So, it all started one late summer day I Pm'ed
@USMCSGT0331 about opus x and fuente cigars. He gave me some great advice (although I could hear my debit card screaming in the background), and he was crazy generous and sent me some amazing cigars (which have been sitting in my humidor, a schmecke for three weeks)! I am starting this thread to document my journey into the crazy high end. I got my smoking shed pretty damn close to done (on the outside) today, and felt like I deserved something nice. So I dug into the goodie bag sgt0331 sent me. Now there are some just crazy cigars in here, but I just wanted something nice to end my weekend. So I grabbed the opus x oro oscuro out. Here we go.





Great burn. Upon light up I'm getting cedar, earth and spice. Getting closer to the 1/3 mark, it's getting creamy.

First ash in my new (first legit) ashtray!


I Pm'ed usmcsgt0331 about the opus7,8, and 22 releases, and he hasn't gotten back to me.

Into the second third and I'm getting all cream and earth. Almost lost all pepper, the cedar in the retrohale has toned down a lot.

Started raining outside. I love this shed! Need a better chair though.



It will be interesting to see how much ventilation I have when I get the rafters sealed up.

Deep into the 2nd 1/3, I'm getting a very light note of maybe hazelnut and milk chocolate with the cream. Tasty.

Into the last third, getting lots of dark earth. A little spice has returned, and cedar on the retro. It is now a nub.



I'm going to try to do these once or twice a week, when I feel like typing all this out, and when I have time.

Again, huge thanks to
@USMCSGT0331 !!!!

Feedback is appreciated, let me know if I can do something better!



Forgot to rate this.

Overall, I give this cigar an 86/100. It was great, but if it had bolder flavors I probably would have rated higher.

Long ashes to you sir!

Nice!  And congrats on your smoking area.  We all need a spot to kick back and enjoy our cigars.

Like the shed and appreciate the review. Pictures of your hands makes me respect you as a man

Looking great.
Maybe this will appeal to you, since it is a cigar shed. I glue cigar bands (I don't duplicate too often) to the cabinet doors of my workshop. Kind of the same concept of epoxying beer caps into your bar top. I'm sure you've got plenty of fuente bands to do a whole wall

Thanks everyone!




Most of the time I light one up right after working, and forget to wash my hands. I actually washed them tonight before I made this post, even though it doesn't look like it. But, thanks!



Awesome! yeah, I have a cork board that filled up a couple weeks ago, been thinking about those felt squares instead of the cork, as they look better, but still exploring my options. I really have no idea what I want to do for walls in the shed. I would sheetrock them, but I want to hang boxes on the walls, and hanging shit on sheetrock just sucks. Any ideas on interior are welcome! I'm going with a green with dark brown trim outside. Green is my favorite color.

I was looking at those A Fuente LED signs, and im tempted to buy one.

I was asked to post a group pic, so here ya go... which one should I smoke next?

Good writeup.

Nice shed.

Great cigar.

Next cigar: joya de Nicaragua dos cientos.


Damn smooth at first light very light oak and earth. None of the harsh cedar. No pepper. Razor straight burn off the light.



At 3/4" in, I'm starting to just barely get some pepper on the top of my tongue and cedar in the retrohale.  Smoke output is very light.

At 1 1/4" in, the straight burn decided to get funky. Slowly ramping up on the cedar and pepper.



Into the second third, and nothing has changed. Earth, light pepper and cedar.

Of course, right after I typed that, I got a taste of something different... A very faint note of cinnamon maybe. Hmm. And it's gone.

Burn is funky now. Not bad enough to touch up.

At the last third, all I'm getting is earth and pepper. Pepper has ramped up. Wouldn't quite call it a pepperbomb yet but I find myself hoping it does something.


Still very light on smoke production, which is disappointing...

Well it's now a nub, and nothing changed.

Overall score: 55/100. I would try one again, just to make sure my palette (sp?) Isn't messed up. I was hoping for some darker flavors based on the darker wrapper.


Edit: hands are black from shooting suppressed this afternoon. Love teaching new shooters with a quiet 22.

Let's light old Frank up tonight. This thing is a monster!







Cold draw: wrapper definitely has a sweetness about it. A good sweetness. Almost maybe a citrus.

First light: cedar with that sweetness on the back end.

I usually like to light my cigars slowly before I take the first puff. Thought I'd try to puff and rotate as I lit since this cigar had the fully wrapped foot. A little uneven of a burn, probably due to my lack of technique.



About an inch and a half in, I'm getting a bit of cedar in the retrohale, with dark earth and bitter coffee. Pretty damn tasty!



Another inch or so in, and the sweet flavor is more pronounced. Starting to almost taste like bakers chocolate. Very good! Just the right amount of bite in the retro. At this point, I couldn't be happier with this big dude!

Ash is white and flaky.
Starting to get a little pepper at this point.



As of the picture above, I am one hour into this monster, and loving every minute of it!

At about 3" left ole Frank turned into quite the pepperbomb! Smoked it to a nub, total burn time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, and I gotta say, I loved every minute!

Overall score: 93. Amazing stick!

Never heard of a smoking shed, but i'm not in a cold place. Glad you're enjoying it!

@68MUDSTUD, it's good to see you enjoying all of these cigars, I'm enjoying your reviews and thoughts as you continue with your cigar journey! I think that this is one of the better "sampler" sets that I've sent someone, the Opus X Dubai Exclusivo and the Lost City Phantom really makes this a ridiculously awesome sampler! I'm looking forward to hearing your experience with those 2 cigars, I think that you'll really enjoy them.

Last week I smoked a Lost City Phantom that came out of the same box as the cigar I sent you. It was raining out and there was a lot of humidity in the air, so the cigar kept going out if I stopped puffing it every minute or so. The lancero vitola doesn't have a large cherry burning like a much fatter ring gauge cigar, so this vitola has a tendency to not stay lit if it's too humid. I'd recommend keeping that cigar with any Cubans you might have, since those are usually stored at a lower humidity percentage, and don't smoke it if the surrounding air has a high percentage of humidity. This doesn't mean that the lancero vitola is bad, it just needs a little more attention and forethought so that you don't experience any burn related issues. This is just one of those minor details you learn over the years.

I recently bought a bunch of cigars from my local cigar shop (Tobacco Grove), so I'll have to put together another high-end cigar sampler to send out to you. I've got a pretty good idea of what your palate prefers, so that means sending out more types of Opus X cigars, lol.

Well, if you want to send more, at least let me pay you for them this time. As we discussed last night through text,

Today's the day for the lost city phantom.





I really need to buy a new cutter. Kind of thinking scissors of some kind for my lounge. Any recommendations?


Here we go!

Lots of cedar, and a good bit of pepper off the light!

Caramel!!! Woah! Definitely has a few of the same notes as the Cubans I've had! The saltwater flavor.


1" in, and getting awesome cedar and a flavor that reminds me of iced tea.  A bit of an uneven burn, but no problems. Great draw and smoke production.



Ash fell in my lap at 1 1/4". I figured I was pushing it

Starting in the second third, the cedar is starting to turn to oak. Also starting to get creamy.

I can see why people love these, but is it worth the extra price? I'll have to have a couple more to be sure.

This is one of those cigars I find myself retrohaling every puff because I love it.

Got interrupted by my new neighbor... What a piece of work. Was in the navy, then said he'd never lived anywhere more than two years, self proclaimed hippie, drives a piece of shit van with BLM stickers everywhere, smokes weed, no job, "artist", I gotta get this fucking guy out of here.

End of the second third, getting more pepper.

Last third seems to be all about pepper, cream and oak. There's a bit of floral in there too.

Great cigar. Smoke time 1.5 hours.

96/100.

I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the Lost City Phantom! If you think this cigar was great, just wait until you have one with a year or 2 of aging! I smoked one of these Lost City Phantoms (pulled from the same box that your cigar came out of) a week or 2 ago, and it was a little rough, so it can definitely benefit from resting for a few years.

As for the cigar cutter, "buy once, cry once." Buy a great cutter right from the start, don't bother with cheap cutters and/or poorly designed cutters. The problem with pretty much all cigar cutters is that the single blade cutters (guillotine, V blade, cigar knives, etc.) and double blade cutters (cigar scissors, double guillotine, etc.) will crush/crack the head/cap of the cigar, instead of having a nice clean effortless slice. This is because the cutter's blade(s) is essentially being pushed into the cigar, and even angled blades will create lot of pressure before the tobacco cap is finally sliced. Single blade cigar cutters are the worst because the cigar's head is stuck between a blade and a hard flat surface opposite from the blade. This pressure is what causes cracks, uneven cuts, and other issues.

Some of you might have a very nice Xikar or other double blade cigar cutters that work well, and you might get some nice cuts, but you will also damage some of the cigars at various times. I've owned tons of cutters over the years, and for a long time my go-to cutter was a double blade Xikar. I got sick of the uneven cuts and the occasional damage to the cigars, so I went looking for a better cigar cutter.

The solution is to have cigar cutter with a blade that pivots and slices the tobacco cap neatly with very minimal pressure. I'm aware of only 1 cigar cutter on the market right now that's capable of doing this, and it's a cutter that is absolutely amazing! So, if you want the absolute best cigar cutter available right now, you need to buy a funky looking cutter from Fox Knives (trust me, it's worth it!).

I use a Fox 749D (damascus) cigar cutter, and it's an absolutely amazing cutter! I've been smoking cigars for over 20 years, and I've owned pretty much every type of cutter ever made (including an extremely weird/interesting cutter called the Baller, which takes a circular scoop out of the head/cap of the cigar!). My Fox 749D cigar cutter is absolutely perfect, and it has a very unique sliding blade that cleanly slices the cigar instead of crushing it. There is a world of difference between the Fox 749 type cigar cutters, and all the other cigar cutters on the market!

You don't need to spend $500 to $700+ on the exact same damascus cigar cutter that I have (749D). Fox Knives makes many variations of the 749 type cutter, and they're a lot cheaper than the 749D damascus version. I highly recommend looking at their 749BSWF (black stone washed finish), 749F (sandblasted finish), 749SMF (Smoking Moses finish), 749

Fox knives also makes two smaller cigar cutters that are a more traditional double blade type cutter. The two smaller Fox cutters are their 747 and 748 cigar cutters, but I don't recommend them because they're just like all the other double blade cigar cutters on the market (albeit a nicer version of a dual blade cutter). If any of you guys still prefer the smaller, more traditional style of the Fox 747 and 748 cutters, then you can buy those knowing that they're superior to the other double blade cigar cutters that are being sold everywhere.

Below are a few photos of my Fox 749D (damascus) cigar cutter, it's serial number 21 out of something (I have no idea how many 749D cutters were made, Fox Knives doesn't provide this information). You're supposed to put the head of the cigar right into the small semicircular blade cutout, and then adjust your cigar so that the cap is above the edge of the blade. However, my friends and I have found that flipping the cutter over, and NOT putting the head of the cigars in the small semicircular blade cutout (we use the other side of the semicircular blade to contact the cigar, the flat side of that blade) is actually a better way to use the Fox 749 type cigar cutters. Using the cutter this way, the slicing is much cleaner and it's very accurate.

Just keep the semicircular blade cutout facing upwards, and adjust your cigar so that the cap is above the edge of the blade. Once you have the cap of your cigar perfectly positioned, you then squeeze the two handles together, which causes the long blade to pivot on one handle and slide along a track in the other handle. The track that the long blade slides on is also slightly curved, which gives the long blade a very nice slicing motion!

When the handles are squeezed, the long blade is pivoting at one end and sliding on a curve at the other end, and a few important things happen. The first thing is that the long blade is being pushed towards the small semicircular blade. As the long blade is being pushed towards the small blade, the long blade is also being guided by the curved track, which gives the long blade a slicing motion. This slicing motion is similar to the motion of a katana when practicing Tameshigiri, so imagine the movement of the sword blade when slicing through a tatami mat. The movement of an overhead cut isn't just a straight down chop. As your arms come down, your swing will be elliptical and that introduces a slight pulling motion into the mechanics, which creates the slice.

So, instead of a straight chop (like a single blade cigar cutter), the long blade on the Fox 749 has a combined mechanic of being pushed down towards the other blade, while simultaneously being guided across on the curved track. The mechanics of this combined action produces a slice, instead of a chop. I don't know how well I'm describing the mechanisms at work here, but the slicing motion of this cigar cutter is a complete game changer!

With this cigar cutter, I've been getting the best cuts I've ever had on my cigars! The cuts are perfectly straight across and the accuracy of the cut is unbelievable! I'm able to remove the exact center area of the cigar's cap, while at the same time not missing the target and accidentally cutting through the edge of the cap (which would cause it to unravel). It's pretty awesome being able to get a perfect cut every single time I use this cigar cutter, and it's just about effortless. I've also found that if I keep the semicircular blade area facing away from the cigar (so that the flat portion on the other side of that semicircular blade is what's touching the cigar), I can use the cutter like a weird pair of scissors and clean up any bits of tobacco that might be sticking out somewhere on the cigar.






Here's a link to buy the Fox 749D damascus cigar cutter:

https://leoneshopknives.com/fox-cigar-club-damascus-cigar-cutter_749d



Here's a link to a Fox 749BSWF that isn't damascus, it's a black stone washed finish that looks pretty great:

https://www.tacticalelements.com/fox-knives-749-bswf-cigar-club-cigar-cutter-w-custom-carry-leather-pouch/



Here's a plain old Fox 749 stainless steel cigar cutter:

https://www.knifecenter.com/item/FOX749/fox-knives-cigar-club-cigar-cutter-bead-blasted-440-stainless-steel-guillotine-blade


There's also a Fox 749/1, which is mounted on an ashtray and can be removed:

https://www.tacticalelements.com/fox-knives-749-1-wooden-support-w-cigar-cutter-and-stainless-steel-ashtray/

Well there goes another hundred bucks! Thank you bud!

Finally got a couple decent chairs in.

I know you grabbed the Fox cutter, but all of the xikar are gtg.  I prefer classic straight cut.  Lifetime warranty.  Not a fan of the v cutters, but to each their own.

Copy that. I just never understood the push against a blade. A slice instead of a chop makes more sense to me.

Anyways, having a hard time deciding on what to smoke. Here's what's left of the goody bag...

Ok I saw someone else is smoking a Crux, so here we go!








First light: cedar and pepper. Lots of leather.

Damn tight draw. Looking up that perfect draw tool.

Starting to loosen up a bit. There is definitely a cinnamon note in here. A strange cinnamon-leather-pepper.
Ordered the perfecdraw tool.

Opening up more. Good.

I'm usually not a fan of this much leather, but with the cinnamon it ain't bad.



I feel like this is what a boot and tack shop next to a bakery - both on fire would taste like.

While you are working at the cedar roofing sawmill across the street. Like this...



Starting to get a bit of chocolate and cream now. Draw has opened up a lot more than I thought it would. Pretty damn tasty! Interesting, and keeping my attention now!

The chocolate and cream are getting bolder, as the cedar subsides.

The amount of chocolate I'm getting from this, with such a light colored wrapper leaf is insane! I'm on a ride through flavortown!



No draw issues at all now, able to just enjoy!

Minus 5 points for the ash not being dependable and soiling my new chair.

Leather taste is almost gone.

Damn, almost done already. What a rollercoaster! Fun smoke!

I have to take 10 points away because of the draw, but damn what a ride!

87/100.

CigarPage discord link

you might enjoy this community also.

I've only tried that same limitada once and it wasn't bad, but the epicure maduro (minty green band/box) and the epicure habano (new tan/almond band/box) are great.  The box pressed won't hold ash like a round vitola.  There are longest smoker and longest ash competitions and the longest ash gets a little silly with everyone holding and smoking their sticks perpendicular to the ground, but round is the best construction for holding the long ash

.

Try a plasencia cosecha 146 also.

I'll look into it. Thanks.

Cold, wet and dreary sunless day here in southeastern Montana, so here we go with the Drac.



First light: cedar and earth. Something isn't right. Even my coffee doesn't taste right.

Burning great. Wrapper is leaving a sweetness on my lips. Very smooth. Getting creamy. 1 1/2" in, and just getting chocolate notes.



Another inch in, add a dash of pepper.

About halfway in, noticed another flavor. When I breathe in through my mouth and exhale through nose there is a light black licorice flavor under the chocolate/earth/cream. I'm not a fan of black licorice, but this isn't bad at all.

Flavors are getting bolder around 3 inches left. Love it.

Well, the more I smoked the nub, the tighter the draw got. Had to give up at about an inch and a half. Damn that was tasty.

89/100. Left me wanting more.

In the ashtray tonight will be the Opus x 2020 Dubai Exclusivo. I freaking love the band on this opus x.
Let's start by putting on a song that hit me just right while was nubbing this.



Shed is coming along nicely.















Looks beautiful!



This cigar is. Wow.


The cedar in the foot is amazing. Think cedar and only what I can describe as a fresh cut hay. I've never tasted that before! And the creaminess of it!

Wow. If any of you guys can afford one of these, I would highly recommend. My taste buds and mind are being blown.





Overall, this was the best cigar I've ever smoked.

98/100. I don't know how it could be any better. I'm still in awe.

Are you guys enjoying these? Not getting as much feedback as I had hoped for.

Also, down to three left from Ryan. Which one next?

Nice review, glad you liked that one! I can only imagine your surprise when you opened up the sampler I put together for you and you first saw the Opus X Dubai Exclusivo! Definitely not a cigar anyone would ever think about getting in a trade or gift, that's what makes cigar trades fun! I need to smoke another one of those sometime soon.

Great reviews, excited to see what you try next. I do not have a palette sophisticated enough to give any notes (and I taste differently than most). Would also be interested in your pairing thoughts; food and drinks both.

I think next up for me is a Fuente Hemingway Signature. Not high end, I know. But I've never had a Fuente I didn't like.

I'm certainly enjoying it.

I'll try to give more feedback.

You're right.  Even the most afordable Fuente is a fine cigar.

I definitely was not expecting it, but huge thanks bud.



When I started doing this I thought much the same, but, writing these reviews makes me concentrate on what I am tasting. I'm constantly asking myself what is that flavor? It's kind of fun. I definitely do not have a sophisticated palette.



Thanks man!

Ok. Since noone wants to pick out my next smoke, I had to ask Ryan. He wanted me to do the pussycat. So let's get into it.
First of all I'm kind of liking this song tonight.


A beautiful wrapper, for sure!






Ok let's light this bad girl up.

Draw is very tight. I think this is the first time I've had an opus x with any draw issue.

Typical opus x taste, with a bit more saltwater flavor than usual. Very smooth. A little better draw after using perfecdraw and massaging. Still good flavor and smoke production.

A bit of toasted raisin flavor. A little more massaging helping the draw.


I've noticed a lot of these smaller ring gauge opus have a lot more of the sweet saltwater flavor, maybe like a saltwater taffy without being quite that sweet. They really remind me of the Cubans I've had.

It makes me imagine that's what it's like to smell the waves of an ocean, crashing into the rocky shoreline, blowing right at you.

Also getting some cream and nuts now.



This sucker is smooth. I feel like I could retrohale all of every puff. This is the point I really start enjoying a cigar, and exactly what I was afraid of. I don't want it to end, but I only have 2" of leaf in my fingers.



Saltwater is taming down a lot. A lot more cream, and raisin. A lot more complex and harder to pick out individual flavors. Getting a hint of chocolate and.... Buttered toast!?!? Wasn't expecting that... Not a bad thing, but I didn't expect that!

At 1.5 inches left, I have to increase my puffing cadence to keep it lit. Flavors are all melted together creating an oaky, chocolatey, creamy salted nut. - the first real hint of wood. Oak. Weird that it showed up this late.



I feel fancy now, no more burned fingers, just burned lips! I should bring one of my pipes out here...

Well I think I'm going to call it here. Fantastic, and definitely kept me wanting more.

Hmm interesting... So once in a while I've been breathing in through my mouth and out through my nose, and I tasted straight Snickers bar. That was awesome!



93/100. Will actively search for more.

Great review! I will have to track one down!

I have one of these to smoke, which I'm hoping to get some downtime soon to enjoy it. Thanks for the review!

I have one of these to smoke, which I'm hoping to get some downtime soon to enjoy it. Thanks for the review!

Thanks guys!

This morning I'm doing the Hemingway short story maduro.





First puffs, lots of wrapper sweetness/good amount of cedar.



Getting earthy with just a hint of cinnamon.



Burn is evening out nicely. No touch ups.



Sweet cream. Starting to get a tickle of black pepper. Cedar in retro is taming down already. I love the shape of this vitola, just wish it was bigger. Looking forward to my first bbmf!

I think I understand what they are talking about when they say barnyard flavor now. A sweet grassy, earthy, cream. When I think of barnyard though, I think of a branding and manure piles, and that's not something I like to taste.

Burn is even.



Flavors are melting together now and smoothing out, I'm expecting chocolate to follow the hints of espresso I'm getting now.

It amazes me how fast the flavors can change in a cigar, especially these shorter vitolas.



Pepper is ramping up, wood is coming back, and starting to get chocolate with espresso.

Coffee, chocolate and pepper are the main flavors right now.



It really sucks that I don't drink anymore, because some of these cigars would be great with a nice whiskey. I usually am drinking coffee (like I am with this one), Dr pepper, or water.

I don't feel like burning my lips so I'm going to end it here. Great flavors right now though.



88/100.

Smoke time: 45 minutes.

Definitely a great cigar. I've had quite a few. I definitely prefer the Maduro over natural.

I'm torn with this last cigar from Ryan. The don Carlos eye of the bull is only 3.5 inches long. I absolutely love the don Carlos line, and I know I'm going to be disappointed that it ends too early.

Stay subscribed!
Lol that made me think I should start a YouTube channel...

Challenge accepted, it was good. Natural next time.

I did notice a bit of a flavor change. For me, it seemed to start earthy and get a little more coffee flavor. Almost like smelling grounds vs tasting coffee.

Enjoying this thread a lot.  Thought I would chime in on a few things.

I actually prefer a higher back chair than the barrel chairs.  The zero gravity chair you had at first works well for my bad back and neck.  Hoping for some vinyl / leather higher back button tufted chairs for myself.  

Get the insulation covered up asap.  Use a shellac based primer to seal everything including the wood floor so the smoke smell doesn’t permeate everything.  Expensive but worth it.   Nothing worse than an area smelling of old ash when you are trying to enjoy a decent cigar.  Possibly buy a cheap bathroom vent fan to air it out if you have the ability to get electricity in.  

I am liking the side tables.  Fitting style.

You have some winners in those cigars.  Try a Liga Privada number 9 for a change.  Cubans have gotten too expensive imo and now I look for the best cigar at a lower price point.  

Working on my own cigar room and hope to document it once I am done.  Hoping to be in before it gets really cold here.  

Keep posting!

Hydroxyl generator, ftw!

Run the Liga no. 9 va. The Foundation Tabernacle (same OG tobacconist - Melillo ). Fox always has great prices on the double Corona vitola, FWIW.  One thing to keep in mind is that different vitolas in the same line will smoke different because of the wrapper:filler ratio.  I usually add a five pack of the tabernacle to Fox orders, but my favorite foundation is the Olmec.

Going to have to look up the Foundation Tabernacle.  

Already planning on about 800+ cfm of air removal through two powered vents, a Rabbit Air and then an ozone gen for post smoking cleanup.   Issue to me is I want to limit the use of the ozone gen as I will have some historical artifacts that are organic in nature in the room and ozone is not a friend of organics such as rubber, papers or leathers.

I would definitely remove all cigars from the area ozone will encounter.  I use wifi temp/humidity sensors and if you use anything other than a tight tupperdor your sticks will be attacked by ozone.  I have a large dunhill humidor as my ready to go source and tupperdor long term storage.  The dunhill is great for current supply, but not the way for long term imo.

ETA- also art that you are about with ozone.  Hydroxyl is superior to ozone by all metrics, imo, but the sylvan I have that does ozone and hydroxyl is no longer made and cost me like $600.  I have a stand alone ozone, but I only use that to freshen a car if a kid throws up type of problem.

Foundation makes some good cigars

I would plan to filter the air you have, instead of removing.
If you remove 800cfm of air, you'll need to replace it. In the middle of winter that means with freezing cold air or air your HVAC system will have to keep up with.
Spend the money on a good filtration system.

Also, a water-based polyurethane will do far more for sealing odors from, and into, wood than a shellac. A shellac will seal, slightly, but will also allow wood to accept another coat of stain. So, not really sealed. But, I agree you don't want your retreat to smell of old, stale smoke.

Eye of the bull Here we go.





Got ready to cut, and everything made a lot of sense suddenly



Cold draw has a mollasses-ey, sweetgrassy flavor

Starts with a nice toasted cedar and a sweetness like caramel. Very smooth and pleasant.



A little cream. Cedar in the retro is already taming down... Am I going to be able to type fast enough?

This thing is smoothing way down, to the point all I can pick out is cedar and cream.

End of... First third?



Getting a nice pepper! And Oak now!

Graham cracker!



Pepper is ramping up... Right about now it's at I would say a 7/10 as far as pepper goes. I don't like any more than this usually.

All flavors are subsiding except the pepper.



Pepper subsiding, all cream.



Roasted nuts maybe. Interesting. Cigar+ash is only 2 7/8" long now. Damn thing is getting hot!

After almost an hour, I'm going to call it here.



I really like the don Carlos line, and the first half of this was great, but I can't say I'd buy another one. That said...

81/100.

Thanks again, Ryan, that was an amazing sampler. I'm looking forward to working through some more cigars in this thread, as when I review them I am really concentrating on what exactly I am tasting that I like or don't like.

If anyone has a request, that might be fun!

So far I have learned that I absolutely love maduro wrappers, and chocolate, caramel, cedar tastes. Which is kind of weird, because I really do not like eating sweets too often.

Another to try is the perdomo 10th maduro.  They come pre-aged, so ready to go after normal mail call wait to acclimate.

I don’t have near the experience with Opus X as you obviously do but they seem to be rolled tight like most Cubans.  I find if I store them at 65% humidity, they give me a really nice draw.

Fans are variable speed and I never expect to run them full blast unless multiple people are smoking.  Pretty rare with me.  The heat is overkill and I am looking at a makeup air inlet to balance it out.   The shellac is for the plaster walls. The wood paneling will be polyurethaned.  

Going for at least one of the larger Rabbit airs.  Possibly a similar unit or two.  The vents would also be used to purge the room after use when no one is in it.    

Hope that all makes sense.

Well fuck... Had a purple rain review going, then lost all of it... Damnit, I'm almost done with it. Here's the quick and dirty...











Starts off with a strong cedar and light pepper that I could feel attacking my tongue.



Moonshine is tuckered out after our walk today.



A sweetness that is like plum or fig.



It gets SPICY here, but just for a bit. At an inch and a half left, I'm getting all the cream!

I am super impressed at the volume of thick white smoke this had for such a thin ring gauge. I'd really like to smoke a fresh one that doesn't have any age on it to compare. I hope I can get a box of these the next time they drop. It definitely is not like any other opus x I've had.

98/100. Same rank as the opus 2020 Dubai Exclusivo.

Amazing experience.

I just fucked up again... I'm going to start posting sections at a time...

Scorpio Maduro.







Drinking a cup of coffee, stocking mills "bayonet".

First couple puffs went from a general smoke flavor with a general wood retrohale, building to hints of milk chocolate with a nice mild cedar. The cedar builds slowly in intensity, to a nice medium full flavor in the retro. Getting the sweet taste of tobacco from the wrapper/cap now, along with a dark, rich earth and chocolate. Fantastic.



Burning great with a solid white ash. Nice and creamy, reminds me of chocolate cake.

Starting to get a bit of pepper. What a fantastic cigar to start the day with.

Pepper is ramping up, all but drowning out the chocolate, but the sweet-tartness is also ramping up. Reminds me of a crabapple. Maybe a super spicy graham cracker.

Pepper is subsiding, leaving it tasting very much like sweet hay grass.



Wow, I am just amazed at the strength of flavor this is giving me!

Cedar in the retro is taming down, getting creamierand chocolate is ramping up again. Damnit, this thing is awesome!





More of the same. Just amazing flavor!



If the BBMF maduro is anything like this and the purple rain, I'm definitely going to love it! Super excited to try that one!

Also, I just want to say this rabbit air is awesome, but it doesn't get rid of the smell. I usually open the windows and let this shed air out when I'm done smoking. But, especially with multiple smokers, this thing takes care of business.



Pepper is lightly ramping up again, but keeping the sweetness. What a ride haha!


The Opus X Heaven and Earth Scorpio Maduro. Outstanding. I have to rate it higher than the 2020 and purple rain, just because of the Intensity of the flavors. Fucking amazing.

I had no idea a damn cigar could pack this much flavor in the smoke. Insane.

I have to give this a 100/100. The draw is perfect, smoke output is great, flavor is amazing and crazy intense, and I've been smoking this for an hour and 50 minutes. And it's just a double robusto! I'm going to leave this here, and nub the shit out of this thing.



Thanks for the feedback guys!

Even though no one cares... Here's to the start of my monthly 7 days off!



A little toothy.


Right off the bat, first two flavors I could identify are a nice pepper, and then bitter coffee. A little cedar in the retro. I have had one of these before in a Tatuaje sampler from Neptune, and thought it was worth another try, so here we are.

Great burn, still just a super coffee/espresso flavor.



Pepper is ramping up!






Still a great burn. Very one dimensional. Still super peppery. Still very bitter coffee. Almost too bitter. Probably will not buy again. I'll smoke it a little more, but definitely not going to nub this. I feel like I could chew the flavor. Like there's coffee grounds in my mouth. Not bad, just... Strong and bitter.

60/100.

Kicking off the birthday weekend...

This morning with coffee



Tonight with water, listening to this.




So. Damn. Good.

All caught up. Does anyone want a review of the opus x 25th?