Today is my birthday, or at least it was since it's 12:21 am right now. To celebrate I decided to smoke a cigar which I've been saving up for a while. A cigar that almost needs no introduction. But for those that don't know what the Opus is about, let me tell you. The Opus was the first Dominican Puro, being the first to have a Dominican wrapper which was never done before circa 1995. This rare stick is very limited to only about 500,000 a year or its what I'm lead to believe and only sold in major B&M's twice a year, once in the summer time and once during the winter months. This limited stick is often sold at high prices when it's not in season it has the most hype out there than any cigar. So I've had a ESG which claimed to be just as good as the Opus, but now here's the real thing. So did this cigar start my birthday in a sour note?
SPECS
SPECS
Size-Robusto 5.25 x 52
Wrapper-Dominican
Binder-Dominican
Filler-Dominican
Cost-$13.50
Cut-Punch/Guillotine
Smoke Time-55 mins
Drink-McD's Iced Caramel Coffee
FIRST IMPRESSIONS-Once you get this cigar in your hand it doesn't seem that menacing or a dark, stingy and powerful cigar as some people describe it. The flawless wrapper had no veins,no tears no toothyness to it, just a smooth sandy color, that invited me with its sweet honey aroma. At a closer inspection the foot smelt like graham cracker with touches of cinnamon, honey, and some raisin. The cold taste also had that unexpected but lovely taste of graham crackers and honey. The wrapper itself had a very neutral taste on the lips and the draw was perfect. This cigar wasn't as hard as a lead pipe or soft and mushy, it had the perfect amount of give. This cigar was begging to be smoked.
FIRST THIRD-I took my time to light this stick, I must of used over 10 matches to l
ight it and as soon as I took my first puff the cigar greeted me with a good bloom of smoke. Some say that this cigar is "ultra-powerful" and that it will knock you on your ass in the first puffs. I didn't get that here or with any other Opus I've smoked, it was a perfect morning smoke that didn't make me feel dizzy or anything. The first flavor that is introduced is a lovely spice on the nose, its very soft and it almost felt like a piece of cotton candy in your mouth. After the introduction of the spice a well rounded sweet cedar is present in the smooth finish. This is a very delicate and well rounded third, nothing stands out at first and makes you pay attention to the cigar to see what flavors are coming up. It's burning quite well at this point and the ash is white and very solid without any wave marks on it. I wish I could start more mornings like this.
SECOND THIRD-The best third without a doubt, the flavors here are outstanding. The
well rounded cedar that was in the middle of the finish gets sweeter and more rounded, producing a tasty flavor of orange peel that is marvelous. The orange peel flavors comes and goes as if it doesn't want to overstay it's welcome. When ever the orange peel flavor fades to the back its replaced by a coffee bean flavor that is accented by mocha. Truly a great flavor that stirs up the pot in a world of cigars where you mainly get chocolate,cedar,dirt,or coffee. The finish is still very smooth and the cigar is burning at the same slow pace. Ash help up well before falling a half a inch short of the band. Only gripe with this cigar so far is that I expected the ash to be longer, but the flavors do a lot more than just make up for it.
LAST THIRD-If this cigar ever gets slightly "offencive" it's here. The orange pe
el soon fades when the longest ash fell, along with it is the mocha and cedar. The main flavors now are a honey maple sweetness adjoined with a spicy leather taste. A very unclimatic end to a superb smoke. The leather profile is still in a class of its own, it brings with it floral accents that makes this cigar difficult to put down. The finish gets dirtier and less refined, but worth it. The ash got more flacky here and never held a long ash. This is a definitely a full-bodied smoke and would take many Opuses(?) for one to truly understand the flavor profile. Lucky for me I have one more.
LAST IMPRESSIONS-This was a superb smoke to start my day. Hopefully when ever I look back to my 19th birthday I'll remember the Opus that introduced me to it's subtle tones of orange peel, and this is the most memorable flavor of the smoke, the orange peel taste. Without a doubt this cigar is worth all the hype it gets. The thing is though I'm happy this cigar is very limited, because if this was available everyday I wouldn't pick up everyday, or make it an everyday thing. This cigar is truly reserved for special occasions, no wonder it's usually sold on Father's Day and Christmas. The price I payed for it was very justified, no cigar I've smoked before has surprised me like this cigar does. Long story short, this was a beautiful cigar that I had the pleasure of smoking with a good friend, one of the best mornings I've had in a while.
RATING-96
Buy It Again? Yes
Recommend It? Yes
Wrapper-Dominican
Binder-Dominican
Filler-Dominican
Cost-$13.50
Cut-Punch/Guillotine
Smoke Time-55 mins
Drink-McD's Iced Caramel Coffee
FIRST IMPRESSIONS-Once you get this cigar in your hand it doesn't seem that menacing or a dark, stingy and powerful cigar as some people describe it. The flawless wrapper had no veins,no tears no toothyness to it, just a smooth sandy color, that invited me with its sweet honey aroma. At a closer inspection the foot smelt like graham cracker with touches of cinnamon, honey, and some raisin. The cold taste also had that unexpected but lovely taste of graham crackers and honey. The wrapper itself had a very neutral taste on the lips and the draw was perfect. This cigar wasn't as hard as a lead pipe or soft and mushy, it had the perfect amount of give. This cigar was begging to be smoked.
FIRST THIRD-I took my time to light this stick, I must of used over 10 matches to l
ight it and as soon as I took my first puff the cigar greeted me with a good bloom of smoke. Some say that this cigar is "ultra-powerful" and that it will knock you on your ass in the first puffs. I didn't get that here or with any other Opus I've smoked, it was a perfect morning smoke that didn't make me feel dizzy or anything. The first flavor that is introduced is a lovely spice on the nose, its very soft and it almost felt like a piece of cotton candy in your mouth. After the introduction of the spice a well rounded sweet cedar is present in the smooth finish. This is a very delicate and well rounded third, nothing stands out at first and makes you pay attention to the cigar to see what flavors are coming up. It's burning quite well at this point and the ash is white and very solid without any wave marks on it. I wish I could start more mornings like this.SECOND THIRD-The best third without a doubt, the flavors here are outstanding. The
well rounded cedar that was in the middle of the finish gets sweeter and more rounded, producing a tasty flavor of orange peel that is marvelous. The orange peel flavors comes and goes as if it doesn't want to overstay it's welcome. When ever the orange peel flavor fades to the back its replaced by a coffee bean flavor that is accented by mocha. Truly a great flavor that stirs up the pot in a world of cigars where you mainly get chocolate,cedar,dirt,or coffee. The finish is still very smooth and the cigar is burning at the same slow pace. Ash help up well before falling a half a inch short of the band. Only gripe with this cigar so far is that I expected the ash to be longer, but the flavors do a lot more than just make up for it.LAST THIRD-If this cigar ever gets slightly "offencive" it's here. The orange pe
el soon fades when the longest ash fell, along with it is the mocha and cedar. The main flavors now are a honey maple sweetness adjoined with a spicy leather taste. A very unclimatic end to a superb smoke. The leather profile is still in a class of its own, it brings with it floral accents that makes this cigar difficult to put down. The finish gets dirtier and less refined, but worth it. The ash got more flacky here and never held a long ash. This is a definitely a full-bodied smoke and would take many Opuses(?) for one to truly understand the flavor profile. Lucky for me I have one more.LAST IMPRESSIONS-This was a superb smoke to start my day. Hopefully when ever I look back to my 19th birthday I'll remember the Opus that introduced me to it's subtle tones of orange peel, and this is the most memorable flavor of the smoke, the orange peel taste. Without a doubt this cigar is worth all the hype it gets. The thing is though I'm happy this cigar is very limited, because if this was available everyday I wouldn't pick up everyday, or make it an everyday thing. This cigar is truly reserved for special occasions, no wonder it's usually sold on Father's Day and Christmas. The price I payed for it was very justified, no cigar I've smoked before has surprised me like this cigar does. Long story short, this was a beautiful cigar that I had the pleasure of smoking with a good friend, one of the best mornings I've had in a while.
RATING-96
Buy It Again? Yes
Recommend It? Yes
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