By now, most cigar lovers know the story of the famous Arturo Fuente Opus X — the cigar that put Arturo Fuente back on the map both literally and figuratively — as the company that proved that a “puro” all-Dominican-produced smoke could compete — and even beat — all comers in the cigar game, from any country you could imagine.
In 1995, the Arturo Fuente Opus X was the stick that changed the industry and forced it to take a 90-degree turn. It became the cigar to judge all others by for a generation. The Opus X quickly became impossible to get at any price, or at least subject to incessant back-ordering, premium markups and severe rationing. Opus X family sticks scored 90-or-above ratings in Cigar Aficionado no less than 130 times and placed on the magazine’s Top 25 list an unheard-of 10 times, winning Cigar of the Year in 2005 (and taking second place in 2020).
Most people define a generation as 20 years, and 20 years after this game-changing smoke was introduced, Arturo Fuente president Don “Carlito” Carlos Fuente Junior decided it was time for an update to bring this legendary cigar into the new millennium while at the same time honoring his father before him, the legendary Don Carlos Fuente Senior.
“I wanted to produce something I remembered,” he explained. “I wanted to go way back to my childhood. I wanted to go back to the happiest moments of my life. I wanted my grandfather to be proud of me. I wanted my father to be proud of me and my children to someday be proud of me. It was something I had to do.”
The result is the Opus X 20th Anniversary, a complex, clear-drawing cigar of flawless construction that delivers exquisitely creamy, spicy flavors of honey, caramel, cashews, cedar and leather to the palate, with a finish that’s been described as leathery, with traces of nuts, cinnamon and nougat. This is a cigar to slowly, irresistibly savor, as its delectability makes it hard to put down.
“It’s amazing that, after so many premium brands and sub-brands and lines, we can still continue to make so many different flavors that are all [Arturo] Fuente,” says Carlito. “If I’ve accomplished anything in this life, it’s because my father has taught me. His memory still inspires me and drives me to do my best every day. My father will always be my hero.”