Opus X:Fuente Fuente:Sun Grown

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

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 light 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 peel 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

Ashton ESG:21 Year Salute:Estate Sun Grown.

Ashton makes very fine quality smokes. So when Ashton introduced the ESG, saying it featured rare tobacco and a wrapper that has never been produced I was curious. I then learned that the Fuentes had an influence on this and looking at the wrapper it's familiar to the one the Opus has. Again Ashton was boasting they're rare premium line which no one saw before but I thought the cigar world was already familiar with. Long story short I'm led to believe this is the Ashton's answer to the Opus. So does this stick smoke like one?

SPECS-
Size- Robusto 5.25x52
Wrapper- Dominican
Binder-Dominican
Filler-Dominican
Smoke Time-55 mins.
Price-$17.50
Cut-V Cut

FIRST IMPRESSIONS-First things first. The band on this cigar is beautiful, its a work of art. All the delicate little intricacies are gorgeous. Second, the wrapper is flawless. The caramel sun grown is also a piece of art, no major stems or veins. The wrapper had no particular smell, other than being a dry smell of bagged black beans. The draw was close to perfect, being just a tad airy for my taste. The cold taste had a spicy taste of legumes. Nothing to be impressed by that but I keep my hopes up.

FIRST THIRD-With your first puff you're welcomed to a bunch of cedar flavored smoke. The first puffs are just this, once the spice settles on your palate its not to strong and leaves a almost minty experience on the roof of your mouth. Undertones of a very defined hazelnut taste and mocha are present. Its a pretty good flavor so far, everything is very well blended and rounded. Each flavored is defined and not one is stronger than the other. The airy draw is making this burn a little to quick for the $17 dollar price tag and its my only complaint thus far. It's no Opus but I don't care, comparing sticks to one another is a bad habit.



SECOND THIRD-The flavor profiles pick up a little better here. Along with the main bouquet of flavors, touches of honey are thrown in here and there. The smoke gets a little bit thicker and the mocha produces a second flavor of smooth and sweet coffee with cream, this so far is good. The nut flavor gets a little bit spicier but offers a saffron flavor to counter act the somewhat sharp spice. Construction is still flawless and the ash is holding up good, the cigar is a tad spongy now but its not something that ruins the overall experience. This is the better third of the cigar and almost justifies the price tag but the flavors wont knock your socks of, they're just a little to mild for my palate.

FINAL THIRD-Things go down hill here. In transition from thirds I got hints of caramel that were good and I thought,"hmmm this isn't too bad of a stick". This is true, its not until the flavors get duller. Everything you experience in the last third almost disappear. There are no longer second flavors to contrast the main flavors. The mocha stays mocha,the nut turns just into regular ol' nuts, and the cedar is just cedar. There is nothing over the top anymore just a mild smoke. On any other regular stick I'd toss the smoke, but for $17 dollars I'm smoking this cigar to the nub, no matter how boring it gets. The ash help up well and the cigar got less spongy, the burn line was always straight and I never had to touch it up, and that was the only thing that made it possible for the stick to be smoked so low.

LAST IMPRESSIONS-When you read the review you might notice I throw around the price of this stick around alot. This is not to flaunt how much I spent on the cigar but how much I'm regretting such a price tag. You can't stop yourself from thinking;"Wow, did I really pay $17 dollars for this," and that is such a sour note for this overall good cigar. If it was cheaper it'd be a beautiful cigar, say around $9-11 dollars or so. The price really hinders your experience, it'd probably be a better cigar if you got as a gift and knew you didn't pay for the overall it your self. But to answer my first question, is this an Opus? Absolutely not, even if it "may" have the same wrapper this thing can't come close to the first true Dominican Puro.

RATING-85
Buy It Again? Not anytime soon.
Do I Recommend It? This is tough, if you're a Cigar band collector yes. It's worth a try maybe, if you can get these as gifts from someone or a trade also yes. But if you're gunna take $17 dollars out of your own pocket no.