Cigar Extra/CRA Saturday: Fuente Forbidden X

A few days ago, I talked to a cigar store manager as he was purchasing this CRA Sampler at a store not his own (for obvious reasons, I won't be revealing his identity). "This is the cigar that sells this sampler," he said. I agreed. At a normal retail price of $50 to $70 a stick (if you can find them), this Forbidden X almost justifies the $100 Sampler price tag all by itself. I saved this stick for last from my Sampler and I will say expectations run high for a storied stick like this--the Dominican puro brainchild of Carlito Fuente. Bands, ribbon and cedar sheath cover almost the entire stick before it is time to smoke it--good thing, too, as the wrapper was cracked at the foot and it had some ugly mottling and discoloration in several places. I got a sweet hay and molasses aroma from the wrapper and some barnyard on the foot.

The cold draw was sweet with natural tobacco, hay and molasses notes, as well as a chili pepper feel lingering on the lips. Light up brought a luxuriously creamy smoke with a highly complex mix of cedar, molasses, hay and natural tobacco (am I repeating myself? No, this one actually tasted mostly the same before and after lighting!). My first reaction was to be disappointed because it was not a spice bomb or powerhouse, but then I stopped to consider that this could quite possibly be one of the best-tasting cigars I had ever had, regardless of body and strength--and that is what's really important.

Through the first third the body and spice picked up a bit and by the end of it I had a nice mouth burn going on, but mostly this cigar was just an exquisitely creamy mild-to-medium cigar with an almost intensely rich flavor. By the end of the second third, the body was fully into the medium range and the pepper spice had continued unabated. I also got nice flavors of anise and maple as this cigar continually surprised me with its complexity.

Having come so far with this stick, it is a little hard to say, but it did tend to "cream out" during the last third. While still very good, the flavors there just could not hold up the promises made in the first two-thirds. Maybe it's just this particular vitola--hard to say because I do not have the deep pockets to fund continual experimentation--but overall, this was a fine twist on the Opus X line that was simply amazing for much of the smoking time. I am glad I got the chance to experience it.

If you are not already a member of the Cigar Rights of America, please go to their website and consider joining. For only $35 a year, the CRA is the only organized effort out there lobbying the government against restrictive regulations and punitive, job-killing taxation. There has been some criticism of the CRA around some blogs lately, but you have to remember that the organization is still young and is fighting an uphill battle. If you are already a member, please urge your friends to join as well.

And, as always, if you have an opinion about the cigar I have presented above (or about the CRA), please feel free to speak your mind! Leave a comment and be heard!