Montecristo Grand Edmundo 2010 LE

[suggs]

For my first review on this site I've chosen the only LE cigar I've ever bought a box of. This is my special occasion cigar. I've now smoked three of these cigars, and I'll give my overall thoughts after this particular review.

I've stored these cigars in my humidor that's at roughly 70F/65RH.

Appearance

The 2010 LE has a lovely milk chocolate wrapper with a mostly uniform color. It's nicely firm throughout the cigar, but has a perfect amount of give. Very nice construction. There is a vein in the wrapper that runs a little over half the length of the cigar.

Cold Draw

I get a lot of really sweet tobacco flavor at first. Then I start to detect a kind of almond nuttiness...almost like marzipan. There is also a bit of spice on the tip of my tongue.

First Light

Really great draw. I like my draws with a little more resistance, and this one hits the sweet spot for me. I notice the first puffs give a really rich, velvety smoke that coats my whole mouth and pallet. The first flavors are of nuts and bittersweet chocolate. I also get the beginnings of an egg yolk creaminess...almost like custard.

First Third--overall, medium+...A rating.

The cigars continues with a drier cocoa powder that is complimented very nicely with an espresso crema sweetness...like that first sip of crema you get, bitter, sweet, and very refreshing. The burn line started out fine, it's since gotten a little wavy, but it's still under control. The smoke itself smells like roasting coffee before it hits the first crack. After about an inch and a half or so, the chocolate starts to come into the forefront with a very very slight oak flavor.

Second Third--overall, medium...A+ rating.

The chocolate starts to become very very creamy, which dials down the bitterness to where it's in the background. It's almost like I'm tasting pots de crema right now, this is definitely a dessert cigar. The burn continues to be good, but isn't anything worth writing home about. I've had to do one small touch up, though. The cigar has a drier mouthfeel, which is odd, considering the types of flavors. I'm very impressed with the transitions between the drier cocoa and the creamier chocolate from first to second third. About three inches in, the burn starts to get wonky again, but self-corrects in a few minutes. After it corrects, the cigar starts oozing flavor. It's melty, chocolatey creaminess. Another dessert, an eclair! (with some mild nuttiness coming back). This is, easily, the best part of the cigar. Another half inch or so and I need to do another touch up on the burn.

Final Third--overall, medium+...B rating

The beginning of the final third shows a return of some baking spices I got earlier. The burn is starting to get troublesome again. A little further in, and I'm starting to pick up some graham crackers...not in the forefront, but definitely there. The chocolate has migrated to more of a dark chocolate now, with a little bit of that bitterness from the first third, although not as pronounced. The cigar needs yet another touch up...this is getting annoying. After this touch up, I start getting a hotter burn from the cigar. I've only got about two or so inches left, so it's getting close to time to put it down anyway. The baking spices are making a run for the goal now, and the cigar is inching very close to medium/full. This brings the espresso crema back...but the cigar needs another touch up. I only smoke it for a minute or two afterwards and put it down.

Final Smoke Time: 1 hour 38 minutes. I probably could've smoked more if it weren't for the burn problems.

Overall:

Simply a wonderful cigar...very relaxing and very enjoyable. It's not the most complex cigars, but it knows what it want to do with the changes in the different chocolates and creams, so it's plenty interesting. I would recommend smoking this to unwind after a long day, or when you'd like to treat yourself. The only thing that could get in the way, though, is the burn problems. I don't usually mind touching up a cigar every now and then to keep the thing properly lit...but this started to become a chore during the final third, which was still enjoyable despite the problems.

I give the cigar a 92, with the potential to be in the 95isg range if not for the burn problems.

I should also say this. I've smoke two others before this. The first was equally outstanding as this one, but still had burn issues, although they didn't affect the flavor like this one. The second had a rather poor draw, but still managed to be enjoyable (although not nearly as good as one and three). I see these cigars as embodying the Montecristo consistency problem: there will be some duds, but there will be some gems...I just wish the burn was better!

Tyler

(Pics below...I'll edit to make it look better when I can use a computer.)

[prettybigkat]

Nice review!

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[Scrubber]

Thank for the review.

Shame about the burn problems. Where did you smoke it? Was it very humid?

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[suggs]

The outside humidity was around 50/55, so I don't think the environment was it. I would think it was the big vein, but it wasn't affect the burn the whole time.

[markmurase]

Thanks for a great review. I've really enjoyed the Monte GE 2010 box that I have in the humidor: so much so that I don't have many left now.

Cheers, Mark

[bugman78629]

NICE.....

[Optic101]

Very nice review and picture !

[westg]

Nice review and pics

[phlee]

Nice review. Thanks !

[JohnS]

Sometimes, one can have a great cigar, full of flavour, yet have burn issues like you've described. If it's not storage issues, or the ambient environment whilst smoking, it could be the balance of the cigar itself. If the cigar has a little too much ligero leaf, that part of the cigar could be too slow-burning for the surrounding leaf to keep it lit.

At the very least, I'm glad that this cigar was so enjoyable for you.

[Stogieninja]

Love that last shot!

[CigSid]

Very nice review

[saintsmokealot]

Excellente!