Mowing the lawn...again. But with a Cohiba Siglo III

Can't think of anything better...can you?

It's going down really well, will probably score quite high in the review. Mild taste and great sweet aroma...very good!

Hoyo De Monterey Epicure Especial

Just got back from a two week holiday in South Africa, it was good to see family and friends after not being back for 4 years. Had a great time but the bonus was picking up some cigars from the duty free - always a pleasure. One of these picked up was the Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especial which I have the luxury of smoking today. The wrapper is more oily then something I've smoked before and a much softer construction. The smell is sweet/fresh and the appearance is great, the construction is typical cuban - not the greatest, but that's what we've come to know from cuban cigars.

Cigar summary

Origin: Cuba

Ring gauge: 50

Length: 5 1/2

Manufactured: Hand made

Maturity: 2 weeks

Construction: Fair

Draw: Strong aniseed dry draw

Strength: Medium to full throughout

Flavour: Strong cream and sweetness at first with spice and coffee becoming more prominent

Burn: Poor at first but improved after the first third

Guy's rating (70-100): 90.5

General comments:

Strong aniseed on the dry draw and a little harder than what I would of expected from a fairly soft bound cigar. On lighting up the smell is the most pleasant sweet aroma I've ever experienced in a cigar. The flavour off the bat is pure cream and sweetness with a hint of spice.

The burn isn't doing particularly well in the first third. The creaminess and sweetness seem to have calmed and the cigar has manned up quite quickly to those spice and coffee tones. The coffee aroma and flavour became more prominent towards the end of the first third.

Some pleasant popcorn flavours developing into the second third, not sure if that is normal or if I'm just smoking it too quickly - it is going down well. The aroma at this point it still very pleasant and sweet.

I'm going to struggle to score this one, I've had to put it down and let it cool down and then give it another go. The flavours have calmed down which is good but the draw has become harder. That good combination of sweetness with cream together with the spice is back in the second third and very enjoyable, but I'm having to work for it with the significantly harder draw. The complexity of the flavours if definitely moving the score up for this one though, it was dropping after the first third but perhaps needs to be enjoyed really slowly.

The flavours started to concentrate up in the last third - as they do, but the spice notes were really fresh. Still quite enjoyable on the pallet, some cubans tend to become harsh. Still having this mild popcorn flavour come through but it's not bad and actually works with the tone of the cigar. It's not that burnt popcorn you sometimes get at home when you ignore the popcorn on the stove, but more like that fresh sweet popcorn aroma you get when walking into a cinema. The draw has improved at this point with a good smoke volume on an easy draw.

My suggestion for this one would be smoke it slow, kick back, relax and enjoy. It's not going to blow you away but it's enough to give you the feel of a quality cuban cigar.

Montecristo No. 4

This has been my regular smoke since I took up cigar smoking but strangely have yet to do a review on it. It's probably one of the best all round smokes there are out their, definitely for the beginner cigar aficionado. In terms of flavour, flavour development, aroma, it's size, feel in the hand the entire package and quite importantly to me it's affordable and can be smoked regularly. Like most Cuban cigars I've come to know it's not particularly well constructed and the burn is not the greatest so I guess it's rough and ready to go but it delivers every time...last famous words. Lets see how it goes!

Cigar summary

Origin: Cuba

Ring gauge: 42

Length: 5

Manufactured: Hand made

Maturity: 5 Months

Construction: Fair

Draw: Very easy sweet aniseed dry draw

Strength: Medium developing to full in the last third

Flavour: Mild cream sweetness with hints of dried fruit developing into a dominant spice espresso

Burn: good

Guy's rating (70-100): 90

General comments:

 Off the bat, massive smoke volume, flavours are just full of cream and espresso with some spiciness and oil on the lips - just brilliant! The aroma of the smoke at this point is really really fresh, so inviting just saying smoke me!

The first third slowly introduces some bitterness and a medium to full tobacco flavour.

The second third the rich tobacco has relaxed and the sweet creaminess is now more dominant with a pleasant almost dried fruit coming through.

The last third is spice dominant but still with hints of espresso and sweetness, the creaminess and oiliness are gone at this point and the smoke has become full. It's developed nicely as it's gone on and is just such a great kick.

It offers everything you look for in a cigar and just seems to deliver every time. It won't be my highest rated cigar but will definitely be my most frequently smoked as it's an entire package and hits all the notes even if just subtle. I highly recommend the Monte C No.4's and if you're a new smoker this cigar is a good place to start.