1st Opus = letdown . . . need some insight

T

TDockUSC

Young Ape
Hey guys, major letdown tonight. I was gifted two Opus X last year by a great BOTL from this site. He actually got them in Sept of 2006 (the wrappers were dated.) Anyway, a buddy of mine and I have been waiting for the right occasion to enjoy them. Well, I am about to leave Texas and move back to SC so we figured this was the best time.

Anyway, we had a big dinner and headed over to my house to enjoy our first Opus. Everything was moving right along until we tried to smoke the dang things. . . we could not for the life of us keep them lit. I think I had to relight mine about 5 times and he had the same experience.

Now let me rule out some things, these guys have been in my humidor for almost a year at 65% humidity (I use heartfelt beads.) In the past two weeks, I've probably smoked four or five others from this humi with fine results so I don't think it was a humidity issue.

So here's my question: did we both just have a bad experience or is this common? We both really enjoyed them when they stayed lit, but the burn issues were so bad that we each quit about halfway through.

I would love some insight. I have two or three more Opus that I bought from a local B&M and want to give them another try, but I want to learn if I made a mistake somehow.

Thanks in advance for any insight.
 
Sorry for the bad experience. I have 2 resting in the humi right now and I hope I dont get the same results.
 
you know, for as big a hype as these things get, and for as hard to find as they are, it seems like a lot of people are let down by the X
 
Funny thing. I JUST finished a Fuente Fuente. It had been almost 2 years since I'd purchased or smoked one, and I was excited to sit with the wife after dinner and enjoy a leasurely evening out without dogs or honey-do's.
The smoothness of the smoke really had me going. Mildly peppery and silky through the 1st 3rd. Right about the half-way point, it sputtered out. I was concerned. Between the half-way and 2nd 3rd point, I must have re-lit 3-4 times. I was very disenchanted. The flavors and smoothness (I put the smoke at about a strong-mild on the Maximus scale) were just starting to pop, and definitely had me disheartened with each re-lite. I had just purchased a 5 pack of them, and am hoping that I got them a little wet. I'm going to let them mellow for a few months in my humi before giving it another go, and I'll bump this post with my next. Flavors/Smoothness= 9.4. Smokability=4.4 . If this was a special social occasion, I would've been embarrased offering these up.
 
Definitely not your fault, crappily rolled cigars are an anomaly that frustrate us all at some point or another. Rest assured, Opus X's or any cigars for that matter don't necessitate any kind of special techniques to smoke other than having the proper conditions for storage, clipping/punching/etc, and lighting.

Definitely, light up another and hopefully it will be a better experience. :)
 
I just had my first Opus a few days ago and I didn't like it. I didn't know they were a Rosado wrapper....and I hate Rosado wrappers
 
In my opinion, the opus need to rest for quite some time (a few years).

In all the opus I have ever smoked (not that many but a few) I have never had any burn issues, nor have I had a problem with them going out.

Maybe it's a strange batch?
 
How can anything that is so hyped possibly live up to it's reputation? I'm not trying to be flippant when I say this, but there's so much talk about this brand that I think it sets people up for disappointment. I've always been annoyed by
the availability issues, pricing and exclusive marketing nonsense of this brand.
Nothing against the Fuentes or the Opus line, and I'm sure they're great folks and they do make fine cigars, but nobody else in the industry spends more effort than they do hyping their brand. Even the advertisements are fussy and annoying; perfectly clean white starched shirts with air brushed faces, loose $30 cigars in their shirt pockets, blowing smoke and smelling leaf at the same time. And what farmers who actually go out and work their fields are so clean, starched and pressed? It's a parody of itself. No matter how good the cigars are, they can't possibly match the reputation every time. A set up for disappointment.
"As the good doctor said, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.":cb Again, nothing against them, or the product. Just the hype.
 
I had the same problem with a Perfecxion No.5 awhile back. I bought it in November of 07 and smoked it in feb. I had to re-lite it about 5 times, but finally gave up on it. But the first No.5that I smoked on new years of '08 was perfect all the way to the nub, it even held its ash till the band. I have one more No.5 that I will probably try here soon so hopefully it goes more like the first one I had.
 
Pampero said:
How can anything that is so hyped possibly live up to it's reputation? I'm not trying to be flippant when I say this, but there's so much talk about this brand that I think it sets people up for disappointment. I've always been annoyed by
the availability issues, pricing and exclusive marketing nonsense of this brand.
Nothing against the Fuentes or the Opus line, and I'm sure they're great folks and they do make fine cigars, but nobody else in the industry spends more effort than they do hyping their brand. Even the advertisements are fussy and annoying; perfectly clean white starched shirts with air brushed faces, loose $30 cigars in their shirt pockets, blowing smoke and smelling leaf at the same time. And what farmers who actually go out and work their fields are so clean, starched and pressed? It's a parody of itself. No matter how good the cigars are, they can't possibly match the reputation every time. A set up for disappointment.
"As the good doctor said, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.":cb Again, nothing against them, or the product. Just the hype.
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I take serious exception to this comment. Opus X are NOT $30; MSRP ranges from about $8 to $15. Anything above this is simply gouging by your B&M. As far as the ads go , what do you suggest mud all over their faces? Have your ever looked at a new SUV ad lately: an impecably clean black SUV with not a speck of dust or dirt on it even it is designed to go off roading. Or how about an ad for a new casino: people laughing and having a great time winning money hand over fist even though the casinos make BILLIONS on lost gambling revenue. They are an awesome $8- $15 smoke ( and I have smoked about 100 per year since '96 so I think 1200 qualifies me as knowledgeable on Opus)and when was the last time you had an inconsistent Cohiba or other CC? Cohibas/LEs/REs aren't hyped at all are they? The same cigar wth a second band at 50% higher cost! I won't even go into the Tat Black(or should I say Tat Crap)! I have visited and personally met Carlito and I'll tell you that there is no one out there to rival his passion about cigars! Bottom line is this: what isn't hyped in today's marketing world? Opus are a great moderately priced smoke and if you have to pay more than MSRP go find a new B&M.
 
I have only had one a few years ago and didnt like it. I havent been able to get my hands on too many so itll prolly be a while before i get to revisit it. Sorry for your bad experience. It happens....
 
Only Fuentes said:
I take serious exception to this comment. Opus X are NOT $30; MSRP ranges from about $8 to $15. Anything above this is simply gouging by your B&M. As far as the ads go , what do you suggest mud all over their faces? Have your ever looked at a new SUV ad lately: an impecably clean black SUV with not a speck of dust or dirt on it even it is designed to go off roading. Or how about an ad for a new casino: people laughing and having a great time winning money hand over fist even though the casinos make BILLIONS on lost gambling revenue. They are an awesome $8- $15 smoke ( and I have smoked about 100 per year since '96 so I think 1200 qualifies me as knowledgeable on Opus)and when was the last time you had an inconsistent Cohiba or other CC? Cohibas/LEs/REs aren't hyped at all are they? The same cigar wth a second band at 50% higher cost! I won't even go into the Tat Black(or should I say Tat Crap)! I have visited and personally met Carlito and I'll tell you that there is no one out there to rival his passion about cigars! Bottom line is this: what isn't hyped in today's marketing world? Opus are a great moderately priced smoke and if you have to pay more than MSRP go find a new B&M.
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Deep breath here - deep breath. :ss

Since we are taking exceptions here - I'd like to comment on your price points. I'm certainly glad to hear that someone is buying Opus at MSRP - because in reality most of the cigar buying population is not. I'd invite you to come to Northern Virginia and find one B&M selling at MSRP - heck let's just extend that to Maryland and DC also. For that matter find me an online retailer doing the same that actually has them in stock.
And just for fun - show of hands - how many can actually walk into their local B&M and find boxes of Opus on display? Hmmmmm - yeah, me neither.

And so while Opus may be a great $8 to $15 smoke - most of us just are not as fortunate as you are.

As for the OP - yeah it sucks but it does happen with any cigar. Did you smoke them outside? How humid was it? That can certainly have an effect on re-lighting.


Ron
 
I had my first opus a few days ago and think that its a huge waste of money. I had the same type of burn issues you talked about, and it literally tasted more boring than a regular CAO Gold. Its all about hype with I suppose.
Very few people I have talked to and read about have been able to smoke an Opus without burn issues.
 
RGD said:
Deep breath here - deep breath. :ss

Since we are taking exceptions here - I'd like to comment on your price points. I'm certainly glad to hear that someone is buying Opus at MSRP - because in reality most of the cigar buying population is not. I'd invite you to come to Northern Virginia and find one B&M selling at MSRP - heck let's just extend that to Maryland and DC also. For that matter find me an online retailer doing the same that actually has them in stock.
And just for fun - show of hands - how many can actually walk into their local B&M and find boxes of Opus on display? Hmmmmm - yeah, me neither.

And so while Opus may be a great $8 to $15 smoke - most of us just are not as fortunate as you are.

As for the OP - yeah it sucks but it does happen with any cigar. Did you smoke them outside? How humid was it? That can certainly have an effect on re-lighting.


Ron
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That is exactly my point. I understand that I am lucky to be able to buy them at MSRP. However the point of price is not a Fuente issue it is a B&M issue. Fuente suggests to the retailer what to sell them at: $8 - $15 anything above this is the store owner playing the hype on the consumer NOT the Fuentes. All B&Ms pay the same price wholesale for Opus as an authoried retailer. Taxes nonwithstanding anything above MSRP + state tobacco tax is just an extra pocket liner for the B&M. The Fuentes do not condone gouging however its nearly impossible to police every authorized retailer. So I'm sorry for getting upset over this and as a concession to the OP : Opus do take a little more attention while smoking them most partly because of the thicker Rosado Wrapper.
 
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I can't tell you if my Opus smoked well. WHile I smoked 10-15 in the last year not a single one of them was a memorable experience in a good way. I find the Opus to be a wretched cigar which is why I sold them off.

Its hard when I stick is this talked about and this polarizing for it to live up to the hype. But if you like the flavor you'll learn to live with it. I mean CCs can be horribly plugged, can extinguish themselves on the calmest night after 15 seconds of you paying attention to anything but it, etc. But because I greatly appreciate the taste I put up with it, tho I've been blessed not to have to many issues.

And for all those guys who said "I only have one, how long should I wait?" I'd say smoke em. It would be a shame to wait 5 more years if it could taste fantastic to you right now, or to wait 5 more years and you just hate the profile. Opus X aren't so rare that you should sit on them like they are Don Candido's or something, if you keep your eyes open and build your contacts you can buy Opus pretty regularly.
 
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