[Review] Opus X Super Belicoso

[Mizicke5273]

So last Friday I received my new flash in the mail for my D40. With the Mega Review underway, I figured it was time I bought myself a flash. So I decided on a Nikon SB-400 w/ a Sto-fen Omni-bounce diffuser and decided to do a review of a "nice" stick, to sorta celebrate for the hell of it.

Opus X Super Belicoso



Where: Basement
Movie: How to Train Your Dragon on Blu-ray
Drink: Diet Coke
Cigar Info: Bought on 12/23/2011 and stored at ~68% RH.


Pre-Light
- Easy Cut, Firm
- Perfect draw
- Slightly sweet taste w/a hint of hay maybe?



1st Third
- Another classic Opus light for me => Not good.
- Thick creamy smoke with an initial blast of strong pepper.
- Bad burn; due to my inability to light a dang Opus.
- After a while, the pepper has mellowed out quite a bit.




As you can see, I couldn't get the entire foot lit. That part of the foot just would not light and I didn't want to keep the flame to it, for too long. And this happens with almost every Opus I smoke.

2nd Third
- Still creamy with hints of pepper.
- A smoothness to the smoke has developed at this point.
- Other than the creaminess and pepper, there really is not much else.




Final Third
- I had to correct the burn a few times and do a few purges.
- Nothing changed from the 2nd Third.
- I had to relight the cigar once, around the 1.5 in. mark.
- The ash was flaky and loose, but a nice light greyish color.
- Towards the end, I was constantly fighting the uneven burn and trying to keep the cigar lit.




Conclusion
This cigar started out good, but turned to mediocre after a bit, due to the bad light. I have been struggling to figure out what I am doing wrong with Opuses. I originally kept all my Opus in my 65% RH cooler. But I have moved a few to my 68%-70% cooler for testing, to see if that changed anything. But it didn't. I still have trouble lighting an Opus. At this point, about the only thing I can think of is to try dry boxing them.

On the plus side.....How to Train Your Dragon!!!
In Blu-ray!



All in all I was happy with the performance of the flash. I still have to do testing to get a grasp of what settings work the best.

[buzz]

Thanks for the review, I'd try dry-boxing one. Eratic burns to me are far less annoying than tight draws.

Your pictures are fantastic, looking forward to seeing the ones for MR5!

[badwhale]

Thanks for the review, Michael. Great pix.

Will

[Paddy]

I hate Fuente cigars to begin with.
I only read the review to see your pictures. Very, Very nice !

[Mizicke5273]

Thanks, glad you guys like the pictures.

Well, that's two things then from Friday that did not disappoint! The addition of the flash for the camera and the movie.

[victory01]

Thanks for the review.

Yeah, I would try letting one rest a bit outside of a humidor before smoking it. If I were to get that problem constantly the last thing I would do is raise the RH.