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Opus X BBMF

Reeve11

crookedburn
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My review today is for a cigar that was given out at the "White Party" at the 2012 Procigar Festival. Something very special about the 2012 festival was that it was the first year that the Fuente family (the makers of this cigar) were back as full members of the Procigar organization. Luckily for us, we got to add their line of cigars we were able to smoke during the fest.

Now I am far from an expert on Opus products, but I'm going to give a shot at what this cigar was all about. I was told that this BBMF is different from the BBMF that was released in the special Opus coffin gift sets. This BBMF is reserved just for hand outs at big Fuente events or now the Procigar Festival. One difference you can see right away was this cigar didn't have the secondary banding. I was also told that the BBMF was a stronger (or maybe the strongest?) Opus blend produced. Again, I'm not an expert, so maybe someone can leave a comment with more information.

I was lucky to get one of these because, unlike all the other cigars handed out at this dinner, it was not a calm, take-one-off-a-tray atmosphere when these arrived. I saw both big names in the industry and regular attendees taking handfuls of these from the ladies giving them out. Many people in the crowd did not get even one to smoke. Next year? C'mon people, show a little more class and love for your fellow BOTL. (I'm getting off of my soapbox now.)

On to the review.

Specifics
Vitola: Figurado
Length: 6 1/2
Ring Gauge: 64
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Price: Handout only
Smoking Location: Governors Smokeshop
Beverage: water

Pre-Light
The BBMF is a prime example of one of the crazy, creative shapes Fuente makes for its special or limited releases. (To see some of the other shapes, check out the well-known site Vitolas.) There was a darker colored leaf at the tip of the foot of the cigar and also wrapped around what I would call a brush end cap. I'm sure there is a correct name for that style of cap, but I don't know what it is. After you get past all of the added extras, I'd describe the actual cigar as a well-shaped Figurado. The wrapper was medium brown in color and had zero visible veins. The pre-light aroma was faint, but smelled of some natural sweetness. The cold draw, on the other hand, was very strong and had a lot of fruity tastes to it...lots of raisin and date flavors.

First Third
Ugh, this cigar would not light. I started with trying to light the very small tip of the Figurado with a soft flame lighter and had no luck. Then I tried lighting it with my torch and finally, when I did get it going, I manged to make it burn a big run down the side of the first inch of the cigar. The draw on this stick was so loose and, with the burn issues, getting any smoke out of it during the first third was very difficult. Out of the smoke I did get, the flavors had a lot of white pepper on the front and through the nose, with a bit of wheat taste on the finish. About an inch into the cigar, I started to get some honey sweetness on the front of the profile, too, which kicked back the spicy pepper some. I'd put this cigar in the medium nicotine strength at this point. The flavor was muted, but nice. The burn on the other hand...

Second Third
First thing I want to mention in the second third is something that went for the entire cigar. This stick had one of the flakiest ashes I've ever had. Just lifting the cigar from the ashtray to my mouth, I would see bits of ash float off into the air. The flavors in the second third were dominated on the front by the sweet honey taste with that wheat taste on the finish. Unfortunately, just like the first third, the burn issues continued in the second third. I had to correct this cigar about every five minutes, as it just did not want to burn evenly on all sides. It was frustrating, to say the least, when smoking a cigar of such high expectations. The strength of the cigar did increase a bit and I would put it in the medium to lower full range.

Final Third and Final Thoughts
Well something from the cigar gods happened at the start of the final third and the burn on my BBMF straightened out. Not only did it burn better now, it also tightened up on the draw a bit and I could get much larger clouds of smoke on each puff. Because of all of this the flavor, it increased a lot in strength. With that said, it was still the same flavors from the first and second third, just stronger on my palate (honey and wheat.) This was, by far, the best part of the cigar and thanks to that, I enjoyed this smoke down to the nub. The nicotine strength stayed in the lower full range.

Final thoughts on the Opus X BBMF? When the cigar performed correctly it had a basic, but nice flavor. When it didn't burn or draw correctly, it was incredibility annoying to smoke. Correcting a burn on a cigar is no big deal, but constantly feeling like you have to babysit it or it's going to go out/tunnel is another thing entirely. I'd like to smoke another one to see if mine was just a dud, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'd stick with the more traditional Opus X releases if I was paying the top dollar these demand.

Would I buy it again? N/A

Would I buy a box? N/A

For more pictures please visit http://tinyurl.com/cqwks5v

Dan
 

mthhurley

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Nice review and I have to agree with you. It's a gimmicky vitola that doesn't burn well and doesn't give me anything that another Opus vitola doesn't already do better (I've had both the maduro and the natural). Therefore, IMO, not even close to worth its' price tag.
 

BMack

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Nice review and I have to agree with you. It's a gimmicky vitola that doesn't burn well and doesn't give me anything that another Opus vitola doesn't already do better (I've had both the maduro and the natural). Therefore, IMO, not even close to worth its' price tag.
From the people I know that have had these, they all say the same thing.
 

Craig Mac

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Well, I have some thoughts on this cigar too. My first time ever seeing a BBMF was watching a guy not batting an eyelash at paying for a box of them in a shop. This was an opinion I think is pretty good on opus, so that told me enough.

My next experience seeing a BBMF was having my ass handed to me for a little something that ended up on urban dictionary.....

Fast forward to me smoking it, it was suggested I smoke said cigar by said ass kicker on the day after what was probably one of the worst experiences of my life. And it sounded like a great idea at the time, so I fired it up.



Sure, it's a fancy cigar and the presentation is a big part of the price tag.... But this thing burned and smoked awesome! There was probably a bit of expectation for the cigar, but at that point I didn't give a flying frogs fat ass about it. I just smoked a cigar and enjoyed the hell out of it! It burned great, smoked great and had a unique flavor from the maduro wrapper I had not tasted in any opus before. Will definitely smoke one again given the opportunity!

 

Skitalets

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I have one of these in a coffin from the 2009 boxes just sitting in my humidor. Maybe it's time to smoke it once it gets warm again.
 
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Great review man, disappointing to hear of people taking handfuls.

Perhaps some time (~5 years) would correct some of the negative aspects of what you experienced. I've heard that's common with Opus...I wouldn't know as the ones I've put away only have two years
 

Craig Mac

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I think that is pretty true Timmy, most people know to rest Opus automatically. You can't expect to smoke a 2 month old Opus and have it be the best cigar ever.
 

gibbleguts

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Wouldn't you like to know?
I have smoked a quite a few natural and Maduro and have conflicting thoughts. First I have never been disappointed by one. They are always special occasion cigars for me so I light kick back relax and visit and enjoy. All about the total experience for me. Now that said I have never smoked one to review. If I had would it have been the best opus I have smoked? I am not sure. In the context of a special occasion smoke that I am celebrating with they have never let me down.
 

Jfire

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I just want to know why it's ok for Fuentes to make such a uber rare stick with a high price and it not smoke well but also not be fantastic with only a couple months on it. Any other manufacture including the great Johnson would be murdered for it....thanks for the review Dan!
 

Craig Mac

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I just want to know why it's ok for Fuentes to make such a uber rare stick with a high price and it not smoke well but also not be fantastic with only a couple months on it. Any other manufacture including the great Johnson would be murdered for it....thanks for the review Dan!
Ok or not with who? Doesn't matter to me, but I have found on a constant basis I can lay an Opus down for a few years and it will be great. The others including the great Johnson I can't say that for though.
 

Jfire

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Leave broadleaf out of this she doesn't age well!!! :) u telling me mr Mac that brown lines don't age well? :) Anyhow to me it seems like most will say it's ok for opus to be somewhat unapproachable at a earlier age but most manufactures this is entirely not ok at such a high price point.
 

kockroach

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Leave broadleaf out of this she doesn't age well!!! :) u telling me mr Mac that brown lines don't age well? :) Anyhow to me it seems like most will say it's ok for opus to be somewhat unapproachable at a earlier age but most manufactures this is entirely not ok at such a high price point.
I wouldn't say CBL doesn't age well, necessarily. Remember those 08 La Riqueza #3s...and the Regios Reservas still have some pop (just smoked one this weekend). But I do agree that the brown line ages quite well.
 
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