My Weekend Cigar: Fuente Fuente OpusX Robusto

When the kitten's away, the mice do play. This past weekend my lovely and talented wife, a decorative painter, spent the weekend in New York City working at a client's posh East Side apartment. So, having little to do on Saturday night, I called Richard From Up The Street to join me for a cigar at my house.

Instead of consigning ourselves to the basement, we smoked upstairs in the patio room where we could stretch out and enjoy our cigars in comfy chairs. We set up a two-way fan to vent the smoke out a nearby window, turned on my Living Air ionizer, and away we went.

Richard brought a Puros Indios Maxima '03 Corona Larga, and I broke out a cigar I haven't had in a very long time, a Fuente Fuente OpusX Robusto. Richard paired his cigar up with Remy Martin, I with a bottle of Dow's Boardroom Porto Tawny Reserve.

Honestly, I haven't had much luck with OpusX cigars in the past. For some reason they've all burned lousy. But this Robusto burned perfectly, producing a firm ash that tapped-off to expose a uniform, semi-conical cherry.

The first couple of puffs were uncomfortably spicy, but the cigar rounded out beautifully into a smooth and creamy smoke dominated by a deep woody flavor with a great aroma. Along the way, savory little bursts of more complex flavors presented themselves. The cigar smoked for well over an hour, and complemented by the sweet and fruity bouquet of the Port, it was a match made in heaven.

With an experience like that it's easy to see why the OpusX is so coveted, but I still believe they're overrated. Try an Oliva Serie V if you want to know what I'm talking about; they're more easily obtainable, too.

Afterwards, I let the Living Air run overnight. When my wife came home the next day, she noticed the ionizer and said, "What's that thing doing up here?" I gave her the straight story, and she admitted there wasn't a trace of smoke odor.

Suffice it to say, no problemo amigos.