Fuente’s Opus X brand has long been a standard for high quality, rare cigars. They are sought after worldwide and include many special sizes that are highly coveted. One of those rare cigars is the Opux X Chili Pepper. Named that after the special shape the figurado is rolled into, it has long been something I’ve wanted to try. They are sold in 3 different ways: coffin, singles and with a special Forbidden X band. I have one that was given to be by Mark from StogieGeeks.com that I’m greatly thankful for. I’m saving that one for my 40th birthday in a couple of years. The sample I’m smoking for this review with special Forbidden X band, only available at Casa Fuente in Las Vegas, was giving to me by Paul Bertucci of The Cigar Shop in Biloxi, MS after his recent business trip out there. Thanks Paul!

Cigar Stats

 

• Size:  5 x 55
• Wrapper:  Opus X Rosado
• Binder:  Opus X Rosado
• Filler:  Opus X blend

 

First Third

The cigar has a narrow opening that takes quite a bit of time to fully open up to get a decent draw.  Once it did, though, the draw was perfect and I was able to pull a lot of smoke from the cigar.  Right from the very beginning the cigar had a lot of flavor.  The most dominant note was a nice leather accompanied by cinnamon, black pepper and walnuts.  Surrounding all this was a very nice sweetness that really complimented the other flavors.  Its a gorgeous cigar and its starting off quite well.

 

Second Third

As the cigar reached the beginning of the second third, it developed a very nice, mellow cedar note.  The leather, cinnamon, black pepper and walnut note was still there, but the sweetness was fading away ever so slightly.  The draw was still great, but the burn was a little off.  It took a lot of attention to keep my burn straight.  I did have to relight the cigar once during this time.

 

Final Third

The cigar is finishing strong.  The notes have, for me, remained the same.  The biggest difference was that the sweetness had completely faded away and was replaced with a espresso bitterness that was, itself, faint. The smaller ring gauge of the last part of the cigar made the spice notes more pronounced along with the cedar and the leather.  I did have to relight one more time as the cigar started to burn unevenly before eventually going out.  Still, an excellent smoke to say the least.

 

Final Thoughts

I know these are one of the sweethearts for Opus X collectors, but this is a really good cigar to smoke.  Opus Xs are difficult of find and the special editions are even harder to find, but this one is worth it.  The nice melange of spices, nuts, wood, leather and sweetness make this a very enjoyable cigar.  I paired this cigar with a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout and they went really well together.  The stout helped accent the spice notes nicely.  The only drawback on the cigar was that the burning wasn’t always perfect.  I did have to relight this cigar twice while smoking it, but it never muddied the flavors.  The price is steep at around $50 per cigar, if you are ever at Casa Fuente, just treat yourself.  It will be worth it.

Coffin version