OpusX PerfecXion 8-8-8

I knew that the Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion 8-8-8 had been sitting in my redux humidor for a little while now, but I didn’t know it had been long enough that the seventh word of the original review of the cigar would be IPCPR.

That word, or acronym, stands for International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers, the previous name of the Premium Cigar Association, with that name change happening in June 2019. It was at the 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show that Arturo Fuente announced a set of eight special releases that would be available to retailers at the show, with retailers able to purchase one set for every 25 boxes of regular production cigars purchased.

That set of cigars included the 8-5-8 Rosado Sun Grown, Arturo Fuente Oro Magnum R Super Sixty, Don Carlos Eye of the Shark, four sizes of the Don Arturo Destino al Siglo, and this cigar, the Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion 8-8-8.

The Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion 8-8-8 uses a vitola that is similar to the company’s Añejo 8-8-8, which debuted in 2014 and features a tapered head leading up to a pronounced nipple-style head. The OpusX is a quarter inch longer than the Añejo 8-8-8, however, measuring 6 7/8 x 44 instead of the Añejo’s 6 5/8 x 44.

Here’s what I said about the Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion 8-8-8 when I reviewed it in September 2018:

I’ve never been a fan of young OpusX, and I think both this cigar and its score shows why. While the cigar isn’t inherently bad, and it is certainly well above a number of other “finished” cigars I’ve smoked this year, it is fairly easy to see it isn’t ready yet, and that’s without taking into account the conventional wisdom that OpusX cigars as a whole tend to smoke better with a year of rest on them. After three proverbial dips in the pot, my taste buds tell me the flavors are still stewing, and unfortunately, the waxy glaze obscures all but a handful of glimpses as to what’s to come from this cigar. Smoke one now if you want—or must—and then pick up as many as you’re comfortable with not touching until at least Labor Day Weekend 2019.

• Cigar Reviewed: Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion 8-8-8
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia.
• Wrapper: Dominican Republic
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Length: 6 7/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 44
• Vitola: Lonsdale
• MSRP: $13.50 (Boxes of 24, $324)
• Release Date: August 2018
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

When I take the Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion 8-8-8 out of my redux humidor, the cigar looks good and much as I have remembered seeing it over the years. The cellophane has yellowed a bit, and it’s pretty dry and crinkly to my fingers, but beyond that, everything seems fine. Then I try to slide the cigar out, and it seemingly won’t budge, leading me to inspect the cellophane further. I have a mini panic attack as it looks like the cellophane has attached itself to the back of the cigar; it looks like there is a strip where I can see some adhesion and air bubbles, leading me to wonder if I’m going to need to cut the cellophane off. I give it a little massaging and then realize what I’m seeing is where the ends of the cellophane had been adhered together, not that the cigar had become adhered to it. The movement of the cellophane loosened things up just enough to let me slide the cigar out, though the band remains behind and I’m left to fish it out a few inches from the end. I then find myself tasked with the same decision as the person who originally put it on: finding the front face of the cigar, i.e., the one that is best looking. The wrapper is very even in color and feels like it has a bit of oiliness left to it as my fingers glide across the leaf with minimal resistance. The figurado design of the vitola keeps catching my attention, almost like this could be based on a monument or serve as an inspiration for one. The cigar is on the firm side with only a minimal amount of give and looks to be rolled well with flat seams and no notable visual imperfections. The foot has an interesting aroma that gives my mind gentle tugs in several directions. One is nutty, one is like a freshly opened box of warm donuts, while another leads me to think of dinner rolls. None of the smells are radically different from one another, but they are distinct, and none offer much pepper or sweetness. Air movement on the cold draw is fantastic, while the flavor is a little more distinct, with a clean and present bread flavor that’s not too far off from soft dinner rolls, though the pepper has some toast, dry wood and just a bit of pepper, as well as a little tingle for my lips from the tobacco.

The first puff of the Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion 8-8-8 is a bit waxier than I would like, and the woodiness found on the finish of the cold draw now has a bit of twinge to it. There’s a bit of faint, dry earth lingering in the profile as well, while a bit of pepper tingles the palate on the finish. It’s a fairly mild start, one I might look back on and think of as restrained, depending on how the rest of the cigar goes. There are times when the earthiness reminds me a bit of Honduran tobacco, making me wonder if this is just what the rest has done to the profile. At the end of the first third, there is a touch of chalk and something that has me thinking a bit of tar might be present, so I press my finger against the head of the cigar and find a tight cluster of very small, light brown spots on my fingers. That leads me to clip off a bit more of the head, which I’m hoping will help with that tar issue and allow for a bit more airflow and thus, smoke production as that feels a touch lacking thus far. It immediately rectifies the latter, and I’m optimistic the former will be fixed sooner than later as the change isn’t immediate. By the midway point, the flavor is only a touch more vibrant than it was earlier, but a couple of retrohales suggest that might be changing, or at least provide a way to add some pepper if desired. I’d call flavor and body both medium-minus, while strength is mild. Construction is good, with airflow and smoke production helped by that second clip of the head and an even burn line thus far.

It’s not too long into the second half that my hopes of having the tar notes in the rearview mirror, but they come back with a vengeance, hitting my tongue with the distinctive tingle of white pepper, chalk and a metallic twinge that has me reaching for some water as well as my scissors to trim off a bit more. While I give the cigar a few puffs to see if the flavor goes away on its own, the profile does a quick pivot to add in some creaminess and black pepper, which gives the profile both more body and vibrance. I keep looking for the profile to make a move towards what I consider the more familiar OpusX profile, and the final third gets close to doing so with a bit more earthiness and black pepper, while the aroma and smoke adds a fresh pot of black coffee. Some of the notes that have me thinking of tar hang around until the end of the cigar but back off a few ticks, leaving me with more of a powdery chalk flavor than anything. Flavor finishes medium-plus, body is medium, and strength is medium-minus. Construction is good, though, like with most cigars, a bit too much inattentiveness results in the need for a relight. Smoking time totals about two hours and 35 minutes.