Did I Get A Good Deal?
I recently did what any emotionally stable adult does not do and went on an unhinged Opus X buying spree, which is basically the cigar equivalent of adopting exotic animals because they’re “beautiful” and “rare” and “definitely won’t ruin my life.” This all started, as it always does, with Arturo Fuente whispering sweet nothings like "limited, anniversary, and you deserve this."
First is the Opus X 25th Anniversary Tributo. Full box, 25 cigars, $1,228.95 — or $49.15 per stick. The name Tributo is perfect, because each cigar feels like a ceremonial offering I make before lighting it, hoping the cigar gods forgive my past financial sins. These aren’t cigars you casually smoke. These are cigars you apologize to before cutting. I didn’t buy a box — I funded a small Dominican chapel.
Then things escalated with the Opus X Angel’s Share Robusto. Full box of 29 for $787.45, or $27.15 each. Seriously I have never seen them before and had no idea what I was actually buying. Angel’s Share is traditionally the portion lost to evaporation during aging. In my case, it’s the portion of my paycheck that mysteriously disappears every time Fuente releases something shiny. I like to imagine angels leaning over my humidor going, “Hey… weren’t those supposed to be ours?”
Just when sanity was waving from the roadside, I dove headfirst into a Love Affair. Literally. Sixteen Opus X Love Affair cigars for $315.76, or $19.73 each. Love Affair is the most honest cigar name ever printed. These cigars don’t want to be smoked occasionally. They want commitment. Monogamy. They want you to stop looking at other brands and delete your Tinder account. Every time I smoke one, the rest of my humidor looks like it’s been emotionally ghosted.
And because I clearly believe in finishing what I start (badly), I’m also about to acquire a full 50-count box of Partagas Signature Series 150 "A"s, from the Cullman Brothers / General Cigar / Scandinavian Tobacco Group. The 150s — cigars so controversial they don’t come with tasting notes, they come with arguments. Nobody agrees on the flavor, the value, or whether they’re transcendent or insane… which, naturally, makes me want them even more.
At this point, I’m not collecting cigars — I’m assembling a psychological profile. So tell me straight: did I get a great deal, a fair deal, or should my credit card be placed in witness protection? Either way, I regret nothing, I have zero plans to stop, and I accept that Opus X and Partagas 150s are no longer cigars to me — they’re a lifestyle choice I didn’t fully discuss with my bank.
Full disclosure: yes, I used ChatGPT to help write this, because at the moment the only thing responding to me reliably is an AI and my humidor. Women are apparently on backorder, my dating life is in a prolonged supply-chain crisis, and my depression is running at full MSRP. So while I’m not getting laid, I am getting Opus X—and frankly, they never cancel plans, never ghost, and always show up beautifully wrapped and ready to make me feel something. If this post sounds unusually articulate, thank the robot. If it sounds like a man filling an emotional void with premium tobacco… congratulations, you’ve met me.
Comments
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You got a great deal
A little dirt never hurt1 -
I guess it’s a good deal for museum pieces to look at, because they ain’t worth a shìt for smoking.
If it don’t bother me, it don’t bother me. Just leave me alone.
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I’ve always found that the least impressive thing about a cigar, is the price tag. If you like what you purchased, that’s all that matters. Most of us would’ve taken that money and purchased stuff way different and way less expensive that in most of our humble opinions are much better sticks.
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Long on funds... short on brains.
Unless, of course, your only goal is to troll a bunch of down-to-earth fellas who know more than you do about how to enjoy cigars and what role they should play in a man's life, you may have succeeded in that.
"I could've had a Mi Querida!" Nick Bardis2 -
I'd have spent all that money on a butt-load of AJ stuff and have a years worth of enjoyment.
Trapped in the People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts.
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@mropusx I personally have nothing against Fuente's I think they're fine cigars minus the price of course, but found your post to be pretty funny with a lot of self reflection.
If you enjoy them that's really all that matters. Most of us here smoke stronger cigars and if you stick with the hobby you'll end up leaning that way as well most likely.
Enjoy and welcome to the forum.
PS if I had that kind of money to toss away on cigars I would have thrown it at boxes of Padrons lol
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I smoked a partagas 150 in 2017 and it was pure air.
I am the Troll Jesus. Follow me, my children, or clutch your pearls tightly.
@ScotchnSmoke still sux lots of large wéiners. And tons of small ones.2 -
Smoke what you like, if you have the money to burn spend it on what you like
A little dirt never hurt4 -
Like others have said
In the end it's what makes you happy3 -
Ok, so let me clear something up about my views on Fuente, and specifically Opus, cigars.
To me they’re like the Ferrari of the cigar world.Years ago Enzo was making the best race cars in the world. They were expensive. They were exclusive. They were great cars, but more so they were a status symbol.
Then comes along this guy named Carroll Shelby. He built better race cars. They were faster, they handled better, they could be mass produced…and they were much less expensive. He partnered with Ford and made them even less expensive..but just as good.
A lot of people “in the know” flocked to Shelby’s cars because they were more concerned about performance than a status symbol. This just made Enzo double down on the fact that his cars were better because of the exclusivity. So the status symbol seekers kept buying their Ferraris even though Shelbys and others like them kept out performing them.
Several more years down the road now and we’re in the same situation. You have those that are less expensive and easily accessible that are outperforming those status symbols. Yet you still have those ones that just have to be seen with that emblem on the front of their car…or cigar.
If it don’t bother me, it don’t bother me. Just leave me alone.
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Best explanation yet!
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@Rdp77 I actually disagree with that analogy. Because regardless of your first post Fuente doesn’t make “**** cigars” they make good cigars that in some cases are way too expensive.
But it’s not Ferrari vs Ford. It’s “The name you know” people do trust the brand.
I smoked a Hemingway Signature the other day. Enjoyed the hell out of even picked up a 5er since they were on sale. And except people who love to hate I have never heard anyone say “oh that Opus X was a **** cigar”
There are just much better cigars a person could buy for that money. But the key is “for that money”
But I don’t see this any different when a new guy who comes to the forum and posts truly awful cigars because right now they don’t know any better.
I wouldn’t bag on a dude posting a La Perla, but I would hope he would learn.
No difference.
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@NorthSideSmoke said:
@Rdp77 I actually disagree with that analogy. Because regardless of your first post Fuente doesn’t make “**** cigars” they make good cigars that in some cases are way too expensive.But it’s not Ferrari vs Ford. It’s “The name you know” people do trust the brand.
I smoked a Hemingway Signature the other day. Enjoyed the hell out of even picked up a 5er since they were on sale. And except people who love to hate I have never heard anyone say “oh that Opus X was a **** cigar”
There are just much better cigars a person could buy for that money. But the key is “for that money”
But I don’t see this any different when a new guy who comes to the forum and posts truly awful cigars because right now they don’t know any better.
I wouldn’t bag on a dude posting a La Perla, but I would hope he would learn.
No difference.
And see this is where I disagree with you. I have on hand, maybe between 30 to 50 Fuente. I don’t think there’s a really good one in the lot. The Anejo are great Fuente cigars, but I wouldn’t consider them a great cigar. When I reach into my humidor, I bypass all of my Opus to reach for a five dollar Fernandez. And for me, I haven’t had a good Hemmingway in nearly 15 years. I think taste is subjective, obviously but have to wonder how many people still buy Fuente based off of the name alone. Outside of marketing, I don’t think they do anything exceptionally well.
Edit: every single person I know that’s had a tarred up Opus has said it’s a **** Cigar.
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Do what makes you happy and enjoy the experience. You can always earn more money but you can’t make a manufacturer make cigars they decide to stop making. Enjoy what you can while you can. It’s your life, who cares what I think
I don't have problems, just more work to do.
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@NorthSideSmoke said:
@Rdp77 I actually disagree with that analogy. Because regardless of your first post Fuente doesn’t make “**** cigars” they make good cigars that in some cases are way too expensive.But it’s not Ferrari vs Ford. It’s “The name you know” people do trust the brand.
I smoked a Hemingway Signature the other day. Enjoyed the hell out of even picked up a 5er since they were on sale. And except people who love to hate I have never heard anyone say “oh that Opus X was a **** cigar”
There are just much better cigars a person could buy for that money. But the key is “for that money”
But I don’t see this any different when a new guy who comes to the forum and posts truly awful cigars because right now they don’t know any better.
I wouldn’t bag on a dude posting a La Perla, but I would hope he would learn.
No difference.
I respect that, but it’s your opinion. Just like the first line of my post :
Ok, so let me clear something up about my views on Fuente, and specifically Opus, cigars.
To me they’re like the Ferrari of the cigar world.Please note the words “my views” and “to me”. I was not stating something as a proven fact, just my opinion. I don’t want to nor do I expect to change anyone’s mind. Simply stating why my view on the subject is what it is.
And I will agree that it is “the name you know”. That’s kind of my point. If everyone tells you that they are the best…I guess they have to be.
If it don’t bother me, it don’t bother me. Just leave me alone.
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If you post your views be prepared for someone to give theirs, no need to go all bunched panties.
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@NorthSideSmoke said:
If you post your views be prepared for someone to give theirs, no need to go all bunched panties.What…. ? You like Fuente, you’re offended, we get it.
A wise man once told me there are two types of cigars. “Good cigars and cigars that are just not for you. And then there is Fuente.”
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@NorthSideSmoke said:
If you post your views be prepared for someone to give theirs, no need to go all bunched panties.lol, bunched panties
That’s comical. Please explain what part of my reply you are referring to.If it don’t bother me, it don’t bother me. Just leave me alone.
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Get your Ferrari off my lawn
A little dirt never hurt0 -
I have a friend whose business nets a hundred million a year, enjoys a cigar, could even afford a Ghurka if he wanted, dude throws a wet sponge in his humidor for humidity, I've talked to him about boveda but a wet sponge will do, just not that important
A little dirt never hurt0
