Montecristo No. 2 - Unknown Code '18 (SMRW)

[UnoMas]

Intro: I was gifted a couple of sticks from this box. I got to smoke one a few weeks ago at the beach and it was one of the best cigars I’ve ever smoked. Great construction, even burn, and an incredible creamy vanilla flavor. It’s the first cigar I’ve smoked with a really poignant vanilla, and I was hoping to get that again out of this stick.

 

DISCLAIMER: This is my first cigar review. I have an intermediate palate, so there’s a pretty good chance I missed out on some intricacies. I hope to hone in my reviewing skills and writing one up seems like a good place to start.

 

Pre-Light: I’ve been dry boxing this stick for about 3 days. It was stored at 65% RH at 62F. The construction looks and feels great, with a nice oil on the wrapper. In a lot of reviews, people write about aroma and the taste of the cold draw, but I usually struggle to pick up on anything unique. However, on this cigar, there was a strong sweet aroma a lot like honey. The cold draw tasted like... tobacco, to me, and the draw was on the open side.

First Third: I lit the cigar with a match, which I have found gives me the best burn and smoothest opening. The smoke production is great, but the flavors are mild. Mostly coffee with a little bit of bitter chocolate. Little development and little complexity here. The ash looks great, and the burn is perfect. No touch ups.

Second Third: The smoke gets noticeably creamier here. The bitter chocolate gets sweeter. The coffee flavor is still present, and the two come together to create a mocha-like profile. Some mild pepper drifts in and out, adding a pleasant depth that wasn’t present in the first. There’s also a tone of something like hay or grass, which is fine but doesn’t blend well with the other flavors. The burn remains perfect.

Final Third: The coffee and grass flavors leave, and the chocolate and pepper remain. There are a few draws with light notes of vanilla. It lacks a lot of depth, but is still very enjoyable.

It lasted around 70 minutes. It was a good cigar, but it fell short of the Monte 2 I smoked a few weeks back. I was really hoping for that creamy vanilla, and it was lacking in that department. The burn was perfect from beginning to end and the ash was a chalky white that held well. I would call the strength mild to medium (both flavor and nicotine). I would call the last No. 2 I smoked a 94/100, and I would call this an 87/100.

 

Thanks for reading!

[RDB]

Nice review, good job! Monte 2 is a pretty straightforward cigar. The question is usually: how much chocolate, how much cream?

[UnoMas]

4 hours ago, RDB said:

Nice review, good job! Monte 2 is a pretty straightforward cigar. The question is usually: how much chocolate, how much cream?

That’s a fair point, and these aren’t the first two No. 2s I’ve had. It has in the past just been a smooth easy relaxing smoke for me without ever being overpowering and that’s also what I got last night. I really enjoyed the vanilla flavor of the one I smoked a little while back though. Do y’all have any recommendations for cigars that have nice vanilla flavors?

[StogieSteve23]

@UnoMas Nice review and a great stick to enjoy for it! The one stick that stands out in my mind for vanilla notes would be the HDM Epi De Luxe.  I also am a big fan of H. Upmann and think their sticks have a nice creamy, cedary and sometimes vanilla floral type smoke.  Connie A stands out. 

[UnoMas]

7 hours ago, StogieSteve23 said:

@UnoMas Nice review and a great stick to enjoy for it! The one stick that stands out in my mind for vanilla notes would be the HDM Epi De Luxe.  I also am a big fan of H. Upmann and think their sticks have a nice creamy, cedary and sometimes vanilla floral type smoke.  Connie A stands out. 

I wrote a reply earlier and submitted it but it looks like it got lost.

 

Thanks! I actually have some HDM EDLs in the humidor that’ve been sitting right next to some Upmann 2s for a few months and I’ve yet to try either. I’ll have set some out to try this week.

 

I’ve had Monte 2, 4, Edmundo, PE, MC, and Open Jr. The 2 and the MC are my favorites (and the Junior was my least favorite, of course). What should I try next of the Monte marca?

[Goodfortune]

Enjoyed your review. Thanks!

[RDB]

23 hours ago, UnoMas said:

Do y’all have any recommendations for cigars that have nice vanilla flavors?

I think of vanilla as a very high-toned aromatic sweetness, and true vanillin flavour as rare in cigars (as opposed to a more generic clean sugary sweetness). Hoyo seems a good recommendation, especially pale wrapper examples to avoid the darker flavours dominating. Maybe San Cristobal, but its mixed up with richer fruit flavours there. Maybe a really good sweet Cohiba can have a vanilla element, but again among lots of other flavour (citrus, grass, honey).

[StogieSteve23]

11 hours ago, UnoMas said:

I wrote a reply earlier and submitted it but it looks like it got lost.

 

Thanks! I actually have some HDM EDLs in the humidor that’ve been sitting right next to some Upmann 2s for a few months and I’ve yet to try either. I’ll have set some out to try this week.

 

I’ve had Monte 2, 4, Edmundo, PE, MC, and Open Jr. The 2 and the MC are my favorites (and the Junior was my least favorite, of course). What should I try next of the Monte marca?

I second what @RDB said in the sense that vanilla is a rare flavor in a cigar unless its infused but you can get hints, notes and certainly a sweet smoke smell off some sticks.  

Cohibas aged over I'd say at least 2 years (the more the merrier), Hoyo is good all around (I am partial to the Epi de Luxe, Epi 2 and Rio Seco), La Gloria Cubana - MDO4's (if you can find them - not officially discontinued but I haven't seen boxes younger than 2017 since 2018..), Punch (Punch Punch, Short de Punch, Punch 48), Ramon Allones (Specially Selected), lastly i'll say Quai d'Orsay (No. 54 & Coronas Claros - Coronas if you can find the old band ones from pre-2018, they're quite a bit better.  

These are in no way sticks I'm saying you'll get vanilla flavors or notes from but some will have similar characteristics and others are just damn good smokes to try if you have not!  This is just regular production stuff but when you dive into some LE's and RE's, the flavors can become quite complex and enjoyable (not all, there will always be duds in everything and not all editions that get put out are good, or might not be for several years down the line after its release) that you'll start wanting to explore a lot more! 

Hopefully there's a few sticks you find in that list that you like! 

[UnoMas]

2 hours ago, RDB said:

I think of vanilla as a very high-toned aromatic sweetness, and true vanillin flavour as rare in cigars (as opposed to a more generic clean sugary sweetness). Hoyo seems a good recommendation, especially pale wrapper examples to avoid the darker flavours dominating. Maybe San Cristobal, but its mixed up with richer fruit flavours there. Maybe a really good sweet Cohiba can have a vanilla element, but again among lots of other flavour (citrus, grass, honey).

 

46 minutes ago, StogieSteve23 said:

I second what @RDB said in the sense that vanilla is a rare flavor in a cigar unless its infused but you can get hints, notes and certainly a sweet smoke smell off some sticks.  

Cohibas aged over I'd say at least 2 years (the more the merrier), Hoyo is good all around (I am partial to the Epi de Luxe, Epi 2 and Rio Seco), La Gloria Cubana - MDO4's (if you can find them - not officially discontinued but I haven't seen boxes younger than 2017 since 2018..), Punch (Punch Punch, Short de Punch, Punch 48), Ramon Allones (Specially Selected), lastly i'll say Quai d'Orsay (No. 54 & Coronas Claros - Coronas if you can find the old band ones from pre-2018, they're quite a bit better.  

These are in no way sticks I'm saying you'll get vanilla flavors or notes from but some will have similar characteristics and others are just damn good smokes to try if you have not!  This is just regular production stuff but when you dive into some LE's and RE's, the flavors can become quite complex and enjoyable (not all, there will always be duds in everything and not all editions that get put out are good, or might not be for several years down the line after its release) that you'll start wanting to explore a lot more! 

Hopefully there's a few sticks you find in that list that you like! 

Sounds like I'm chasing something pretty elusive haha. I've tried/have a lot of the sticks y'all have mentioned, and the profile they somewhat share is definitely one I enjoy. I'm definitely going to dive into some REs soon. After the smoke clears it'll be easier to stomach $20+/stick, so hopefully it clears soon. Appreciate the recommendations guys! Definitely gonna hunt down some of these that I haven't tried.

[Islandboy]

Nice review!

i agree that vanilla is as elusive as it is enjoyable when happened upon. In my experience, it’s a flavor that seems to present itself at a certain point in the aging process, and is gone fairly quickly. My most notable vanilla experience was with a few Diplomatico 2’s at a fairly young age - about a year in. 

As far as the essence of vanilla, or a creamy version of it, Hoyo de Monterrey is a solid bet. 

[Theophilus]

Great review thanks!

[joey rockets]

I smoke too much and have ended up with a jaded palate but I do get some flavors.  Unsweetened chocolate is consistent with Monte.