroma from it was of ripe earth and natural tobacco, while the foot of the stick had a grassier note and a little pepper.
2016 is getting a bad rap for being a year in which a lot of very famous people died. Truthfully, I felt sad, too, seeing some of the voices of my youth passing on…Glenn Frey, who I was a big fan of; Prince, who I wasn’t, but still respected his musicianship; George Michael, who was right in between. In my family, we lost my brother-in-law, who succumbed to the effects of smoking several packs of cigarettes a day for several decades. It might be hard to take someone on a cigar-review blog saying “Don’t Smoke!,” so I won’t…but I will say, Don’t Smoke Cigarettes, because the very act of inhaling tobacco smoke into your lungs transmits nicotine to your bloodstream much more efficiently than puffing on a cigar or pipe. And that doesn’t even address the fact that many cigarette companies add more nicotine to the leaf, as well as other things that make it easier to get hooked. Lung cancer (and the treatment for it) is a horrible way to die. We also lost one of our cat-kids last year…Tiger was about 16 years old, having shown up on my wife’s doorstep before we were even dating. He spent years protecting the yards in California and Tennessee. He (and the rest of our menagerie) was a blessing from God and enriched our lives over many years…if you don’t already have a pet, I encourage you to get a dog or cat this year…and consider a rescue animal.
I took a cold draw of the Opus Rosado Oscuro Oro and found it sweet with a slight chocolate note, but there was also a grainy, almost breakfast cereal, aspect to it. The cold flavors were at odds with what my eyes were seeing…the eye says “Maduro” and you expect earth and stronger flavors, and yet this was mild and refined on the cold draw. I applied fire and got a definite earthy quality, but also dry cocoa and black coffee notes, overlaying a sweet, grassy core flavor. I definitely found it the boldest expression of Opus X that I have had so far as far as body, which verged on full right from the outset. Yet, it didn’t start off with the spicy fire that many Opus releases used to…a quality I’ve gotten rather used to not getting anymore, to be honest, but here it doesn’t seem to be “missing” so much as “altered.” What spice there was, I found on the retrohale.
I’ve just about finished two years of working full-time at Burns Tobacconist in Chattanooga (with almost two years of part-time before that). While not everything is always rosy (my mishap on the steps comes immediately to mind), I do love working in the business still and I am friends with more customers than ever before. It’s always a great cross-section of people…doctors, teachers, electricians, building inspectors, lawyers and laborers, Congressmen and clerks. You really never know who you’re going to meet…one evening Senator Bob Corker was in…a retired NFL star is a regular. Regarding that mishap…I dealt myself a fairly severe ankle fracture with a slip and fall at the shop, but didn’t need surgery and have almost completed my recovery. Turns out the joint may have been hurt worse than originally thought and there will likely be some lingering arthritis and need to continue stretches and exercises for months (years?), but at least I can walk comfortably most of the time.
I paired the Rosado Oscuro Oro with Knob Creek Bourbon, which almost seemed too light of a whiskey for this cigar. It was good and brought some additional sweet notes to the party, but a good, full-bodied barrel-aged rum probably would have been a better match for the stick.
With working two jobs (Burns and my freelance graphic design business) I haven’t had as much time to be consumed with the FDA issues as other bloggers have been, but I’ve eagerly read their analysis of some of the goings-on and have reason to be hopeful in the coming year. First, there is no getting around the fact that cigars are now being regulated by the FDA and it is unlikely that we will ever be completely free of that burden…once government takes some measure of control, it is almost unheard of for it to completely give it up. BUT…our incoming President has promised to relax regulations, especially ones that affect small businesses. One thing the cigar industry has done well is to try to couch this affair in terms of the regulations affected (and destroying) small businesses, such as manufacturers, boutique brands, and shops. Also, the nominee to head the HHS Department, Tim Price, is a “friend” of the cigar industry who has supported the bills to exempt the industry from the regulations; I would guess that he will have some say in who the next FDA chief will be. While it seems unlikely, and perhaps a bit “Pollyanna-ish,” he could instruct the next FDA chief to scrap the regulations that are currently on the books and re-write them with an eye toward exempting the premium cigar industry in part or whole. Could it be that simple? I believe so…but I also don’t believe it will happen that simply. As soon as we see how the new administration is going to shake out, industry leaders, CRA, IPCPR, TAA, bloggers, other journalists, shop owners and employees, and just everyday leaf enthusiasts, like yourselves, must work to identify the best routes for relief and work on coordinated efforts to target those people at all levels of government that will make it happen.
The Opus X Rosado Oscuro Oro turned out to be an excellent variant of the Opus formula. It was full-bodied, chocolatey, earthy and smoky, with just a hint of pepper and a delightful sweetness. I think the Don Arturo is still my favorite Opus variant, but this comes in a close second and would be something I would buy again, though I’d rather pay the “regular” price of $25 or so a stick than the $35 or so that this one went for.
I was originally going to do this article while smoking the Opus 20th Celebration cigar, but I ended up smoking that on Christmas day while hanging out with my father on the front porch of my parents’ house. That was an exquisite cigar, but I took no notes, just enjoying the experience instead. I probably don’t do that (just enjoy the experience) enough…which makes it something I should work on during the coming year.
There are fewer cigars coming out on a regular basis these days and that probably will remain the case until the FDA thing is overturned (if it ever is). In light of that, I’ve had to make some adjustments to my review schedule…it’s hard to keep reviewing 3 or so a week when you don’t even necessarily see more than 4 or 5 new sticks in a month. I plan on re-focusing one of my post days per week on some other type of content besides a strict “cigar review” for the near future. That will take on the form of some “5 Best” lists, possibly more spirit reviews, maybe even some editorial/opinion columns from time to time. What we’re really hoping is that it will continue to be content that will make an impact on you…distract you for a few minutes, stir some conversation, help you make a choice in your local B&M’s humidor.
Finally, thank you to all our faithful readers for the time you’ve spent with us over the years. I hope it’s been time well-spent and that you tell your friends. We will continue to be a home of honest opinions on cigars (and the occasional pipe tobacco) for 2017…and hopefully beyond. Happy New Year!
