Welcome to the 100 cigar experience. Starting with one of my personal favorite blends – Opus X.
My goal with this series is to record my experiences smoking cigars from my humidor and in lounges across the world. Each smoking experience is to be categorized and rated according to my overall enjoyment. I will note as many flavor notes as I can capture from each smoke, mostly from general categories (e.g. woody, spicy, dry, etc.) except to the extent that more obvious and detailed notes are present. I am also a sucker for the aroma of a cigar nearly as much as the actual flavor itself. More on the rating scale in a later post.
Admittedly, I am an Arturo Fuente Cigar fan, from Don Carlos to Hemingway to today’s choice: Opus X. When it comes to Opus X, I like two completely different sizes on opposite ends of their range – the Double Corona (7 5/8 x 49) and today’s smoke, the Pussy Cat (4 1/4 x 42). Despite its diminuitive size, the Pussy Cat packs a tremendous flavor punch.
Off the first light, cedar and cinnamon dominate. This particular stick has been resting in a small tupperdore for a few months and seems to be just a little dry, with a Humidimeter reading of 61, but that is still in a smokable range.
Fundamentally, you’d naturally assume that such a small cigar would be a relatively quick smoke. But this is not the case here. From personal experience, it lasts much longer than expected. The draw is consistent and near perfect, as is the burn line. In truth, I had to relight it once due to inattentiveness on my part, but no fault of the cigar. Retrohales are rather peppery, especially in the second half of the smoke.
Strength is medium, and body is medium to slightly below full.
The Pussy Cat is tremendous. Ash holds at about an inch before falling off – no surprise for such a small ring gauge. Strength ramps up a bit in the second half, but it remains quite manageable. More woodiness arises as well, with less pepper on the retrohale.
Enjoying this one with a latte made with my Nespresso, flavored with caramel and vanilla syrups.
I cannot put this one in as high regard as previous experiences with Pussy Cats, for some reason. Maybe it needed a little more humidity. Still, it was more than a little bit enjoyable. In past experiences, I have rated this stick as high as 9.5. This time, not so much because the flavors are less vibrant than I remember, even though they were definitely present. This morning, I will give this a more than respectable 8.5 – very much above average but not an all-time great.
Will I revisit this cigar? Absolutely. I have a few more stored in various boxes around the house and look forward to smoking every one of them.
