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 rescoring 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 May 2019 in the Nacimiento 1912 size.

Wrapper: Not Disclosed
Binder: Not Disclosed
Filler: Not Disclosed
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
God’s Whisper 1924: 7 1/5. x 41

In 2013, Arturo Fuente released a special extension of its OpusX line known as the Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13. This is a line that commemorated 100 years of the Fuente brand. The anniversary of the line was technically in 2012, but much of the celebration was delayed due to a major fire at the Arturo Fuente tobacco warehouses. 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 God’s Whisper 1924.

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 (Stogies World Class Cigars) 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 God’s Whisper delivered a mix of cocoa, cedar, natural tobacco, and black pepper. The cocoa notes became primary during the early stages with the other notes moving into the background. The retro-hale produced an additional layer of black pepper. As the cigar experience progressed, there was an increase in the cedar and black pepper. The cedar increased at a more rapid rate and eventually joined the cocoa notes in the forefront.

Overall I found the God’s Whisper size to be the boldest of the three sizes of ForbiddenX I have smoked (Nacimiento 1912 and Keeper of the Flame 2013 being the others). This was a medium to full strength, medium to full-bodied smoke from start to finish. Both the strength and body balanced each other very nicely.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

First I’ll reiterate my issue with this being a TAA cigar. This is what I stated in my assessment of the Nacimiento 1912 and it still holds true:

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.

That aside, it’s important to know that the Fuente Fuente OpusX ForbiddenX 13 God’s Whisper 1924 wasn’t blended for the TAA. As mentioned I smoked the Keeper of the Flame 2013 and the Nacimiento 1912 and I found the God’s Whisper 1924 to be my favorite size to date. The flavors were robust throughout the whole smoking experience and seemed to be better balanced in this size. This is a cigar I’d steer to a more experienced cigar enthusiast, but I wouldn’t discourage a novice from trying. While it is pricey, (if you can find it) this is a cigar still worth a box purchase in my book.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cocoa, Cedar, Natural Tobacco, Black Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent