August 6, 2012 Brooks Whittington Arturo Fuente,  Cigars,  Dominican Republic,  Redux

OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912

Midway through December of 2011, select Fuente retailers received a surprise release of a brand new ForbiddenX blend to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Arturo Fuente brand. Each box contained 13 cigars, and all had a secondary band with the number 13 inside a clock face on it. Fuente recently shipped a smaller second batch to retailers in June and confirmed at IPCPR there is at least one more size, confirming one more release.

Here is what I wrote in my original review of the Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912 back in January of 2012:

I have not been overly impressed with most of the new releases that Fuente has put out recently, so I was not sure what to expect with this blend. What I got was a strong, sweetish, flavorful and fairly complex cigar. Unlike the Lost City blend, which I think blows monkey chunks, no matter what vitola, I think this blend has quite a bit of potential if given a few months (at least) to correct the burn problems. There were multiple problems with the construction and the bitterness in the second third was disconcerting, but honestly, I attribute problems to the fact that they are pretty fresh cigars. I am quite glad I got a box to put down for a while, and I would highly suggest buying some to age for a while, if you can, as I think these can only get better.

  • Cigar Reviewed: Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912
  • Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
  • Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
  • Wrapper: n/a
  • Binder: n/a
  • Filler: n/a
  • Size: 5 1/8 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 43
  • Vitola: Corona
  • MSRP: $11.75 (Boxes of 13, $152.75)
  • Release Date: December 14, 2012
  • Number of Cigars Released: n/a
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

Like the first time I reviewed this cigar, the OpusX Nacimiento 1912 is a wonderfully rolled cigar with a medium brown wrapper that has a noticeable reddish tint to it. The cigar is slightly box-pressed and is hard as a rock when squeezed with almost no give at all. In this vitola, the two bands (a black Forbidden X band with a red “X” and a secondary band with the number “13” inside a clock face) take up almost half of the total length of the cigar. The wrapper has a bit of oil present and smells strongly of raisins, cedar, leather and a bit of pepper.
The Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912 starts off with some strong flavors of hay, sweet raisins, espresso and dark chocolate with a great amount of spice on the lips and tongue. Flavors morph into more of a creamy oak and earthy profile in the second third with a noticeable amount of cinnamon on the finish. The profile is extremely rich, almost cloyingly so, but the flavors combine extremely well together.

Fuente-Fuente-OpusX-ForbiddenX-13-Nacimiento-1912.jpg

Despite the fact that the cigar is hard as a rock when squeezed, the draw as perfect from the start, and the burn was spot on for the entire smoke. Smoke production was surprisingly abundant, especially for such a small vitola. The overall strength started out in the medium range, and rose to end at just under the full mark by the end of the cigar. The final smoking time was quite a bit longer than I expected, at one hour and 10 minutes.

92 Overall Score

One of the most repeated tenants of cigars is that most OpusX cigars get quite a bit better with some age on them. I agree with that for the most part, and while I think that will prove to be the case with the Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912, six months is just not enough time to judge how they will ultimately age. Other than the lack of bitterness and the greatly improved construction, the flavors and profile seems to be virtually identical to my notes and what I remember from the original review, which is a very good thing—but if you were expecting something drastically different, you would be disappointed. Having said that, these are going to have to spend some more time—perhaps a lot more time—in the humidor, before they change flavor profiles drastically, either for the better or for the worse.

Original Score (January 2012)
91
Redux Score (August 2012)
92
Arturo Fuente Corona Dominican Republic Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912 OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912 Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.

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