Montecristo Especial MOL JUN 18 (FRCSW4)

[bishop532]

The Monte Especial is a cigar I’ve never tried. After reading @Bijan’s review from last year, I was intrigued and decided to pick one up. I’m a big fan of the Espy no. 2, so I was interested to see how this would compare. 

The wrapper is a gorgeous milk chocolate color, with almost no veins in sight. It feels a tad overstuffed. The aroma at cold is spicy chocolate and cedar.  The cold draw is quality tobacco, wood, and earth. The draw was kind of tight. I used my cigar tool to open it up a bit, as I don’t like when there is too much resistance. 

I lit it up and took my dogs out. The weather is warming up a bit here; I think it hit 45 F today. The beginning was pretty light - some earth, a few floral notes, and very little else to start. After maybe ten minutes some cedar and spice flavors started to develop. I tried a few retrohales, and found that’s where the flavor was in the first third. It was a very rich dark chocolate note that hung around and combined with everything else very nicely. 

The second third showed up with a tasty biscuit flavor about forty-five minutes in. Behind this was cocoa, wood, and floral notes. The construction was a getting little tight again and the cigar needed a relight about halfway in. The retro was earth, leather, and chocolate. 

The final third was very complex. The floral note moved to the fore. There was a kind of spicy vegetal flavor, along with more wood and earth. Cocoa and white pepper faded in and out at times. The retro became a sort of spicy cinnamon and black pepper mix. I have to say, I missed that biscuit flavor from the middle of the cigar, but the combination was still pretty damn good. 

I liked this cigar. It was a great way to enjoy the slightly warmer weather as it was a long, slow-burning stick with a ton of flavor. The construction could have been better, and that hurts the score a bit for me. It was too tight and needed a couple relights. That said, the flavor makes up for a lot. 

I think I’d rate the average Especiales no. 2 a touch higher, but it’s definitely neck and neck. I’m glad I gave this cigar a try. 
 

Total Smoking Time: 2 hours 2 minutes 

Score: 91/100