Monte by Montecristo
So, I was looking through all my new sticks, trying to decide which one I wanted to review tonight, and this one jumped out at me from one of the samplers that came in the mail while I was deployed— and since my last two reviews were both Montecristos, it just seemed like the perfect continuation of that trend. So tonight I'll be smoking a Monte by Montecristo, another Montecristo piece blended by the Groupo de Maestros.
Cigar: Montecristo Espada
Vitola: Ricasso (Toro, 6” x 52)
Price: $13/stick
Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Dominican Olor and Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Dominican Piloto
Body: Medium
Rating (out of 10): 9.2
Appearance:
Monte features two bands— the standard “Montecristo brown band,” and a second, gold-and-red-on-black band, featuring a modern-stylized “MONTE” and and outlined Montecristo fleur-de-lis.
The wrapper is just slightly redder than a milk chocolate brown, and lightly veined, with very faint tooth and a fine sheen of oil. The cap is meticulously placed, and cuts perfectly.
Construction:
Construction on this is absolutely perfect (I've yet to encounter a Montecristo that falls anywhere short of perfection as far as construction is concerned); I just spent five minutes rolling this stick between my fingers, looking as closely as I could— and I still can't find the seams in the wrapper leaf. Absolutely flawless.
Aroma:
The stick smells fairly grassy, somewhat like hay, with a subtle hint of soft leather underneath. The foot is much earthier, a faint whiff of fertilized soil and freshly cut wood. Overall, it's a very “farmy” aroma.
First Third:
Going with a straight cut here for consistency. I was tempted to do a V-cut tonight, as it does tend to concentrate the flavor better, but since my previous Montecristo reviews were done with a straight cut, I opted to run with the same.
The pre-light draw is just a bit tight, and tastes faintly of cedar, and something soft and fruity underneath... but I can't quite pin it down.
Just after lighting, I get notes of cedar, with undertones of sweet hay and a little peppery kick.
Normally, I encounter flavors like these in much milder smokes; this one, however, is bold. It's a sure medium to full bodied smoke that's packed with flavors not normally experienced at this strength.
The burn is just the slightest bit angled, but I kind of expected it— a slight breeze led to one edge of the wrapper not lighting as readily as the rest, so the light itself wasn't as even as I would have liked. Even still, it's not out of control. It leaves in its wake a light, almost white ash stack, which holds nicely, though I'm ashing frequently after dropping a searing hot, two-inch ash stack directly onto my foot this morning. It still stings. Not playing that game again.
A note about correcting an uneven burn (a “canoeing” cigar): Intuitively, you probably want to rotate the cigar so the slower-burning side is on top. After all, “heat rises,” right? However, you actually want that slower-burning part at the bottom, because the “cherry,” the part of the cigar which is actively burning, requires oxygen to burn. As you draw air through the cigar to smoke, the oxygen is consumed and the heat travels upward, as you'd expect. The result being, there is a greater concentration of oxygen at the bottom, providing more fuel to burn. If the burn is too uneven, this probably won't help you out very much, and you'll have to re-light it or touch it up with your lighter; but if it's just slightly uneven, rotating the stick in this way could help to correct that without getting the lighter involved again.
Second Third:
Unfortunately, my burn was a little more out of control than I would have liked, and the above trick didn't end up helping. Gave it a quick touch-up at the start of the second third.
Here, there's some faint hints of coffee, and the pepper is a touch more intense.
I'm tasting that very subtle undertone of fruit again. It's like a very soft note of apricot— barely noticeable, but if you're paying close attention— say, for a review— it's definitely there.
Definitely a more coffee-like second third...
Final Third:
Had to touch up the burn again for the last third, this one is fighting me tonight.
The cedar is slowly rolling back in, another full circle blend by the Maetsros. But even as the overall flavor profile loops back around to where it began, the pepper gets spicier and spicer— now almost a jalapeño-like heat to it. Great for those times you want something explosive. It's like Montecristo meets Jaime Garcia.
Closing Thoughts:
Burn issues aside (they were probably my fault, anyway), this was an absolutely fantastic smoking experience. It's probably not one I'd reach for over a Media Noche or an Espada, but if I really wanted a fireworks show of a cigar, this would be a great one.
This more than likely wraps up my week of Montecristo reviews, unless I get out tomorrow and pick up a new one. Now I just need to decide what to try next...!