Volusianator
BoM Nov '07 & Jan '09

Opus that is. I smoked this No.2 yesterday while at the lounge watching football. I wasn't working and there was just myself and the owner of the shop there at the time so it was a very nice relaxed setting. My only regret is that I'll most likely never see another with this kind of age, and that's a shame as it was a wonderful cigar.
The prelight draw was smooth and easy and right away I noticed that the typical Opus citrus wasn't coming through before I lit. I lit the cigar as I do all of them with a cedar strip, the light was perfect and I was off and running. No doubt that Opus with this type of age mellow as this was a med/full bodied cigar with great flavor and consistancy. The Opus spice (or as I call it citrus) really never materialized like most other Opi do, even 5-7 year olds still have a good amount of citrus for me. Don't get me wrong, if I had a box or two of these, I'd be one happy camper, it was much different than a freshie or mildly aged Opus, but not in a bad way at all. I took about an hour and 25 minutes to finish this cigar as I knew once gone I may not see another, so I certainly took my time.
My next in line is 5 years old, I have a decent stash of Fuente Fuente that are from 11/2002 and those are smoking VERY well, for me so far, that 5-7 year mark is just perfect for these cigars.
If you have the fortitude to do it, I'd recommend removing the cello from an Opus and putting a band on it with the date of release, set it aside and do it again next year, do the same for 5-7 years and at that point, take all seven cigars out, and smoke them over a week or two period, see what the differences are, I think you'd be surprised.
Wade