How do I introduce the Montecristo No. 2? Anyone with even a few months in the cigar world will know that, among Cubans, the Monte No. 2 is one of the most recommended and revered.
The purpose of this review is to find out: is the Montecristo No. 2 really that good?
For those of you who hate reading, my answer is an unequivocal “yes.” Read the review below to find out why.
Montecristo No. 2 Review
Blend Specifics
Size: 6.125 x 52 Torpedo
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Appearance & Construction
The Montecristo No. 2 is slightly springy to the touch. I love how the band features a metallic, reflective gold insignia. Certainly is very different from the Montecristos most people are smoking from Altadis in the states (though they have their own well-branded cigars as well).
The Cuban wrapper is a light, cedar brown. The pre-light draw reveals sweet notes of cocoa, earth, and touches of spice.
Flavor & Smoke Characteristics
As I toast the foot, the smoke that is released from the foot of the cigar smells intensely of almonds breadiness, and cinnamon. On the first few puffs, I’m greeted with extremely smooth smoke that carries with it the almond and cinnamon notes from the foot, along with the spice from the pre-light draw, some oak, and touches of salt.
The draw is neither loose nor restrictive, just right in the middle. Smoke production is great.
By an inch in, I’m really amazed at how cool, smooth, and fine the smoke is, even while offering a tremendous amount of flavor. Added in to the mix is a subtle oak and oatiness.
Moving into the second third, the body climbs from mild-medium to solid medium. The flavor has changed too, introducing a subtle salty/savory note. Still solid medium. Construction has been nearly flawless.
As I move into the final third, the body picks up once again, moving the Montecristo No. 2 into solid medium-full bodied territory. The oak has shifted to a sharper, drier cedar note, and the spice has morphed into white and black pepper. Half an inch after that, body and strength increases again into a solid full. I smoke this cigar down to the nub.
Conclusion
Smoking the Montecristo No. 2 is a revelation. It presents an experience that every cigar smoker, from a beginner to a veteran, will love. It is frankly impossible to understate the flavor, complexity, and harmony of the smoking experience that the Montecristo No. 2 provides.
Purchase these cigars at official Habanos SA kiosks internationally or at popular websites like Puro Express.
The Montecristo Relentless, joining a long line of Montecristo brand extensions, is manufactured at the Tabacalera de Garcia in La Romana, Dominican Republic by Altadis S.A., a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco Group. The Relentless is specially made for Famous Smoke in Pennsylvania. The cigar for this review came from Famous Smoke.
Blend Specifics
Cigar: Montecristo Relentless
Vitola: Toro 6” x 54
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Mexican San Andres
Filler: Nicaraguan and Brazilian Mata Fina
Appearance and Construction: The Montecristo Relentless has a very light coffee with milk complexion, very minimal veins, tight, almost invisible seams, a slight oil sheen, and a very smooth silky feel. Evenly dense feel throughout with a nice spongy give. A good-looking triple cap and overall presentation looks great.
Flavor and Smoke Characteristics
Cold Aromas: Off the wrapper is a hefty cedar and dry wood. The foot shows cedar, caramel and hay, with a hint of hazelnut to cashew note. Dry yet, sweet. The cold draw presents hay, a slight buttery nuttiness, cedar, and a salty taste left behind on the lips. The draw is very open and airy with just a touch of tension.
First Third: The first notes are dry and bitter hay with a touch of bitter coffee bean, with a transition into cedar and a dry woody finish. The draw is very open and airy, providing plumes of creamy smoke right off the bat, though the smoke has a bit of grit to it. Burn line looks phenomenal from the start, and the aroma is a salt and cedar mix. Ash is a salt and pepper grey and has a nice formation. There’s also a slight touch of cinnamon on the draw but doesn’t last long at all. Settling in, the smoke does start to develop a creamy buttery feel and that feeling also last through on the tongue and in the nose until the next draw, which starts to develop a cashew and almond note. From the looks, this may be a fast burner, but we’ll see how things progress. The butter and hay hold the main stage while the cedar has dropped a bit.
The profile is medium in body, medium in flavor, and medium in strength. While the flavor is weighed at medium, I find this cigar to be quite flavorful and semi-complex. There is also a slight grass and vegetable note that lingers for a bit but doesn’t come that far into the fold. The ash holds very nicely, and pretty well, even at 1.5 inches. Starting the transition from the first third to the second, the caramel that was found on the foot is starting to become more present in the smoke. It is not heavy but noticeable, and provides a nice smooth creamy texture, slightly syrupy, to the already smooth and creamy smoke. There is also a touch of white pepper that also comes up on the finish, and leaves a little tingle on the tongue. The finish is clean but not short-lived.
Second Third: The ash is still holding strong, and usually I would have tapped it off by this point but I’ll do the cigar justice let it see how far it wants to go before falling off on its own. Flavors are holding steady with the hay, caramel, butter, cedar, and touch of white pepper mix. Aroma is hay, cedar, and a touch of saltiness; that saltiness can also be found in a minimal amount on the finish in the nose as well. Burn line still looks really good and performance is phenomenal. Smoke production is still airy, clean, thick and plumy. The ash fell off on its own at 2 inches as one solid chunk. The smoke is extremely cool. The profile is still holding at medium in body, medium in flavor, and medium in strength. Removing the bands is fairly ok, the smaller top band comes off easily and the larger black band comes off fairly easy as well, but it did pull a little bit of the wrapper. Though, this was minor and shouldn’t affect the performance. The caramel has dropped a bit, leaving more of a dry hay and slight cedar profile. The white pepper has also been completely dropped.
Final Third: The butter is transitioning into a fuller nuttiness and taking on the characteristics of almond. The hay is still the main note but dropping a bit as the almond becomes a greater competing factor. The cedar is still sticking around as well. The smoke is still creamy, thick and plumy. The aroma is still wonderfully cedar and salt. This cigar ends at medium in body, medium in flavor, and medium in strength for a very consistent smoke.
Final Thoughts
While not a very complex or heavy cigar, there’s a decent amount of flavor and roundedness to be found in the Montecristo Relentless. The profile stays consistent throughout the session as a medium, through and through. This cigar is filled with great billows of smoke, aided with its open and loose draw with just the right amount of tension, providing greater control to the smoker. As stated earlier, this cigar is surprisingly flavorful and something I’ve always enjoyed about cigars that utilize an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper. They tend to provide much more flavor and durability than U.S. Connecticut Shade wrappers. The blend here delivers a concoction of hay, caramel, cedar, touches of grass, salt and white pepper notes and a roundedness of buttery almond. An enjoyable any time of day smoke, though preferable for the morning and early afternoon before breakfast or brunch.
The burn stays consistent and doesn’t stray at any point, and can also be put down for a minute or so without fear of going out. While it does come off as a fast burner, this is mostly an illusion as the cigar definitely last a good smoking time, which satisfies the appetite but also doesn’t last too long.
Similar cigars are the Gurkha Park Avenue.
Smoking time was 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Grade: A
Update: you can read a list of our top three favorite cigars from Montecristo cigars here.
This is a review by Charlie Freeman, a frequent Fine Tobacco NYC event guest and a personal friend of mine. Enjoy the review, and drop a comment if you have thoughts!
In New York you can find just about any kind of cigar from around the world. You can even find Cubans if you know where to look. But lately I’ve been keen to find something that can only be found in New York itself. So what better place to start than with the Montecristo New York Connoisseur Edition? As the name suggests, this is a one-of-a-kind stogie that can only be found within the one-of-a-kind city whose name it bears.
Blend Specifics
Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican
Vitola: Corona Gorda, Box-pressed
Dimensions: 6 x 60
Aesthetics, Construction and Feel
Before I have a chance to grasp this 6 x 60 behemoth in my hand I find myself drawn to both its size appearance and construction. Aside from a few subtle irregularities, the New York Connoisseur Edition’s box-press construction gives it a skyscraper-like appearance, fitting in perfectly with the Freedom Tower and Empire State Building when I hold it up against the New York skyline at the Hoboken Waterfront. To top it all off, the stick is completely soft spot-free; a sign of meticulosity on the part of the makers, to whom I tip my hat.
While the wrapper is smooth and oily to the touch and contributes much to the stogie’s skyscraper aesthetic, there are also some minor caveats. The wrapper is noticeably veiny and contains a few small cracks. Hence the big question: will these minor kinks prove to be enough hinder the smoke experience? Let’s find out!
Flavor and Smoke Characteristics
Upon lighting up I am quite pleased to be greeted by a smooth, well-balanced draw and a fairly thick cloud of smoke; a promising sign for the long journey ahead. Unfortunately, this journey contains a few roadblocks. Starting with a sizable crack that forms on the back not long after the light-up, the New York tends to canoe, most likely due to the aforementioned minor cracks throughout the wrapper. The result is my having to manually maintain the stick by rotating it and evening it out with matches.
Additionally, the New York has to be puffed regularly, with the smoke cloud becoming thinner as the interval between puffs becomes longer. About halfway through the ash becomes noticeably uneven, limping at an angle as seen in the image. However, there is an important silver lining in this particular kink. The box-pressed construction has resulted in a sturdy stogie that holds the ash quite well, right up to the last quarter of the stick, to be precise. This feature becomes all the more significant in light of my constant rotating and maintaining of the stick.
Finally, despite the wrapper showing signs of unraveling, the final quarter makes for a good finish as the stick begins to breathe more freely.
In terms of flavor the New York Connoisseur is quite consistent with pleasantly few surprises. From draw to nub this Monte delivers a rich smoke that wets the palate and is dominated by essences of coffee and oak wood. The draw is smooth, placed in a comfortable middle ground between creamy and leathery.
The Final Verdict
First and foremost I must make one thing clear: I bought this particular stick about two weeks before finally having the opportunity to smoke it. Thus it is quite possible that the smoke could have been even better than it already was, had I smoked it at an earlier time. That being said, the Montecristo New York Connoisseur Edition is an enjoyable medium-bodied smoke that does much justice to the city for which it is named. I highly recommend this cigar for any smoker who lives in or visits the city I am proud to call my home. It will be among the highest of high notes in your New York experience.
Final Grade: A-
Tips for a Perfect Smoke Experience
When smoking a creamy and oaky stogie such as this, one should never do so without a cappuccino in the opposite hand.
A good way to bring out the coffee flavor more is to counteract it with something sweet. To take a culinary queue from our good friends the French, place a grape on top of a cracker adorned with brie cheese and enjoy the ride.
Update: we’ve created a top-three list of our favorite cigars from Montecristo. You can see it here.
