2. OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Deseos d’Amor
Arturo Fuente
- Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
- Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
- Wrapper: Undisclosed
- Binder: Undisclosed
- Filler: Undisclosed
- Length: 5 1/4 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 50
- Vitola: Robusto
- MSRP: $21 (Box of 20, $420)
- Release Date: December 2020
- Number of Cigars Released: Undisclosed
- Original Score: 91
There’s not another cigar brand like OpusX.
The legend of OpusX, the story of the birth of the brand, is incredible, particularly when it’s delivered in oratory form from the mouth of Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. There’s no other cigar line where retailers are told they can’t order products as much as with OpusX. There’s not another cigar I can think of that consistently sells for double, or more, of its MSRP. There’s not another cigar that retailers seem to sell out of as quickly as OpusX. There aren’t many cigars people will pay what they are willing to pay for OpusX. The list goes on.
But the craziest thing to me is the size of OpusX. It’s been around for 26 years and from what I understand, the craziness hasn’t shown one bit of slowing down. I have little doubt that Arturo Fuente produces more OpusX cigars by volume than the total individual production of many, maybe as many as six, of the companies whose cigars are also featured on our Top 25. As a standalone company, OpusX would probably be too large to meet most people’s definition of a boutique cigar company. Part of that has to do with the fact that while there might only be one OpusX, there are in fact many OpusXs.
As far as I can tell, the OpusX ForbiddenX 13 brand traces back to late 2011 when Fuente shipped six sizes to retailers as part of its upcoming 100th anniversary celebration. In the near-decade that followed, ForbiddenX 13 was used for special releases through Fuente’s partnership with Prometheus, it made a brief return in 2018 as an exclusive for the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA) retailers, and has undoubtedly been featured in auction lots at various charitable functions. But it’s not something that Fuente has regularly offered to its retailers. Undoubtedly, some of the retailers that received Deseos d’Amor in 2020 had not seen the ForbiddenX 13 secondary band at their stores since 2011.
But in true Fuente fashion—in the same manner as when the line debuted in 2011—there were new ForbiddenX 13 vitolas shipped to stores in late 2020, all with zero announcements from the company. That lack of announcement extends to this day. I still don’t know what tobaccos are in this cigar, I don’t know if they are the same as the original 2011 release, though I gather they are not. At least, they don’t taste the same. Those cigars were very good, these cigars were excellent.
If not for some minor burn issues, this might be the top cigar on our list. This Deseos d’Amor, in fresh form, reminded me of a three- or four-year-old version of a regular OpusX, just starting to tame itself so that some of the subtle flavors come through, but still not completely losing sight of the combination of vibrant cedar, sweetness and raw power that I think is OpusX’s signature. — Charlie Minato.
