Arturo Fuente Opus X: What Makes It Legendary

There is no other non-Cuban cigar quite like Opus X. Allocated, rationed, scalped on the secondary market — and, for those who manage to find one, more than worth the trouble. The story behind it is the most interesting in the modern industry.

The problem Fuente set himself

By the 1980s, Carlos Fuente Sr. and Jr. had built Arturo Fuente into one of the most respected names in Dominican cigars. But the family had a quiet frustration: every premium Dominican cigar, including theirs, relied on Cuban tobacco for at least part of the blend, or on wrappers grown in Connecticut, Ecuador or Cameroon.

The conventional wisdom held that Dominican soil could not grow a Cuban-quality wrapper leaf. The climate was wrong, the soil was wrong, sun-grown wrapper would not survive the Dominican heat. Carlos Jr. set out to prove this wrong.

Seventeen years of failure

The Chateau de la Fuente farm in El Caribe was the family's experiment. Year after year, the crop failed — burnt by sun, destroyed by hurricanes, lost to disease. Fuente persisted. By 1992, he had a usable harvest of what would become known as Dominican Puro wrapper: sun-grown, dark, oily, intensely flavourful.

OpusX, released in 1995, is the world's first Dominican puro at the highest level — every leaf, including the wrapper, grown on Dominican soil by the Fuente family.

What it tastes like

Full-bodied without being aggressive. A bouquet of cedar, leather and dried red fruit, with a peppery finish that builds slowly. The construction is famously precise — these are among the best-made cigars in the world, and they reward an unhurried smoke.

The current line

The OpusX line has expanded considerably from the original release. The references most worth knowing:

OpusX Perfecxion X

The flagship belicoso. If you only smoke one Opus X, make it this one. See the Perfecxion X listing.

OpusX Perfecxion No. 5

Shorter, more accessible price point, same blend. The Perfecxion No. 5 is an excellent introduction.

OpusX Story Series

A set of five blends — Bleu, Jaune, Rouge, Macassar, Noir — each a slightly different expression of the Opus X tobacco. The Story Rouge and Story Macassar in particular are well worth seeking out.

OpusX 20th Anniversary

Released in 2015 in four blends — Believe, Father & Son, God's Whisper, Power of the Dream. Increasingly rare. We carry the full set in our Arturo Fuente collection.

A note on availability

OpusX is allocated by the Fuente family to retailers worldwide in carefully controlled quantities. Stock fluctuates and individual references go out of production for months at a time. If you see an OpusX you want, don't wait — the next opportunity may not come for a while.

Pair with an aged rum, a vintage cognac or simply with focused attention. This is not a cigar to smoke while answering emails. See the full Arturo Fuente selection at Chaveta.