Montecristo No. 5 (7 year old)

This is my second smoke of an aged cigar...and I hope it goes better. My initial review of a monte 5 was not great so I guess I'm not expecting great things...I suppose this then serves as an experiment. This Monte is about 7 years old, been looked after in a cedar humidor but has sat for awhile.

Oh...and this is my first mobile review, enjoy!

Cigar summary

Origin: Cuba

Ring gauge: 40

Length: 4

Manufactured: Hand made

Maturity: about 7 years

Construction: Still excellent

Draw: Easy

Strength: Medium at first and developing to full

Flavour: Bitter cocoa from the start and right through 

Burn: Below par

Guy's rating (70-100): <70

General comments:

Wow okay...nothing fruity nothing creamy. Pretty much bitter from the get go. Burnt tobacco and burnt toast is all that's coming through. Not harsh but still not in the category of Cuban pleasant. 

Half way through and I'd put this as bitter...I think aging cigars is a whole art on it's own...such a disappointment. Oh well! Just an excuse to buy another Monte 5 and do a review as a comparison. I'm going to just end it here.

Bolivar petit carona

Wow! Two in 2 days, aren't I lucky! So, today, after my 7 year old HDME2 yesterday, I though I should try something fresh as a comparison. To be entirely honest I wasn't entirely satisfied with the Hoyo yesterday, I'm really trying to look for positives. I found the aged Hoyo bold in flavours, but tending ever so slightly on harsh!

Cigar summary

Origin: Cuba

Ring gauge: 42

Length: 5 1/8"

Manufactured: Hand made

Maturity: 1 week

Construction: Good

Draw: Fresh, oily and easy

Strength: Mild

Flavour: Creamy mild coffee and fresh grass/straw

Burn: good

Guy's rating (70-100): 89

General comments:

 Initially, the smell of the wrapper on the "fresh" Bolivar is sweet and almost floral. The dry draw is fresh and oily.

On lighting up its pure creaminess...this is why we smoke Cubans. My whole mouth and teeth are just oily and creamy. The flavours are tender earthy pepper and grass. Already I'm preferring a fresh Cuban. Most of the reviews I've watched on this cigar have put it as bold but I'm not tasting it off the bat.

The first third is just a continuation of the earthy cream. The draw and burn is really good.

The second third of the smoke is distinctively smooth. The flavours are balanced and I'm struggling to distinguish. I'm going to use the fact that this is my first proper cigar smoke in 7 years as an excuse for describing something more creative. Currently it's the kind of smoke that is easy and something I would recommend to first time cigar smokers. Not difficult to enjoy.

In the last third there are no real transitions in flavours. The coffee/espresso perks up a bit with some pepper but very mild. It's an easy smoke that I like but not complex... maybe something for the golf course or BBQ - doesn't need a lot of attention. In my opinion maybe it needs some ageing :)

I'll definitely be getting more for my humidor. Its an easy smoke that is very enjoyable. I think for my next smoke I may try a classic like a Cohiba Robusto - get the taste of a winner Cuban and something to compare against.

I think I may apologise to the aged cigar haters out there...they might be right! I'll give this an 89 just because of the lack of flavour development...but still a good cigar! Any everyday type cigar.

Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure number 2 (7 year old)

My fist cigar in a while (saving to buy a house you see). I've had several in my humidor for over 7 years and after doing some research found that aged cigars get some bad press. Apparently 2 to 3 years is about max for ageing time and maintaining taste quality. I hoped I hadn't ruined mine by keeping them so long and not smoking them but thought I'd better give them a go and see how they've turned out for myself. I've stored them in a cedar lined humidor and maintained relatively stable temperatures and kept humidity's between 65 and mid 70s.

Cigar summary

Origin: Cuba

Ring gauge: 50

Length: 4 7/8

Manufactured: Hand made

Maturity: 7 years

Construction: Not bad for 7 years in my humidor

Draw: Perfect

Strength: Bold for the start

Flavour: Rich coffee and pepper - the creaminess is almost gone

Burn: good

Guy's rating (70-100): 90

General comments:

 Off the bat the flavours are full. Mostly coffee and peppery toast. The creaminess that I've tasted before is largely gone. I'd put this as bold from the start. From the research I was expecting the flavours to tone down but I've found the opposite.

The first third introduces some bitterness and full tobacco flavour, the coffee and pepper tone down.

The second third slight creaminess has come back. The full flavours from the start have relaxed and are more balanced. Maybe a hint of sweetness and still earthy. Burn is still fantastic at this point.

 Some pleasant oiliness has developed and the peppery toast is back with some coffee bitterness. I'd still put the cigar as full bodied but smooth enough to enjoy and not harsh. 

The only disappointment I suppose is the loss of creaminess but it appears to have kept good flavour. I'll have to give some fresh Epicure No2s ago to have a better comparison...keep you posted.

                                                   

My own hand rolled cigar from Davidoff!!

 

 

Can't believe my luck...Walked into the Davidoff shop in London, UK, to buy myself a good old stogie and they happened to be hosting Juramys Valdes Alguezabal, a fine cigar roller from Cuba!

She duly offered to roll me my own personal Cigar and I gladly obliged. I'll put this in my humidor for some time, it's going to take some quite momentous occasion for me to light this one up, but, like it's really strong aroma I'm sure it will be exceptionally sweet!

 

 

 

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.