OpusX BigB Returns for 2023 Fuente Aged Selection Releases

A decade ago, Fuente Aged Selection released a novel size of Fuente Fuente OpusX called “BigB” as part of its annual release of limited edition and rare Arturo Fuente cigars. Next month, the BigB will return to stores in a much greater fashion.

While the cigar didn’t get any thicker, it is getting a much more widespread release as it is now part of the Heaven and Earth Series from Fuente Aged Selection, a partnership between Arturo Fuente and Prometheus. For consumers, that means it should be easier to get a BigB than it was in 2013 when you needed to spend more than $1,000 to get 23 cigars, only one of which was a BigB. Now, consumers should be able to purchase a half dozen BigBs for less than $500. Furthermore, there will be a lot more of these cigars available for purchase than the 500 cigars that were sold in 2013.

The BigB is a unique 6 x 74 perfecto with a flat cap. It is named after Barry Herbst of BLH Industries, a company that makes cigar molds for many cigar manufacturers, including Arturo Fuente. Those molds are crucial to the hundreds of unique OpusX sizes that have been created over the years, many of which have been released through Fuente Aged Selection.

BigB is now part of Fuente Aged Selection’s Heaven and Earth Series, joining other releases such as the BBMF, Purple Rain and Rare Black.

For 2023, there are two different ways to purchase the BigB.

One option is a six-count Macassar ebony box that can also function as a travel humidor. Each box has an MSRP of $465, or $77.50 per cigar. These boxes will begin shipping next month. They are limited production, but do not appear to be a limited edition release.

There is also the OpusX Serie Heaven and Earth Big B Humidor, which comes with 102 cigars and a copy of “Arturo Fuente: Since 1912,” a recent book published about the company.

Included with each humidor is, from left to right:

• 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX Double Corona
• 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX Purple Rain
• 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX Rare Black Torpedo
• 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX BBMF Maduro
• 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX BBMF Natural
• 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX Tauros the Bull Maduro
• 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX Scorpio Maduro
• 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX El Escorpion Maduro
• 10 Fuente Fuente OpusX El Escorpion
• 12 Fuente Fuente OpusX BigB (pictured twice)

The humidor itself measures 21 inches x 13.5 x 8. The exterior is made of red sycamore, while the interior uses okume. Prometheus says the humidor can hold 300 cigars; it contains two trays and comes with four Prometheus Optima humidifiers. Like other Prometheus humidors, it is made in France.

Each humidor has an MSRP of $11,000. A total of 100 humidors will be made, 50 will ship to stores in June and the remaining 50 will ship in December.

Prometheus donates a portion of sales to the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation. Since the project began in 2004, the company says it has donated more than $1 million to the charity, which the Fuente and Newman families founded.

Cigar Family Charitable Foundation is best known for its school, a campus located in Bonao, Dominican Republic, that serves kids through high school. In addition, the campus includes a clinic, activities like karate and baseball, and new schools for those looking to enter the hospitality or senior care fields. The Fuente and Newman families pay for the operation of the charity, while sales of cigars like these and other donations are used for running the school and providing food and medical care to the students, their families and the people that live in the surrounding area.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.