Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at the MFuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912 that was re-released as a TAA Exclusive. This is a cigar line we assessed back in April 2016 in the Keeper of the Flame size.

Wrapper: Not Disclosed
Binder: Not Disclosed
Filler: Not Disclosed
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
Nacimiento 1912: 5 1/8 x 43

In 2012, the Arturo Fuente brand celebrated 100 years in the cigar business. While a fire at the Arturo Fuente tobacco warehouses would delay much of the celebration of the centennial milestone until 2013, there was a series of limited edition cigars released in late 2011 called the Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 series. These have become some of the more sought after Arturo Fuente cigars. With 2018 being the 50th anniversary of the TAA, Arturo Fuente decided to make the ForbiddenX series available on a small batch limited basis to the TAA’s retail members. Today, we take a closer look at one of the installments of this series made available to the TAA, the Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912.

The TAA Exclusive Series consists of cigars made by leading manufacturers that are exclusively sold at TAA member retailers. The TAA is a small group of retailers. At press time the number of retailers is approximately 80. The TAA has defined itself as:

The Tobacconists’ Association of America, Ltd. is a trade organization established in 1968 by visionary retail tobacconists. By providing education, communication, research, advocacy, and member discount programs, The TAA works with our members and the industry they support to offer the tools and relationship building opportunities needed to maximize professionalism and success.

Since 2018 was the 50th anniversary of the Tobacconist Association of America, there were a large number of releases as part of the 2018 TAA Exclusive Series:

TAA Exclusive Series 2019 — TAA Exclusive Series 2018

The vitola names of the ForbiddenX 13 each have a significance in the 100+ year history of the Fuente family.

Nacimiento 1912 (5 1/8 x 43): Nacimiento means “birth”. It was in 1912 that Arturo Fuente Cigars was founded in Tampa, Florida.
God’s Whisper 1924 (7 1/5. x 41): In 1924 a fire took place that shut down Arturo Fuente’s production for over 20 years.
Heart of the Bull 1957 (5 1/4 x 50): This was the year when ownership of the company transferred to Carlos Fuente, Sr.
Destiny 1980 (5 3/4 x 42): This marks the year that Arturo Fuente opened up its Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia facility in the Dominican Republic.
Torch Bearer 2012 (7 5/8 x 49): This marks the centennial year for Arturo Fuente.
Keeper of the Flame 2013 (6 1/4 x 49): This marks the first year of the second century for Arturo Fuente.

One final note. The actual cigar we are reviewing is one that was shipped to a TAA retailer (Old Virginia Tobacco Company) as a release for the TAA. This wasn’t a review from a shipment that was done prior to the TAA release.

The Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912 started out with a mix of cocoa, cedar, natural tobacco, wood, and white pepper. As the cigar moved through the first third, the cocoa notes moved to the forefront and became rich. This cigar started out as good as any cigar I’ve had. During the first third, some citrus notes surfaced. The citrus, cedar, and wood notes increased in intensity while the cocoa diminished. By this point, the Nacimiento 1912 still smoked quite well, but not at the level of the first third. By the final third, the cedar and woody notes took over. There were still notes of natural tobacco, citrus, and white pepper in the background, but the cocoa had dissipated.

In terms of strength and body, the Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912 pretty much delivered a medium strength, medium to full-bodied smoke. The intensity levels of the strength and body increased nominally during the smoke. The body had a slight edge to the strength during the smoking experience.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The TAA seems to have problems with either cigars sitting on the shelves or cigars that simply are difficult to get. The Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 falls into the latter category. While it’s great to have Arturo Fuente a part of the TAA series, I’m not understanding the point of having a small batch release for the TAA where in some cases the cigar is only on the retail shelves for a short period of time or not at all.

While it wasn’t blended for the TAA, the Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 Nacimiento 1912 is an excellent cigar. Like my previous experience with the Keeper of the Flame, this cigar started out as good as any cigar. However, as the cigar progressed the flavors went from amazing to very good. Still this is a very good cigar. This is a cigar I’d steer to a more experienced cigar enthusiast, but I wouldn’t discourage a novice from trying. As for myself, there was enough going on with this cigar for it to warrant box worthy consideration.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cocoa, Cedar, Natural Tobacco, Wood, White Pepper, Citrus
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent