Cigar Review: Montecristo MONTE

Vitola: Conde (Robusto)
Size: 5.5” x 48 ring gauge
MSRP $8.95
Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

A couple years back, Altadis pretty much left me stunned with the release of the Montecristo Epic. Try as I might, I couldn’t think of an Altadis product before that I would gladly go out and repeatedly pay money for until the Epic showed up. I know, I know…it sounds unkind to say…but it’s the truth! Romeo y Julieta as a brand is in the top 3 premium cigar brands year in and year out (often topping the list), but I just can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed them very much. Even the RoMEo didn’t do much for me. And I had pretty much given up on the Montecristo label as being anything that would appeal to me. For Epic, they put together team called “Grupo de Maestros” to create a new blend. And let’s be honest…the job was to create a new blend that would appeal to today’s cigar enthusiasts. Result: spectacular, if somewhat pricey, smoke. What would they do for an encore?

The Grupo de Maestros unveiled the MONTE at 2013’s IPCPR show. This is what’s on the company website:

Though its name is short and succinct, the MONTE is a cigar with a wealth of complexity and depth. The MONTE’s signature feature is the inclusion of two binders: a spicy Dominican Olor combined with a strong and aromatic Nicaraguan Corojo which adds strength, firmness and complexity. This brand-new offering from the Grupo de Maestros is the most robust Montecristo yet, putting a revolutionary twist on a revered classic. The two binders couple seamlessly with aged Dominican filler and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper to create an unforgettable experience.

Montecristo is one of the most iconic brands in the world. Each premium cigar in the long line of Montecristos is a distinguished and enduring smoke. The MONTE is unquestionably a cigar worthy of upholding this legendary mantle.

There is some important stuff going on with this cigar. After the success of Epic, the group that blended it was tasked with coming up with something else great, but costing far less. While Epic started quite a bit north of the $10 mark, the biggest vitolas of this one barely reach that price. Second, there is a great opportunity to have fun with the name of this cigar…maybe a Corona called “3-Card” or a 7×70 called “Full”…I don’t know…maybe it’s just how my brain works.

In case you missed it, Aged Dominican leaf for the filler, dual binders (one each of Dominican Olor and Nicaraguan Corojo), and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. I smoked this blend once before this review (several weeks prior) and purchased this review sample at Burns Tobacconist.

Prelight

As with the Epic, they went with the 2-band approach on the Monte. The primary band is the same basic design as Montecristo has been using for decades…brown, white and gold with a fleur de lis; the secondary band wraps the word MONTE is large red lettering around half the cigar on a black background, so that you cannot see it all without rotating the stick. There’s another fleur de lis that bleeds off the edge, then on the back MONTE above the triangular Montecristo logo, oriented sideways. Not a bad look, although perhaps it’s time to jump ship from the primary traditional band and do something totally new. The wrapper leaf was a medium brown, just a bit lighter than the brown of that primary band, and it was shiny with oils. An almost imperceptible pigtail finished off the head of the stick. It was flattened against the cap when I took off the cellophane and really wasn’t all that long to begin with.

I got an aroma of sweet hay and natural tobacco from the wrapper leaf, along with a touch of woodiness and a deep earth on the foot. The cap came off cleanly and I got a very good draw. The prelight flavors were of hay, a lightly sweet dried fruit, and just a bit of cedar.

Flavor

Once I got the MONTE going, I noted flavors of hay and creamy coffee right up front, with lesser notes of cedar that blended in quite well. There was small hit of white pepper on the palate, while the nose was nutty at first, then gained a little pepper spice as the proceedings continued. As I moved into the second third, I noticed the cedar flavor getting more prominent and a solid earthiness moving into the mix. The coffee notes got dark, as well, exuding more of an espresso vibe.

As I neared the final third, I picked up on a mustiness, faintly reminiscent of what you get in some Davidoff products. I took that to be the influence of the Dominican Olor leaf in the mix. By this time the body was definitely in the medium-to-full range after the cigar started on the mild side of medium.

Construction

Build quality on this stick was excellent. The draw was flawless, the ash was rock solid, and the burn line needing only very minor touching up.

Value

When factoring in the level of complexity and the excellent construction, I have to say this cigar is a very good value.

Conclusions

MONTE was a fine cigar. Putting all my cards on the table, I didn’t enjoy it as much as Epic, but I can say that this is the second Montecristo blend in the past couple years that I enjoyed and would buy again. The fact that the price is very reasonable on adds to that conclusion. Fans of Montecristo Classic and their other old blends might be very surprised and a little put off by the relatively full body of this blend. Detractors of the brand might be surprised that it is actually quite good.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10