[BigJake6904]

2005 Opus Chili Pepper



Pre-light: The cigar is from the 2005 Opus 22 set, serial number 10 of 500. It is completely covered in plume or mold, not sure which, and it has a very sweet yet powerful aroma about it. I have highly anticipated smoking one of my chili peppers, so why not smoke the one with the most age to bring in the New Year…after a fantastic night with the fiancé.



First-third: The cigar is extremely rich and powerful and it immediately lives up to the name “Chili Pepper.” As the burn begins to surpass the widest point, and begins declining in ring gauge, the cigar becomes better and better. The cigar is continuously becoming spicier and less powerful and richer in flavor.



Second-third: For some reason I felt the need to purge the cigar. There seemed to be quite a build-up of ammonia, but smoking the cigar you could never tell. There is absolutely no tar buildup which I have experienced with a lot of nice Fuentes. The cigar is ever more spicy, and truly living up to its’ name.



Final-third: Continuing on its’ previous path, the cigar steadily becomes milder and more rich in that Rosado, spicy flavor. My palate feels like I’ve been chewing on un-ground pepper, but at the same time it’s cooled by the cigars mellow richness.



Conclusion: Usually I don’t consider Opus’s to be very complex cigars, as their flavors are generally consistent throughout the whole smoke. However, I’ve never had one that is tapered like a perfecto or a baby salamone. The abrupt changes in ring gauge throughout the whole smoke have easily made this the most enjoyable Opus experience I’ve ever had. I have one more from 2005…and with the amount of plume on both of them, I cannot wait to smoke the other….and hope I can keep my hands off of my other Chili peppers until the time is right. What a great way to start the New Year.

This post has been edited by BigJake6904: 14 January 2009 - 12:27 PM

[PunchLibertad4Me]

I have never seen that much plume on a stick. Did it enhance or alter the flavor?

This post has been edited by PunchLibertad4Me: 01 January 2009 - 03:33 AM

[BigJake6904]

PunchLibertad4Me, on Jan 1 2009, 02:33 AM, said:

I have never seen that much plume on a stick. Did it enhance or alter the flavor?

I never smoked one without plume, as this was my first...however, it had some very sweet, mild undertones to it that I have never experienced with an Opus. Not sure if that's the size or the plume though.

[moki]

PunchLibertad4Me, on Jan 1 2009, 03:33 AM, said:

I have never seen that much plume on a stick. Did it enhance or alter the flavor?

That ain't plume. He just smoked a moldy Opus X Chili Pepper.

[BigJake6904]

moki, on Jan 1 2009, 03:49 AM, said:

PunchLibertad4Me, on Jan 1 2009, 03:33 AM, said:

I have never seen that much plume on a stick. Did it enhance or alter the flavor?

That ain't plume. He just smoked a moldy Opus X Chili Pepper.

It has a very light white shade and snowy look to it...no fuzz or anything. I've seen mold...in person this looks nothing like it....my camera has a tendency to make things appear more blurry than they are.

If that's not plume...I'd really like to see a photo of something that is, for my own reference. If that's mold...must be a kind I'm not familiar with.

I bought an Opus 22 set from 2005 that was stored in a B&M's humi at ideal conditions since they received the box. Almost all the sticks look like this...and it seems hard to believe that each cigar in their individual coffins are all covered in mold...though, I guess anything is possible.

I have another chili from the same set...Andrew, you're the Opus guru, If I take closer photos and try and get some more detail...would that help with a deeper analysis?

Edit to add: If I bought a moldy opus 22 set...I'm going to be a bit disappointed, but all help is appreciated.

This post has been edited by BigJake6904: 01 January 2009 - 05:08 AM

[indyrob]

Thin crystaline dusting. It's really just a shiny blackhead on a cigar. Pretty much the same principal; oils breaching the surface and drying up.

If you really want to know what a good concentration is to know that it's plume and not mold, here's a graphic representaion that you can carry around with you:

[moki]

BigJake6904, on Jan 1 2009, 05:05 AM, said:

moki, on Jan 1 2009, 03:49 AM, said:

PunchLibertad4Me, on Jan 1 2009, 03:33 AM, said:

I have never seen that much plume on a stick. Did it enhance or alter the flavor?

That ain't plume. He just smoked a moldy Opus X Chili Pepper.

It has a very light white shade and snowy look to it...no fuzz or anything. I've seen mold...in person this looks nothing like it....my camera has a tendency to make things appear more blurry than they are.

If that's not plume...I'd really like to see a photo of something that is, for my own reference. If that's mold...must be a kind I'm not familiar with.

I bought an Opus 22 set from 2005 that was stored in a B&M's humi at ideal conditions since they received the box. Almost all the sticks look like this...and it seems hard to believe that each cigar in their individual coffins are all covered in mold...though, I guess anything is possible.

I have another chili from the same set...Andrew, you're the Opus guru, If I take closer photos and try and get some more detail...would that help with a deeper analysis?

Edit to add: If I bought a moldy opus 22 set...I'm going to be a bit disappointed, but all help is appreciated.

Yeah please do take some closer up pictures... but I'm reasonably certain that is mold. It seems very reasonable to me that all of the cigars stored in the same conditions could contract the same type of surface mold.

It also seems unlikely to me that you'd get plume on those cigars in just 3 years... and I've never seen any actual plume that looks anything like what's in your pictures. What you have there looks an awful lot like what cigar shops call "plume" when they are selling their cigars with surface mold on them, IMHO.

Here's some Opus plume for you:

http://www.vitolas.n...ge.php?pos=-446

This post has been edited by moki: 01 January 2009 - 05:29 AM

[indyrob]

moki, on Jan 1 2009, 05:21 AM, said:

Here's some Opus plume for you:

http://www.vitolas.n...ge.php?pos=-446

I think the picture I posted is a cropped version of yours Andrew. I googled it and grabbed the first image that fit, but after looking at the two, the one I got from google started off as one of your images.

[moki]

indyrob, on Jan 1 2009, 05:32 AM, said:

moki, on Jan 1 2009, 05:21 AM, said:

Here's some Opus plume for you:

http://www.vitolas.n...ge.php?pos=-446

I think the picture I posted is a cropped version of yours Andrew. I googled it and grabbed the first image that fit, but after looking at the two, the one I got from google started off as one of your images.

Yeah it's a cropped version of my picture. Sigh. It's on this page.

[indyrob]

Sorry man...but on the good side, they are using it for informational purposes...but you shoud get a credit.

[souldog]

BigJake6904, on Jan 1 2009, 02:05 AM, said:

I bought an Opus 22 set from 2005 that was stored in a B&M's humi at ideal conditions since they received the box. Almost all the sticks look like this...and it seems hard to believe that each cigar in their individual coffins are all covered in mold...though, I guess anything is possible.

Look on the bright side Jake! At least now you have an excuse to smoke the living sh*t out of that Opus 22 Set! Sorry about your mold problems buddy...

[BigJake6904]

Closer pictures of different cigars from the same set.

souldog24ca, on Jan 1 2009, 05:03 AM, said:

BigJake6904, on Jan 1 2009, 02:05 AM, said:

I bought an Opus 22 set from 2005 that was stored in a B&M's humi at ideal conditions since they received the box. Almost all the sticks look like this...and it seems hard to believe that each cigar in their individual coffins are all covered in mold...though, I guess anything is possible.

Look on the bright side Jake! At least now you have an excuse to smoke the living sh*t out of that Opus 22 Set! Sorry about your mold problems buddy...

Well not going to lie....the best opus I ever had came from this set...one of the RDC's...just a regular production I guess covered in mold. So I can't say it was the anticipation of smoking a rare or unique size. On the bright side...It's contained, and well...they still taste good.

[jlada]

I'm no authority, but methinks jatderr be mold, mon.

[BigJake6904]

Since it's not really hairy or fuzzy...could what's on the chili be considered bloom...like what's in this picture?

[moki]

BigJake6904, on Jan 1 2009, 06:08 AM, said:

Closer pictures of different cigars from the same set.

Those pictures don't really tell me anything due to a lack of focus -- does your camera have a "macro" or "close up" setting on it? Most do...

Also assuming it is indeed mold, it looks like mild surface mold... just wipe it off, the cigars will be fine.

This post has been edited by moki: 01 January 2009 - 06:24 AM

[moki]

BigJake6904, on Jan 1 2009, 02:21 AM, said:

This picture more than any of the others looks like a reasonable view of mold to me. It's not "stripper makup" reflective like newer plume would be (it isn't until the crystalized oils have dried up a bit that plume can look like a thin layer of dust).

Look at the "spotting" clumping near the top of the Chili Pepper... and the stuff on the left side looks like nascent mold to me... but better pictures would really help. You can also look at it under a magnifying glass or loupe... if you see anything that has a 3D structure or little stalks/fibers, that's a dead giveaway that it is mold.

Quote

Look at the wrapper in this picture -- still obviously very young and robust, deep rosado color, not the type of wrapper I'd expect to see plume on. For what it's worth...

This post has been edited by moki: 01 January 2009 - 06:30 AM

[BigJake6904]

moki, on Jan 1 2009, 05:19 AM, said:

BigJake6904, on Jan 1 2009, 06:08 AM, said:

Closer pictures of different cigars from the same set.

Those pictures don't really tell me anything due to a lack of focus -- does your camera have a "macro" or "close up" setting on it? Most do...

Also assuming it is indeed mold, it looks like mild surface mold... just wipe it off, the cigars will be fine.

Thanks for the help and insight...I took those on the macro setting, but jittery hands probably made them blurry. Ill take some more tomorrow after some sleep and in better lighting conditions.

The smokes weren't affected as far as taste goes, but Ill look into getting some better photos, and possibly a better camera, as mine is a pretty old digital one.

[moki]

BigJake6904, on Jan 1 2009, 06:29 AM, said:

Thanks for the help and insight...I took those on the macro setting, but jittery hands probably made them blurry. Ill take some more tomorrow after some sleep and in better lighting conditions.

The smokes weren't affected as far as taste goes, but Ill look into getting some better photos, and possibly a better camera, as mine is a pretty old digital one.

Rest the camera on a book or something else firm rather than holding it in your hands. The camera should be sufficient for the job... also try increasing the lighting on the cigars, so that the shutter speed can be quicker.

[BigJake6904]

I tried keeping it a little more still, increasing the shutter speed. As you can see in the first pic, this Perf #2 has the same overall issue as the Chili did, just maybe not AS extreme. I tried focusing these pictures on the more highly concentrated areas, though most areas in the photos don't even show the white tint...kind of strange. Hope these are a little closer to what you're looking for...it's probably the best my camera can do.

[moki]

Inconclusive based on the pictures... unfortunately, I really need them to be focused properly to give you a reasonable opinion one way or another.

Have you tried looking at them with a magnifying glass?

Alternately, you can post more pictures of your fiancee in bed if you want

This post has been edited by moki: 01 January 2009 - 07:08 AM