Count Chocula’s Cocoa Dreams - Monte #2 Review MSU JUL 19 - MRW2

[Plato]

If Count Chocula was a cigar smoker, he would be in heaven with this Montecristo No 2. This box certainly fits with the trend that Monte 2’s have been fantastic in 2019.

Appearance:  Flawless appearance and Construction. This entire box is stunning. The photos don’t really give it justice. Box smells of earth and with a little bit of that barnyard funk that young boxes tend to have. Smells delicious. 

 

Cold Draw: I did a straight cut. Draw is perfect.  Not too loose, not too tight. Goldilocks. Perfect. Cold draw flavors of earth...barnyard. Sweet tobacco. 

 

First third:  

 

This bad boy comes out swinging hard right from the opening bell. Medium minus intensity. Chocolate.  Milk chocolate, not dark. Milk chocolate cocoa powder is what it tastes like. For a young smoke this is really impressive. I would be a happy camper if it kept this up the entire way. Hoping it doesn’t fall apart in the second and final thirds. 4/4 stars for first third. 

 

Second third:  Perfect burn. Check out the ash in the photo.  I can’t even shake this thing off. Best construction I’ve seen on a Monte 2 in a while. Milk chocolate is still there, but it is starting to gain intensity. Some cream. Flavors have moved from medium minus to medium. Love it. 4/4 stars on second third. Can it maintain this pace!?!

 

Final Third:

 

Milk Chocolate becomes dark chocolate as intensity rises from medium to medium plus. Burn gets a little wonky at times but nothing that a touch up can’t fix. The finish is long, rich, and satisfying.  I take it down to the nub. Which is rare on a young cigar for me. Can’t wait to see what these bad boys look over the next five years. But honestly they are giving me so much pleasure now I will have a hard time waiting on these. 

Final thoughts: 

 

Note:  I had this stick stored at the top of my Avallo humidor in the cedar slotted tray so it gets airflow from my fans. Humidor is at 65 RH and 67 Degrees Fahrenheit. Considering I only received these in the mail three weeks ago I am blown away. The current production Monte 2s are hitting it out if the park. Final rating; 94 points out of 100.  My mouth literally feels coated in milk chocolate and cocoa powder...delicious. I can only imagine how much of a firecracker these are gonna be with a little more age. These are gonna be all time classics. Buy. Buy. Buy. Though Monte 2s can be hit or miss ... when they are ON they are REALLY ON. Why can’t every Monte #2 be like this? Why can’t they just be more consistent.  Oh well, a man can dream!