Popular Post cfc1016 Posted January 13, 2019 Popular Post Posted January 13, 2019 I'm writing this as I melt into the couch with an intense bodily and heady nicotine buzz, so you'll forgive me if I begin to wax poetic a bit. I'm normally repulsed by the overly flowery descriptions of 'hay and honey this' and 'hints of cardamom that', but this cigar had a lot of nuanced development, so I think it deserves a bit of prose and nonsensical whimsy. You've been warned. A few of you who are familiar with my tastes will know that I'm not generally a huge Monte fan, and am particularly wary of the no. 2, for my personal history with its notorious inconsistency of flavor/quality - often evidenced even by a handful of cigars from a single box. This was one of 'the good ones', and deserves a bit of attention. Special thanks to @Hotboxx for giving me this. --- Pre-light: The cigar has a delightful mottled colorado rosado wrapper. Nice nutty scent to it - sorta chocolatey. The cold draw was gentle, with a light flavor of dark chocolate, and sort of grassy. --- 1st 3rd: The onset of flavors was pretty gradual in the 1st 3rd - no drastic shifts, but instead subtle waves of transition. Draw is consistently medium-tight - what @Ken Gargett would probably describe as perfect, and @PigFish would approach with his signature 'dot dash' technique. An underlying flavor would pursue throughout - sort of the flavor equivalent of that lovely aroma when you first open your humidor. The initial impression was a subtle cinnamon. This would be frequently, and understatedly rehashed at various points throughout the ~90 minute duration. This gradually segued into an oaky tinge that coated the back of the tongue, most notably. Flavor vacillated for a while between this oaky flavor and leather - like the smell of a well worn leather coat that's seen its fair share of nights by the campfire. These flavors fell off as the cigar presented a very clear, if unassuming light black peppery flavor for the remainder of the 1st 3rd. As I find myself wont to do with larger cigars, especially figurados and other 'big-ring' cigars, I chopped a sliver (~1mm at most) of the head off and gave it a purge as I progressed into the 2nd 3rd. --- 2nd 3rd: If the pace of flavor change in the 1st 3rd could be described as 'gentle breakers', we started to enter the whitecaps here. The transitions were more rapid, but not overwhelming - still allowing me time to clearly perceive and process each flavor that was developing. Draw is opening up now and smoke production is getting heavier. The late black peppery flavor of the 1st 3rd gave way to a sort of spicy cocoa tinge - like that of a rough Mexican chocolate. Briefly, I got that fatty, iron-like profile I can only describe as 'steak'. This is something I quite adore, and seem to get glimpses of most often in Montecristos, but not enough to cause me to favor them. Still early in this 3rd, I started getting a lot of clove in the retrohale. This... I like. The leather started to come in again. That coat has seen a lot of campfires, hasn't it? Perhaps as a function of the fact that I've mostly been smoking cigarillos, minutos, and PCs of late, I'm starting to feel an intense, generally present nicotine body buzz. I begin to sink into the couch now. The cinnamon from earlier starts popping up again and again, now consistently complimented by a pronounced note of cedar. For a good few puffs late in this third, It tastes just like a heavily peppered, fatty pork chop. I kid you not. Chop and purge as I venture on to the final 3rd. --- Final 3rd: We've left the whitecaps and ventured out to heavy seas, gentlemen. The breakers are but a distant memory, long faded in the rear view mirror of our minds. The violent, yet somehow simultaneously elegant and refined flavor transitions splash an invigorating spray across the bow. The smoke is billowing now, like the brutal BBFs of old. Welcome to flavortown, my dudes. I'm met after that last chop and purge with a bell-ringing blast of gingerbread - that sort of lebkuken-y thing I often use to describe my love of a principe. The cloves on the retrohale are replaced with intense black pepper now - like when you bite that little bit of 'who knows what' that was stuck in your teeth, only to realize, quite startlingly, that it was a piece of peppercorn. Intense. I got a few fleeting distinct impressions here that I can only describe as tasting like cola. It made my tastebuds tingle as if splashed with carbonation. I get a brief hint of bitterness with about 1.5-2" of cigar left, so I chop and purge again. This was clearly called for, as I'm now instantly greeted by a BLAST of spicy citrus - like a navel orange soaked in chili oil. Retrohale becomes dark chocolately now. My lips are tingling from the nicotine by this point. The steak flavor barrels in, like a bull in a china shop. Woof. I suddenly realize that I've been imperceptibly developing a really strong, heady nicotine buzz. Cue 'Cornelius Bros. and Sister Rose - Too Late To Turn Back'. Quick purge. A memory of Gary Oldman flashes through my head, from 'Leon: The Professional' - "I like these calm little moments before the storm. It reminds me of Beethoven." Now we enter the final crescendo of 'Ode to Joy'. Cue the timpani. WALNUT! LEATHER! CINNAMON!! TOAST!! GINGERBREAD GINGERBREAD GINGERBREAD!!! The cigar goes out with a bang, with less than an inch of nub remaining, and the smoke production dwindles. The symphony is over. The violins are barely audible as the orchestra falls to a heap, having given every iota of energy at their disposal. That's a wrap. I will sleep well tonight, thank you very much. 11 2
Burningman Posted January 13, 2019 Posted January 13, 2019 Wow it sounds like a very memorable experience. Thanks for posting! 1
thedame007 Posted January 13, 2019 Posted January 13, 2019 27 minutes ago, cfc1016 said: so you'll forgive me if I begin to wax poetic a bit [...] I think it deserves a bit of prose and nonsensical whimsy. You've been warned. Your poetical whimsy is always welcome at my door, sir! Really enjoyed the review, and it certainly felt I was witnessing this epic fandango in real time! Bravo, and may your whimsy live long and true! 2
peteando Posted January 13, 2019 Posted January 13, 2019 Nice review! This got me hungry for leibkuchen. Great flavor discriptor. 1
cfc1016 Posted January 13, 2019 Author Posted January 13, 2019 6 hours ago, peteando said: Nice review! This got me hungry for leibkuchen. Great flavor discriptor. Thanks! My dad spent the 70s in Munchen, and used to have a German Christmas party every year. Gluvine, cloved oranges all over the place, pfefferneusse - the whole 9. It's a very sentimental flavor for me - recalls a lot of pleasant childhood memories.
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