Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especial TOS Sep 15: HDM Review Comp 2016

[Danimalia]

I'm not sure if this one will be in before the deadline, as I see the contest announcement has a conflicting day/date. I smoked this opne at a coffee shop where they never hassle you for smoking on their outdoor patio, but their WiFi filter prevents me from accessing FOH because of "tobacco" content. Go figure! Photo below is from a different stick than the one smoked for this review. Didn't have my camera on me.

 

 

 

Visual Appearance: From a SLB of 10. Medium-brown wrapper. Oily appearance. Mostly attractive, the veins and seams aren’t too prominent. Slightly gritty, hard shell-like feel to the wrap

Pre-light draw: Firm, but workable. Citrus and cinnamon, with a hint of spice.

First 3rd: Light to medium body. Mostly sweet cream, honey, graham. The draw is not great, but the cigar is smoke-able.

Second 3rd: Same body. Graham, sweet cream. Not much complexity. Maybe a very slight herbal taste in the background. Thinking rosemary. So far, the burn has been excellent. The draw is starting to bother me now, and I wish there was more body/substance to the smoke, because the flavors are quite excellent as per usual.

Last 3rd: The toastiness has made an appearance. The overall flavor profile is still quite sweet, but there's a bit more richness present now. There is a very nice breadiness that I am noticing now, like a good San Francisco sourdough. 

Final Thoughts: This cigar was good, but it just won't score as high as most of the others I've had from this box. The others have had more complexity, more body, and more generous draws. Additionally, this cigar lacked some of the notes I have picked up in the others, specifically a very interesting and aromatic floral aspect. I still enjoyed the smoke, but can't rate it any higher than an 88 or 89, mainly because of the tight draw. Most cigars have been around 92ish, and the best couple have been 93/94ish. Overall, I highly recommend this cigar. It's a great thing.. A cigar that packs a ton of flavor into a medium-at-most body. I think it could appeal to just about any cigar smoker.

Total Smoke Time: 70 minutes.

[Danimalia]

Smoke time has been kind of weird. They've run from 55-70 minutes. Last two smoked before this EE have been a RyJ Mille Fleur (5x42) and a HU Majestic (5.5x40) and both lasted longer than these EEs I've been smoking. I know smoke time depends on a lot of factors, but I would have expected the Gorditos to last longer than the Cremas and Marevas.

[TheMonk]

Nice review, cheers!

[miurajus]

Thanks for the review!!  I enjoyed reading it.  I too get stumped when my short smokes end up running longer than larger/longer sticks.. Keep track and I'll do the same, maybe we can compare notes down the line.