JohnS' Smoking Diary 2024

[JohnS]

Por Larrañaga Petit Coronas EML May 2014

I know that I had a Por Larranaga Petit Coronas just a few weeks ago, but I think my curiosity got the better of me. Will I get a PLPC from this box that is laden in caramel?

This is the sixth cigar from this 50-count box. (Obviously...as Por Larranaga Petit Coronas only come in 50-count packaging, paradoxically. They were once available in a 25-count option, but this was discontinued around 2002.) Much like my fifth cigar from this box, smoked only a few weeks ago (as I mentioned), it began with gorgeous notes of caramel. In the middle third, it settled into a mix of caramel, coffee and wood. From the last third onwards it was more 'woody', like oak, much like my last three PLPCs smoked in the last six months.

This PLPC was less 'toasty' in its texture on the palate, but still easy to smoke, whereas my third PLPC was heavier on the tongue; and especially so in the back half. However, unlike my fourth PLPC, the construction here was on-point because it did not necessitate any re-lights.

In summary, I would say that this Por Larranaga Petit Coronas was every bit as exemplary as my first one from the box and better than my last cigar from this box because it had notes of caramel, which kept me interested whilst smoking it over 70 minutes. I can't say if and/or when this box will develop so that the cigars are pre-dominant in caramel, but at least the signs are there. I think I will leave things there and re-visit this box down the track to allow it to develop further.

[JohnS]

Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2 UTL Jul 2019

This was my tenth Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2 from a 5x3 cardboard pack I acquired in late 2020. This means that I've gone through two-thirds of its contents in four years. I smoked the first four HdM Epi 2s within six months but the fifth was smoked twelve months later. The sixth one was smoked three months after the fifth one. The seventh one was smoked two months later and the eighth one six months after that. This ninth one was smoked five months after I smoked the eighth one. This tenth one today was smoked fourteen months after the last one. After smoking now through sixty-seven percent of the content of this cardboard pack, I'm confident that the question of aging in cardboard packaging will be but a moot point as eight of the ten cigars thus far smoked have been great to excellent, and the other two were serviceably fine.

Like my last HdM Epi 2, the draw here was fine. The cigar started off with a light milk cocoa, cedar and creamy texture. In the first two-thirds there was some malt and vanilla sweetness on the edges which I found quite agreeable to my palate. From the end of the second third, I did get a touch of spice and the cigar was more 'woody' in the last third, but overall this Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2 smoked as well as I could hope for. It was quite satisfying. Yes, very!

All my HdM Epi 2s from this box code have been light in strength. The fifth one had quite a lot of flavour to it and the smoke per puff was quite voluminous. It took me an unbelievable two hours to smoke. By contrast, the next two HdM Epi 2s took me a more standard 70 minutes to smoke. This one took about 65 minutes. It's interesting how one can get such a variance in smoking time from the same vitola!

I now only have five sticks of these UTL Jul 2019 Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2 left in my humidor. As I've said, these have been quite satisfying overall, so far. It's nice when you have a box of Habanos cigars and they prove to be consistently reliable. I don't need to tell you that it's less common than what one would like!

[JohnS]

Montecristo Wide Edmundo UBL Mar 2024

The Montecristo Wide Edmundo is the fourth instalment in the Edmundo line after the Edmundo (2004), Petit Edmundo (2006) and Double Edmundo (2013). It was announced in 2021 and released in October 2022 at a premiere party at the Cívitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain. The cigar is packaged in a semi boîte nature box of 25 cigars, a semi boîte nature box of 10 cigars and a display box of 15 aluminium tubed cigars in 5 cardboard packs of 3. At the time of writing this review, those Montecristo Wide Edmundo tubos are yet to see the 'light of day'. In any case, this UBL Mar 2024 Monte Wide Edmundo is the second one I've had from this 10-count box I acquired and it was smoked about four months after I had my initial one ROTT (Right-off-the-truck).

With a 54 ring gauge and a 4⅞ inch (or 125 millimetres) length, the Montecristo Wide Edmundo has a unique vitola called a Duke No.3. (Although, I distinctly remember that the Trinidad Topes Limited Edition and regular production release are close in size to the Monte Wide Edmundo, with an identical length but with a ring gauge slightly larger - that is, 56 rg.)

Last time, I punch cut the large head with my Credo 3-in-1 punch cutter, but this time I used my straight cutter. The cigar opened with soft cocoa and cream texture, along with hints of Cointreau, vanilla and nuttiness. As the cigar progressed through the first third it was joined by some citrus twang, but was not as woody and/or 'Earthy' as my first one from the box (at this point of the cigar). The draw had a slight element of resistance, which is ideal for a Habanos cigar and the cigar's complexity was evident from how it smoked in the first third.

Once again, there was plenty of smoke per puff with a solid, consistent ash, reflecting an impeccable construction. The first third had a strength at a medium-light level, without any harshness that you can be found sometimes in youthful cigars.

In the second third, the cigar evolved and settled into a combination of coffee, leather, fruit and spice, similarly to last time. This cigar is a slight departure from Montecristo cigars, in my opinion, in its complex mix of flavours. Think of the cedar of a Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill with the pepper and fruit of a Partagas Serie P No.2, and you'll get close to what I was blissfully smoking in this Montecristo Wide Edmundo today.

At the halfway point, the burn was on-point, but the strength developed more potency than your typical Montecristo cigar.

In the final third of the cigar, the strength slightly increased, naturally. Towards the end, the dominant flavours of nuts, wood and leather remained. Perhaps you could add that there was an 'Earthiness' too. As the cigar reached its nub and was burning my fingertips, it was obvious that this was an excellent smoke. The construction was flawless, with a perfect draw and burn. The cigar had a consistent flavour profile from beginning to end.

My conclusion on the Montecristo Wide Edmundo remains the same. It is a highly satisfying Habanos cigar that offers a rich flavour profile that stays faithful to the Montecristo marca, while incorporating other Cuban flavours found in other marcas. The experience is like a fat robusto with Montecristo flavors, making it a nice alternative to cigars like the Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills or the H Upmann 54.

[JohnS]

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art

The Arturo Fuente Hemingway Work of Art was ranked no.6 in Cigar Aficionado's Top 25 cigars of the year in 2018. It's difficult to roll, yet Arturo Fuente still finds a way to maintain consistency in construction with these perfecto-shaped cigars. The Cameroon wrapper indeed imparts a wonderful sweetness to the blend and the shape of the cigar induces fantastic transitions on the palate.

The ring gauge of the Work of Art is 60 rg at its most widest, hits 56 rg at the midway point, and decreases to 46 rg around the band. It takes great skill for torcedores to create this complex vitola. That, there is no doubt! It's available in Natural and Maduro varieties. The wrapper (of this Natural version), as mentioned, is of the Cameroon sweet variety and both the binder and filler contain aged Dominican tobacco.

I smoked quite a number of the AF Hemingway Work of Art cigars in 2022, especially during my Christmas/New Year vacation period which I didn't necessarily smoke to review. Instead, I smoked them quite simply for enjoyment. Having said this, I only smoked two in 2023 and now this is my third one in 2024.

Once again, the opening was sweet, yet less sweet than my previous forays into this cigar. This time around it was like a mixture of white chocolate, sweet shortbread and hay in the first third. (Six months ago I got some honey in the first third. Not so this time.) Thereafter, the cigar settled into its usual pattern. There was cedar, some shortbread and hay in the middle third, which saw the addition of some white pepper dominate in the last third. The journey this cigar took from the first third onwards reflected much the same course that my previous two Arturo Hemingway Works of Art took this year.

In summary, I've smoked enough Arturo Fuente Hemingway Series cigars, and more so since Habanos S.A.'s price re-structure in mid-2022, to warrant a guarantee that these cigars have become a welcome feature of my humidor. They'll continue to do so well into the future, no matter what that same future brings in store for Habanos S.A.

[JohnS]

El Rey del Mundo Demi Tasse ART Feb 2022

The El Rey del Mundo Demi Tasse can be such a delightful little flavour bomb on the proviso that they have decent construction. By that I mean whether they are rolled correctly or not. My previous box of MLU Dic 2018 ERdM Demi Tasses had far too many samples with construction issues for my liking. I have an older SGA Sep 2016 box which has been much better; alas, I've only smoked five of them, with only two of them smoked in the last five-and-a-half years. This ART Feb 2022 ERdM Demi Tasse was the first one smoked from a recently acquired box.

Thankfully, much like my last ERdM Demi Tasse smoked one year ago, this entreactos cigar was rolled well; I didn't need to re-light it once, it wasn't under-filled, it didn't burn harshly and it had a good ash-length throughout. Whereas my previous aged SGA Sep 2016 ERdM Demi Tasse had a usual lemon citrus combining with a core fruit and shortbread profile, some floral and honey notes; this much younger ART Feb 2022 ERdM Demi Tasse was quite different. It was more 'fruity', with much less shortbread and honey and no floral notes that are more likely to be associated with El Rey del Mundo Demi Tasse cigars that are aged.

So, considering that SGA Sep 2016 ERdM Demi Tasse is now eight years of years of age, and is coming in to its 'peak period', (if you aren't sure what that term means, simply put, it signifies that period of time whereby a box of cigars is assumed to be smoking at its best) this ART Feb 2022 ERdM Demi Tasse was no less satisfying over thirty-five minutes of smoking time.

Yes, indeed I can be well-pleased that this ErdM Demi Tasse today smoked every bit as well as my last one from my SGA Sep 2016 box. It was a nice change-of-pace from usual fare of Habanos cigars that I normally smoke within this blog series.

[JohnS]

Montecristo No.2 PGM Ago 2022

When it comes to the Montecristo No.2, in my experience, it varies more than other Habanos cigars, in my view, in their wrapper shades, their construction quality, their dominant flavour characteristics that you want to smoke one on occasion, just in case you 'land on' a superlative example. It's worth noting that since the re-structure of Habanos S.A.'s regular production catalogue in mid-2022, both in terms of an increase in pricing and decrease in supply, cigars such as the Montecristo No.2, Partagas Serie D No.4 and to a lesser extent, the Montecristo No.4 have been readily available. It's also worth noting that since mid-2022 both the Partagas Serie D No.4 and Montecristo No.2 have maintained a solid reputation, generally-speaking, for their smoking performance.

Personally, my humidor has five different box codes of varying amounts (around three to six sticks of each now) of Montecristo No.2 so that I can take in and experience the differences one gets in Monte 2s that are dark-wrappered, light-wrappered, young, mid-aged or aged and a combination thereof. Having said this, I have in fact been enamoured with my aged PMS Abr 2015 10-count box of Montecristo No.2s of late; so much so that I have smoked six sticks from this box code since the beginning of 2022. What was the last young Montecristo No.2, therefore, that I smoked? None other than SOR Jun 2020 Montecristo No.2 at the end of 2021! Therefore, I was eager today to see how this post mid-2022 PGM Ago 2022 smoked today (the first from a recently acquired 25-count box), given their recent reputation.

So what are you looking for when you smoke a Montecristo No 2? You may be seeking a strong cocoa/coffee flavour profile, or maybe more leather, nut and /or citrus twang, for example. Perhaps a fuller-bodied cigar or a lighter one? The Montecristo No.2 is the type of cigar that can deliver this variance of outcomes.

This PGM Ago 2022 Montecristo No.2 cigar opened with a gorgeous and luscious creamy cocoa profile that quickly drew me in to its potential quality. It had a deep colorado wrapper shade with plenty of sheen and was was well-balanced in its flavours. Alongside that creamy-textured cocoa, there was also coffee, nut and a hint of citrus twang which reinforced why I keep these in my humidor and why I keep coming back to them, much like the last few times I have smoked this cigar.

I last smoked a SOR Jun 2020 Montecristo No.2 about six months ago and in my review on that cigar I mentioned that I was curious to learn how the Montecristo No.2 has been faring in production since those major changes I mentioned in mid-2022. Now that I have acquired a box to compare, even despite the large price increase since the last time I purchased some, I now lament that nowadays the Montecristo No.2 has become a status symbol amongst Habanos cigars which represents something that the average cigar enthusiast would smoke much less often than prior to mid-2022. What a shame, especially given how superbly this particular specimen smoked today.