In the early 1990s, premium Dominican wrappers were unheard of. This is as every cigar manufacturer that attempted to grow them had met with failure. The volcanic soil is so thick with minerals. That’s why the cigar world had deemed it impossible to grow quality plants needed for these wrappers.
In 1991, visionary cigar maker Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. planted 37 acres of Cuban Corojo seeds in the Dominican Republic. Inspired by the perfectionist character of his father, he discovered the keys to cultivating the Corojo seeds. He is good at bringing out their best qualities.
His industry peers dismissed his idea as a waste of time and resources. However, Fuente Jr. successfully produced the first-ever Dominican wrapper leaf. He made it the basis of the Fuente Fuente OpusX line of cigars. Today, the OpusX is one of the most prized and sought-after cigars in the world.
Let us take a deep dive into this coveted line. Let’s see what sets it apart from the other premium cigars on the market.
Ciigar preferences come down to personal taste in the end. However, there are a few specifications that any high-quality cigar should meet. A premium cigar is more than some cheap, machine-rolled $2 tobacco leaf.
Any cigar that is truly premium was undoubtedly rolled by a skilled hand. Many of the highest quality cigars are produced and rolled by artisans across the Dominican, Nicaragua. Moreover on other parts of Central America.
Similarly, the tobacco used within should be long-filler, allowing a smooth and controlled burn from one end to another. The tobacco leaf and filler can have varying tastes depending on its environment and the skill of the grower.
This is one of the reasons that certain cigars and wrappers are highly coveted, such as the namesake of this article: The Arturo Fuente Fuente OpusX. A combination of special growing techniques, low supply, and high demand have made this one of the most revered cigars on the market.
You have to examine the rich history behind the creation of the OpusX to appreciate both its fame and its fanatic fans. Let’s dig in.
The award-winning OpusX family of cigars comes from the well-known Arturo Fuente cigar brand. Founded in 1912 by Arturo Fuente, Sr. in West Tampa, Florida, the Arturo Fuente brand is a family-owned business in the Dominican Republic.
What is now a revered brand has to prove itself in its early days. Quickly, enthusiasts around the globe began to recognize the special mixing and care put into Arturo Fuente cigars. The brand became an international standard for the cigar industry with a focus on quality tobacco and expert craftsmanship. Its OpusX line is a shining example of the best they have to offer.
When the OpusX was first launched in 1995, most cigar smokers were used to mild, light-bodied cigars. The OpusX was to change the world’s taste for premium cigars and heavy wrappers overnight. By this time Dominican wrappers were not used for any premium cigars on the market.
To create the dark, oily wrapper, Fuente sought the help of his family friend, Angel Oliva Sr., who was a tobacco grower and the founder of Oliva Tobacco Co. He brought Fuente to a plot of land in Bonao in the town of El Caribe in the Dominican Republic.
Here, Fuente planted Corojo seeds and grew the crop under shade. A mesh netting filtering out the sun’s rays ensured that the tobacco leaves did not grow too thick or turn overly dark. The crop was harvested between 1991 and 1992, and the rest is history.
The full-flavored, full-bodied Dominican puros in the OpusX collection changed the game—cigar enthusiasts experienced something stronger and with a bolder flavor. It became such a hot commodity that shops that stocked it had to limit sales to two cigars per person.
It has been 27 years since the Arturo Fuente Fuente OpusX was launched, and it remains a highly popular premium cigar with rare complexity, great power, and a distinct flavor. Demand is as high as ever, making it an exciting purchase for even the most dedicated cigar smokers.
The OpusX is often scarcely available. Nonetheless, it remains a symbol of luxury, exclusivity, and connoisseurship.
The unique-flavored wrapper leaves are exclusive to the OpusX line. Its maker Fuente does not sell tobacco from the Chateau de la Fuente farm where OpusX’s wrappers are produced. This is to keep the bold, strong, and complex flavors of the leaves unique and limited to Fuente’s cigars.
The family has worked hard to earn their reputation for masterful quality in both flavor and construction. The OpusX is unsurpassed, and is a cherished accomplishment of the Dominican tobacco culture. This has amassed quite a following of cigar connoisseurs.
To make sure that no other cigar uses the same wrappers, Fuente destroys all unused tobacco leaves from the Chateau fields. Only the brand’s cigar blends feature the wrapper leaves from the farm, including the Ashton ESG and Diamond Crown Black Diamond.
This manufactured scarcity—combined with the skills and knowledge staying within the family—has only increased the acclaim of Arturo Fuente’s OpusX. No other competitors have been able to recreate anything quite like it.
Father Time knows best; That’s why the wait for a limited-edition cigar is always worth it! Between the time required to craft these special cigar lines and the limited quantities produced, these Arturo Fuente lines are revered for a reason.
In fact many of them are not around the majority of the year, so if you are looking for different varietals of the Opus X, please email our contact page at R&R Cigars or text OpusX to 2057222741 to get notified when these become available.
Each of the cigars in the OpusX line has its own merits and fan following. Here we delve into the limited-edition cigars in the collection. Check them out below:
The Fuente Fuente OpusX The Lost City is an exceptional and rare cigar blend. It is made entirely of Dominican tobacco grown on the Fuente family’s Chateau de la Fuente estate.
The well-aged cigar boasts a rich and oily Dominican wrapper paired with Dominican binder and filler tobaccos for a complex, bold, and balanced flavor. It has notes of leather, oak, cedar, and spices with a creamy finish and an intriguing depth.
Its history is as interesting as the cigar itself. In July 2004, American actor-director Andy Garcia began shooting his film “The Lost City” and wished to film one of the movie’s most memorable scenes at Chateau de la Fuente. Sadly, it did not have any tobacco plants growing at the time as the plants were harvested in March.
Fuente stepped in and immediately planted a few acres of tobacco. Once the filming ended at Chateau de la Fuente, the plants were harvested and aged. Fuente Fuente OpusX The Lost City was created from this group of tobacco.
The Fuente Fuente OpusX Series “Heaven and Earth” Purple Rain is a rare vintage cigar handcrafted by Fuente at Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia, the Fuente Factory in Santiago in the Dominican Republic. Highly sought after by cigar connoisseurs, it is only released two times a year: once in the spring and the second time in the fall.
It is sold in limited edition travel humidors by Prometheus. Part of the sales proceeds goes to the Fuente Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which works to uplift the lives of underprivileged children in Bonao, Dominican Republic.
The Fuente family leaned particularly hard into the dark finish popular with many of their cigars. The name “Oro Oscuro” truly conveys just how characteristic this balanced but robust flavor is.
Like many of the limited edition OpusX cigars, the Oro Oscuro is grown specifically in the soils at the Chateau de la Fuente estate. The cigar masters pamper this wrapper to be extra aged and fermented, further bringing out the dark finish.
Arturo Fuente Fuente OpusX Forbidden X is a rare release from the brand. Its maker Carlito Fuente ages the blend in Forbidden barrels in a secret area of the Tabacalera factory.
This cigar is known for its incredible flavor and offers a unique combination of body and sweetness. It features a black band and the cigar is made of the rarest selections of 100% Chateau de la Fuente tobacco. This is as pure as Fuente products come!
Production of this edition largely depends on the availability of the rare and vintage Opus leaves that go into a Forbidden X cigar. It is distributed in very small releases in limited edition humidors and samplers. A portion of the sales proceeds goes to the Fuente Cigar Family Charitable Foundation.
Make R&R Cigars your go-to destination to find Fuente Fuente Opus X cigars. The team of experts at R&R Cigars will help you select the best variant of OpusX based on your preferences and pair it with the perfect liquor. This will elevate your cigar smoking experience and give you a taste of refined luxury.
R&R Cigars is committed to providing the best smoking session possible—and that means providing the best smoking options on the market. From cigars, to accessories, to the historic lounge, this is the spot for amateurs and aficionados alike.
Visit R&R Cigars – The Cigar Mansion at 2703 6th St., Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401. Browse the website to check out its extensive offerings and learn more about the cigar lounge.
