1 review for Opus X Lost City Lancero
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Opus X Lost City Lancero
Overall Score
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Joe K
Format : Lancero
Size : 7.5 x 41
Wrapper : Dominican Republic
Binder : Dominican Republic
Filler : Dominican Republic
Hand-Made
Price : ~$30 each
Cigar Pass hosted a memorial raffle last year whose proceeds went towards the running of the online community. Members were given the opportunity to buy tickets for the chance to win one of several boxes of premium cigars that had been donated by various shops and members. After deciding that the entry was worth just the knowledge I had already received from there, I entered and began hoping on hopes that despite the odds, I would walk away with a lucky golden ticket. After the numbers were drawn, I was overjoyed to find that the box of ten Opus X Lost City Lanceros was making its way to my door. Coming with an offer for a free DVD of the cigars’ namesake, I obtained my copy of the movie with the intent to watch it while smoking the first of ten. Setting up the laptop outside, with film and cigar in tow, I seated myself in the fading sunshine to enjoy my first Opus X.
On inspection, the first thing that catches my eye is the band itself. Ornate but not overwhelming, the combination of black, gold and red embossing is very beautifully done. The bold signature “X” on the face is a strong focal point. Moving onto the cigar itself, the burnt grass hued barrel has various veins but none of them are raised from the wrapper. Against typical Fuente standards, the wrapper is slightly wrinkly in some areas and just above the band glue residue is evident. The majority of the cigar is firm with a slight spring to it although there is one soft spot present. A well made cap begins a deep ½ inch from the head and ends in a fancier styled pigtail. Taking a prelight whiff of the foot exudes a strong barnyard scent with a prominent white pepper presence, so much so that it actually causes me to sneeze. Prelight flavors contrast the smell with creamy earth and grass.
Lighting the cigar produces a sizable volume of creamy smoke with a slight peppery taste that tingles on the tongue. While creamy, the smoke is also very drying. Initial perception is that this is a very smooth smoke and the profile resembles something akin to soft warm bread. Through the first couple of inches the draw is impeccable and creates a very sharp burn. The flavor begins to grow a bit stale around the two inch mark but ashing helps to rejuvenate it and the cigar remains pleasant through the first half.
Moving into the second half of the cigar, it takes on a strong spice and the nicotine definitely begins to have more of an impact. The main flavor accompanying the spice is of sweet grass and still provides a nice background. I am unashamed to say that at this point I need to get something sweet into my system to combat the increased nicotine kick. Pouring myself a Fernet Branca and Coke, which is widely accepted as the unofficial drink of Argentina, I take a couple of sips and proceed on. The drink has a sweet menthol feel, which works as a pallet cleanser as well keeping queasiness at bay helping to get the smoke back to being pleasant. While remaining spicy, it develops a smoky campfire undertone. Other than this, there is not a whole lot of development after the initial half.
While I never dreamed my first Opus X would be able to live up to the hype, I did expect a bit more from this stick. With a thirty dollar price tag the disappointment is even more amplified. Several enjoyable flavors occur throughout but the overwhelming spice and nicotine at the halfway point of this lancero really detracts from the experience. As I feel that there is still potential here, I plan to put down the remainder of the box down for an extended rest with the hope that the spice and nicotine will mellow and create a more even blend. Needless to say, my expectations have been significantly lowered for future Opus X experiences yet I still hold out hope that there are other promising blends and/or vitolas available.
Appearance : [rating:3.5/5]
Construction : [rating:3.5/5]
Flavor : [rating:3/5]
Value : [rating:2/5]
Overall Rating : [rating:3/5]
[sz]lost city[/sz]
black_ice_pc
Maybe it was a fluke, but the one Lost City I tried was incredible. It had slightly yellowed the wrapper from aging. I’ve never had so much and such varied flavor before or since that stick. I distinctly remember a few puffs where I could pick out green apple of all things. I have another stick but haven’t lit it yet.
Cynical Genius
Perhaps this is just a personal pet peeve, but I find Fuente cigars a bit over zealous with glue on their bands. The ones I have removed have damaged the wrapper to some extent.
don
Just finished the Lost City Double Robusto. Big dissapointment compared to last years Lost City.
This cigar is WAY too strong on nictoine. While I caught some of the tastes, its too dry of a smoke.
$30 wasted. Big thumbs down.
Joe K
Dmjones that is a very good point about the hype and forever elusive experience. More than once I have heard people utter that exact phrase and thought to myself, “so they used to be a great cigar but now are good cigars? So why have the prices gone up?”
As far as the movie goes, it was interesting and had a solid base but just moved far too slowly. The cinematography was very well done and there were some characters that you could care about but so many of them were just flat that if something bad happened it was not as impacting as is should have been.
dmjones1009
I’ve not had the Lost City blend, but have had several other Opus Xs, including a lancero and all have been uniformly great…but really don’t stand up to the hype made about them. I think the problem is that they have been built up so high for the last 10 years or so, that they just can’t live up to expectations anymore. Now people say “Well, you should have had 1998 Opus Xs…those were even better!” So they justify the hype with the unobtainable. Makes it difficult to enjoy them for what they are…really great Dominican puros (and it also drives the prices up to unreasonable levels).
You didn’t mention the movie and how you felt about it (assuming you did watch it). I think “The Lost City” is an important film for cigar smokers to watch and try to understand what Castro and Guevara did to Cuba and its people. On the other hand, I feel it wasn’t as strong as it could have been and wish someone besides Andy Garcia had been in the director’s chair. He’s a fine actor, but I think this movie was too big for him as a first time directing project.