One day in the early 1990s, Carlos Fuente Jr. was thumbing through the dictionary looking for inspiration. He had a new cigar brand in the works but it needed a name. Fuente found a good word: opulent. Then he found an even better one right below it: opus.
In late 1995, the Fuente Fuente OpusX brand was released. Today, the cigar is still a phenomenon and one of the few Dominican puros on the market. OpusX owes much of its character to its wrapper, which is grown under shade from Corojo seeds in the Dominican Republic at Chateau de la Fuente.
| Rank: 2 | Dimensions: 5 3/4″ by 52 ring gauge |
| Rating: 97 | Filler: Dom. Rep. |
| Price: $17.05 | Binder: Dom. Rep. |
| Made By: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. | Wrapper: Dom. Rep. |
| Factory Location: Dominican Republic |
The idea for the brand came when a French retailer told Fuente that unless he composed a cigar made entirely from Dominican leaf, he would never be a true maker of Dominican cigars—merely an assembler of tobacco. The snide comment stuck with him. While Dominican tobacco was easy to procure, the issue was wrapper, which didn’t have a history of growing in the Dominican Republic. Fuente was undeterred, and after putting the right seeds in the right soil, he changed the cigar world’s opinion about Dominican cover leaf.
The OpusX line is known for power and exclusivity and it lives up to its reputation with the Double Robusto, a strong and polished smoke of baking spices, caramel, boozy cherry cordial and a hearty rum barrel finish.
