Lost City OPUS-X

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FFOX Lost City Edition Love Story

Size: 4.5 X 54 Perfecto


Age: This is made from 2004 tobacco. I'm not completely sure when they were rolled, but somewhere in or around that time frame.


Wrapper: Off Season Rosado Leaf and Filler.


Appearance: Clean lines, Double Banded Cigar. The Traditional Opus-X Band then a smaller "Lost City" band just below. On such a small size You can hardly see the cigar under all the wrapping. After removing the Lost City band, more wrapper can be observed. This does not have the normal Fuente Rosado hue or texture. In fairness it is an Off Season Spring/Summer crop of Tobacco Leaf grown specifically as backdrop for the Movie of the same name. The Wrapper has a flat appearance to it with none of the oily sheen normally associated with the OPUS-X line.


Construction: On a Vitola so small there's no place to hide imperfections. The fill is uniform and the roll exact, a very clean job on a tough size. It's smaller that a Work of Art, but Larger than a Hemingway Short Story. I looked through the Rare Fuentes listings and all of the "Lost City" cigars, but never found this one Listed anywhere. I found the others, but not this little Guy.


Pairing: Long Board Island Lager from Kona, Hawaii. An excellent companion that won't slow You down or trip You up. M'Halo


Prelight:The clip is uneventful. The aroma off the Wrapper is quite subdued. Very different from the standard OPUS-X products. Draw is non-existent because of the shape. I will revisit that after we get fired up.


Spark: These shapes tend to start off slow and all Wrapper, this is no exception. Interesting, very peppery right out of the gate. Out of fear that I might not get it up to temp before it is over, I remove the Primary Band. This illustrates a Wrapper character flaw. It appears to be very delicate and thinner than a regular Rosado Wrapper. The Peppery trend continues, in fact so far that has been the only real identifiable flavor. I'm easing into the full diameter now, the pepper is easing and an earthy undercurrent is easing into the mix. Also the finish now lingers on the tongue, where just moments ago the spicy pepper was attacking the back of my throat. Not even a full inch in and a 180 degree flavor shift. The draw is light but less than 3/8 of an inch so I open it up to half diameter, on spec.
Wow, what a difference! Super easy draw and the Flavor meter just went off the chart! Chewy earth and Peat with just a hint of spice, but full on.

Ash is fine and white and drops off constantly at around 1/2 inch intervals. Sometimes these Shorties can heat up too fast, but this puppy is running cool, straight and normal. There's a bit of the pepper creeping back in and You feel it in the back of the throat. Still a mouth watering level of flavor. It has always fascinated me how dramatic the simplest change can be on a cigar or any other crafted item. This is a wholly different cigar experience and a totally new Fuente profile. It's unique to any Fuente product or sub line. Dare I say it?
It's Cubanesque! My mouth is watering the pepper and earth all combine for a full mouth experience. It reminds me of a certain Cazador I sampled a few Years ago and believe me That cigar left a Mark.

Halfway home and still smoking cool and even. Other than the wrapper tear from the band everything is perfect. As it begins to reduce down in diameter, the flavor tones down just a touch. Still, a wonderful mouth tingling experience.


The Story: The Film "The Lost City" had been a dream project for Andy Garcia's for many years. He was the driving force that got the film made. Unable to film in Cuba for obvious reasons. OK, the obvious reason was that He intended to depict the actual occurrences that changed Cuba, so many years ago. Since the Castro regime does not support Truth or Justice, this story could not be filmed there. Over generalising the events for sake of brevity, (maybe ) He met The Fuentes in the Dominican Republic and The Fuentes eventually invited Him to film parts of the movie there. Because the filming schedule would have them shooting in late Spring and early Summer there would be no Tobacco planted. This was a key element. Fuente Senior offered to plant a few acres, just for the movie. That's pretty amazing for a grower to plant a crop completely off season, just to help someone He just met make a dream come true. Later Andy asked what would happen to the tobacco and He was told that it would depend on how well the tobacco came out. At some point, They decided to roll the tobacco and link it to the movie with the proceeds going to the Fuentes local Charity Foundation. The movie was well received at Cannes and then went to DVD. The Limited Edition Cigars sold out and now are rarely seen. I was Gifted this and two other Lost City Cigars by Bobbystbob and that's the Only Reason I would ever see, much less smoke them.

All in all a very cool story and a Great Cigar!



Closing Notes: Down to the last inch or so and still have smooth flavor and an even burn. This smoke went all too fast. I had no idea what to expect from this potent little powerhouse, but it delivered more and better than I imagined it could.

Thanks Bobby!




Cheers!


slack




ps: 40 minutes after I retired the cigar, my mouth is still watering and the wonderful flavor still remains. Amazing!