An Opus kind of man is a man who appreciates opulence and exquisite craftsmanship. Opus cigars by Fuente are plausibly the most extravagant and sought-after brands in the cigar market. In actual fact, chances of finding an
Opus X are few and far between. Finding one is a legitimate “you gotta know someone” situation.

Rarity aside, Opus X cigars are some of the most complex cigars you’ll ever have. Granted they cost a pretty penny but we only live once, right? Plus, they’re worth it! For instance, today I will be reviewing a cigar that came out back in 2012. Despite all the time that has lapsed, this is still as decadent and lavish a cigar as ever. Cigar aficionados still back order this bad boy and every true cigar connoisseur has one in their humidor at all times. Lovers of the leaf, introducing the Opus X Angel’s Share!

A Little History

As aforementioned, Opus X Angel’s Share was released in October 2012. Fuente wanted this stogie to commemorate Fuente’s 100^th anniversary. Unlike all the other OpusX cigars, the Opus X Angel’s Share carries a noticeable reduction in strength. This was a deliberate move to welcome cigar lovers who don’t appreciate knee-buckling strength into the Opus X fold. When you do a little research on this cigar and its blend, there’s a story behind it that is quite intriguing. Let’s start with the name.

How Angel’s Share got its name

The phrase “Angel’s Share” is quite common among the folks who distil long-aging spirits. We’re talking cognac, bourbon, scotch and so on. Whenever these good folks fill their oak barrels with the spirit for a little aging, a sizeable portion of their product is lost to evaporation. Over time, this evaporation came to be known as the Angel’s Share professing that angels already took their share and blessed the product.

In the summer of 2011-2012 Fuente was struck by a fire tragedy in one of the Dominican Republic warehouses. The fire took out thousands of bales of tobacco including some premium blends that had been aging for decades.

After the fire, Fuente had this to say, “Since we lost so much priceless tobacco during fire in 2012, the inspiration for this cigar came from that exact term. The warehouses that burned down contained tobacco that had been aging since the late 40’s and 50’s. The Fuente family was saving for the special 100-year anniversary. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be as the fire consumed much of the precious tobacco. It made the family extremely sad and depressed, but out of that came the Angel’s Share cigar. From this it is implied that the angels enjoyed the enticing aroma of the tobacco that burned in the barns, but in turn, gave their blessings to the Fuente family for future successful endeavors.” From the tragedy, Fuente crafted the Opus X Angel’s Share.

The Blend

Opus X Angel’s Share features a very unique blend. Instead of going with the typical high-priming for the filler, Fuente uses old wrappers from the middle part of the plant. The truth is, Fuente had been setting aside wrapper leaves from the slightly tougher mid-section of the tobacco plant for a while. All these leaves grow in the El Caribe Farm in the Dominican Republic otherwise known as Chateau de la Fuente. All the other Opus X cigars carry high-priming fillers. And I reckon, this is why the Opus X Angel’s Share is much milder in strength than the other Opus X cigars. 

Tasting Notes

To say that this is the first time I have smoked this cigar would be a lie. However, I must admit I don’t smoke these as often as I would like. Sometimes it’s because of the price point. Other times I just want to wait for a befitting occasion. I will say though that Opus X Angel’s Share cigars age very well. So, if you get a chance to bag a few, let them rest in your humidor for a while before firing one up. The wait is definitely worth it.

Prelight

For my review, I decided to go with a Fuente Fuente. I may have forgotten to mention that the Opus X Angel’s Share is slightly box pressed. My Fuente Fuente presents with a caramel-coloured silky-smooth consistency. It’s a solid stick, slightly bouncy. The wrapper carries a pungent funky sweet raisin scent comingled with strong peanut butter notes. I know it doesn’t sound like these two aromas can go together but they do, swimmingly.

The triple cap is meticulously applied. There are no visible seams or apparent veins. Even though the appearance of this stick is not a ten, it’s definitely close. Cold draw is a cornucopia of cinnamon, cedar, a fleeting floral note, strong peanut savor, dried fruit, and a little coffee in the background. Just from the cold draw, I can tell this is going to be a flavour bomb.

First Third

My Angel’s Share Fuente Fuente opens with dominant nutty notes coupled with cinnamon spice, leather, cedar, dried fruit, cappuccino, and summer barnyard flavours. I can detect a flash of red pepper on the smoke but not on my lips or tongue. The pepper kick is a Fuente trademark.

A few puffs in, and the pepper dissipates right on cue. In its place, a creamy note moves in accompanied by a citrusy tang, a skosh of cocoa, cinnamon, graham cracker, toasted nuts, espresso, cedar, and floral notes. The long long finish is implicitly sweet with a touch of pepper, leather, and earth. As I inch into the mid third, my Angel’s Share is at medium strength. The burn is perfect and so is the draw. I wouldn’t say I’ve had billows of smoke but it makes up for that with the sweet peanut butter aroma.

Mid Third

There’s a shift in the mid third. I enjoyed this cigar through the first third but nothing has been outstanding so far. The Opus X Angel’s Share begins to really kick the top of your legs (excuse my French) in the mid third.

Suddenly, there is a sharp increase in dried fruit and sweet raisin notes. The sweetness moves to the front of the palate pushing cinnamon, nuts, cedar, and espresso to the back. There is, however, a slight tingling on my tongue from the cinnamon note so I am tempted to say the secondary flavours are more in the mid palate than the back.

There are luxurious creamy notes layering the back of my palate. The cream is fused with earth, leather, and an emerging nutmeg nuance. And this is how the mid third played out. The burn and ash are irrefutably faultless, so far while the strength stays at medium.

Final Third

I could tell I was finally in the final third when pepper went from Retrohale-only black pepper to front of the palate red pepper. There’s a bit of tingling on my tongue too.

Complexity has inched up to legendary status. The tangy citrus notes came back but not as lemon citrus. This time its orange citrus. All the flavour notes I have been experiencing come together to form a bona fide flavour bomb. Cream, cinnamon, cedar, dried fruit, floral notes, nutmeg, cappuccino, nuts, earth, and leather come back in an exquisite symphony of flavour notes.

As if that isn’t enough, the strength goes up just a tad making this smoke a strong medium teetering on the edge of a full-bodied smoke. Nicotine also picks up a few and together they bring this formidable smoke to a befitting end.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed this smoke and I would definitely get some more for my humidor. Word of advice, this is not a smoke to be wasted on a newbie palate. Even if you are new to cigars, give yourself a while as these babies age in the humidor. You will appreciate it so much more when you have a developed palate.