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My First "Opus Experience"

V

vinnyvega

Active Member
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
1,029
I spent the weekend on Marthas Vineyard and bought a couple of Opus X Perfection A sticks to kick back and relax. Once I got to the hotel I cracked one open out the the box. The stick was a little spongy for my taste so I let it sit out for an entire day(24 hours). I got ready to enjoy "an experience of a lifetime" and was a little disappointed. The cigars construction had one small vein so I was pretty impressed. The smoke itself was creamy and full bodied. It went from having a nice peppery spice to a nutty,wood aroma pretty quickly. I was impressed with the complexity as it made its way down the stick as it should for a 9"+ cigar. But the burn was atrocious. I must have clipped and re-lit about 3 times. The draw was pretty effortless at first but got harder and harder a little more than 2/3 through the cigar. I was only taking a couple draws a minute and the smoke never got harsh. What did I do wrong? Should I have let it sit out longer? Maybe just a bad stick? Does it need aging? I don't want to struggle with the other one because it takes all the enjoyment of smoking a cigar. I could care less if its an "opus blah blah" if it takes more work fixing it than it does smoking it... Please any feedback is appreciated..
 
The first thing that comes to mind was that you had some humidity issues. Typically I let my super premiums rest for at least a couple of months in my cooler or humi before smoking them. Its my way of ensuring that the cigar has been kept at my desired humidity (68%) and not too wet, as I have found a lot of B&Ms keep their cigars really moist. The second thing that comes to mind is your "clip and re-light" method of straightening out an uneven burn. Typically I just touch up a bad burn with my torch. This clip and light method seems to be a bit overkill. Plus, I would be afraid of cracking the wrapper by clipping off the whole foot while the cigar is burning.

Let the other Opus rest for a couple of months before lighting them up. You wont regret it... :whistling: :thumbs:

mac
 
Thanks mac. Good stuff.

I tried to fix the burn with my lighter but it would not even out. I am talking a 3/8"-1/2" difference. It would keep burning unevenly down the same side. I m talking two draws and the boating began. Any thoughts?
 
While I'm sure you had less than ideal conditions to optimize your enjoyment of that big suckha, it really is not that great a cigar under the best conditions, IMHO.

Try a #4 or #5 with a year or so on it at 65% to get a better take on the whole "Opus X" thang.
 
In my experience Opus X cigars generally burn very uneven. It will certainly help to let them sit for a while in a properly controlled humidor but it is a common thing for these cigars to burn a bit uneven still.
 
I don't think you did anything wrong. These things are notorious for needing relights. I think that to be enjoyed optimally they need to be stored in a drier environment than other cigars. They seem to burn pretty well when dry boxed for a while at 60% or so. It's just a pain in the a$$ to have to treat one brand differently than others.


You may have to steel yourself for the realization that you may be one of the group of smokers for whom these things are not the be-all end-all of cigars.


That being said, to generate an opinion on the Opus experience you really need to smoke way more than just one.


Cheers
 
Thank you to all who responded. The stick felt really spongy and I was barely squeezing it fearing I might crack the wrapper or binder... Oh well...
 
vinnyvega said:
Thanks mac. Good stuff.

I tried to fix the burn with my lighter but it would not even out. I am talking a 3/8"-1/2" difference. It would keep burning unevenly down the same side. I m talking two draws and the boating began. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

3/8" to 1/2" difference, and you cut the foot off? That seems like overkill to me. In my experience, a 1/2" difference will usually correct itself if you smoke it carefully. I don't even take the lighter to it until the difference is more like an inch. It just seems like you might be overreacting to a burn problem that wasn't really a problem to begin with.
 
vinnyvega said:
I spent the weekend on Marthas Vineyard and bought a couple of Opus X Perfection A sticks to kick back and relax. Once I got to the hotel I cracked one open out the the box. The stick was a little spongy for my taste so I let it sit out for an entire day(24 hours). I got ready to enjoy "an experience of a lifetime" and was a little disappointed. The cigars construction had one small vein so I was pretty impressed. The smoke itself was creamy and full bodied. It went from having a nice peppery spice to a nutty,wood aroma pretty quickly. I was impressed with the complexity as it made its way down the stick as it should for a 9"+ cigar. But the burn was atrocious. I must have clipped and re-lit about 3 times. The draw was pretty effortless at first but got harder and harder a little more than 2/3 through the cigar. I was only taking a couple draws a minute and the smoke never got harsh. What did I do wrong? -Nothing. Should I have let it sit out longer? - Probably. Maybe just a bad stick? - Probably not. Does it need aging? - Never hurts! I don't want to struggle with the other one because it takes all the enjoyment of smoking a cigar. I could care less if its an "opus blah blah" if it takes more work fixing it than it does smoking it... Please any feedback is appreciated..
Click to expand...

You may also find that larger (length) cigars need touch ups or re-lights more that smaller(length) cigars.

It's been said...'sounds like humidity.'

Although it could have been 'how' you smoked it.
Longer thinner cigars are to be smoked slower and with less force than a larger gauge smaller cigar.
 
FlyFish said:
That being said, to generate an opinion on the Opus experience you really need to smoke way more than just one.
Click to expand...

I second this one.

After everything I had heard, my first Opus was a let down. While these aren't the best cigars I ever smoked, they are quite nice. 65% and a few months really brings these out nicely.
 
Your first Opus was an A?? Hell, my first one was a #5, and it knocked me on my ass.

It sounds to my still very newbish ears that your cigar was WET. Of the only dozen or so Opus I've smoked, they have all had very good construction, so the sponginess I think would indicate an all too moist stick.

And they all smoke different. Size plays a huge role in how these smoke, for me at least, more so than in other brands that I've smoke several sizes of.
 
My first couple Opus I didn't care for all that much either. Then i tried a Power Ranger with a couple of months on it. WOW! That is the one that really did it for me. Then a few weeks back I had a BBMF from 2004. Holy crap! Age does some amazing things to these cigars. I am not touching the rest of my cigars (except the xXx) for a couple years. Age does them a LOT of good! Flavor wise anyway. As far as the burn it definately sounds like a humidity problem.
B
 
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