Letting My Mind Wander With A: Montecristo Number 2

[polarbear]

Firstly guys, please forgive the lack of photos. I'm still trying to figure out how to upload pics onto this forum...

I always get a little sad when I smoke the last cigar out of a box. It’s like saying goodbye to an old friend, especially when you’re me and it takes years to smoke through a 25 count box. Tonight I bid farewell to an old friend. Tonight I smoke the last cigar out of a Montecristo Number 2, 25 count box that was gifted to me almost 4 years ago. But, before we get down to the nitty gritty of flavour profiles and burn lines I figure a little back story is in order.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Montecristo Number 2. It was the first hand rolled premium cigar I ever smoked. I’ve smoked hundreds since then and am a huge fan of the Montecristo marca, but the Number 2 will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s a cigar that I never have less than half a box of at all times and it, strangely enough, is always the cigar I seem to reach for when a memorable occasion presents itself. The Number 2 is one of the most recognised and widely known (and also, sadly, widely counterfeited cigars in the world). Look closely next time you watch a film with a cigar smoking hero in it. Chances are he or she will have a Number 2 in their hand.

This particular cigar, from this particular box was gifted to me by a good friend on his wedding day. He’d bought all his groomsmen a gift to thank them for being a part of his special day. Some guys got Whiskey, I got Number 2’s. Paul (the groom) and I had shared many a Number 2 over the years and he knew my soft spot for them. I cracked that box and we all took a cigar to smoke while we waited for the reception to start and photos to finish. Almost 4 years (and what feels like a lifetime) later, it is time to bid adieu to this box.

Lets get down to it, shall we…

I’ve had people tell me they are always daunted when cutting a Piramades because they are unsure how much to take off. Me, I just take a couple of millimetres off and test the draw, if it’s too firm I just take a little more off. The first cut yields me a perfect draw and the flavours of good Cuban Tobacco with a touch of Cedar.

The heat from my jet lighter slowly toasts the foot of the cigar. I allow for ample time for combustion to occur while never holding the heat in one place for too long, occasionally pausing to blow on the end of the cigar to see the glow of burning embers as the slowly converge into the centre of the foot for an even combustion. Once the foot greets me with an even orange glow I take my first draw on the cigar and savor the familiar notes of Coffee and a touch of spice. The draw is perfect and I exhale the first draw slowly, savouring the sensation of the smoke coating my pallet. Through the ribbons of smoke around me I settle in and allow my mind to wander.

The day I was gifted this box is a special one for me. The day I was gifted this box was the same day I met Anna. I was at Pauls wedding in Sydney following the end of the first real serious relationship of my life. The girl I had known and loved for the better part of 10 years had decided we had drifted apart and I was left with a sense of unknown and feeling of emptiness unlike any I had experienced. I had doubts that I would ever love again or that I would find someone prepared to love me back, these were a young mans fears, but a young man was what I was, not just in age, but life in general. As we were standing around, smoking a fresh box of Number 2’s, through the ribbons of smoke, I saw Anna for the first time. My eyes were drawn to her flowing amber hair and her deep greens eyes as she looked my way with a bemused look on her face. I turned to Paul and asked him who she was. “Ah, you mean Anna, that’s Maries (The Bride) step sister. I wouldn’t go there if I were you, Marie would have your balls for breakfast”. Not really hearing him, I offered some sort of reply and then my cigar and I went to talk to Anna.

Thankfully, this Number 2 starts off just as the 23 before it did. Medium Bodies with notes of milk coffee. There is a slight tanginess to the finish that lingers on the back of my tonge. Perhaps this is due to its relative youth. Smoke is thick and dense, great for blowing smoke rings.

I was drawn to those piecing green eyes, as a moth would be to a flame and before I knew it I was standing in front of her, my broken heart momentarily forgotten, but ready to remind me of its presence when the inevitable rejection occurred. I introduced myself and the conversation soon flowed quickly. The attraction was instantaneous. It wasn’t love at first site, but there was a fair bit of Lust there in its place. We chatted about the wedding, the weather, how beautiful the bride was until after what seemed like both 100 years and only a few seconds it was time for me to go and do the groomsman thing with Paul. I held out my hand to shake Annas and she pulled me in for a kiss on the cheek before turning away and moving on to other conversations. I sat beside Paul at the bridal table and waited for an opportunity to quiz Marie about the emerald eyed Anna. Marie was happy to oblige in the helpfully distracted way that most brides are on their wedding day. Anna, 23, in Sydney after coming from London where she was studying. Newly single after her long term boyfriend had left the UK for a job opportunity in Spain. She couldn’t leave the UK due to her studies and the boyfriend had decided his work was more important than Anna was. He (in my opinion) was a fool.

As the cigar finds its feet it, the milk coffee turns creamy, with the coffee component all but gone. The flavour coats my pallet. The tanginess from the first third is has increased into the familiar green flavour found in most Cuban cigars less than 5 years of age. It is not unpleasant as the creaminess of the smoke cuts through it. There is a slight sweetness to this cigar that is only present during the draw, once the smoke settles on my pallet the cream and youth quickly overpower it. There is a black coffee note left on the back of my pallet during the finish. It contrasts the creaminess very well. The ribbons of smoke wafting around me have a beautiful sweet latte aroma to them. Anyone who says cigars don’t smell good have never sat with a person smoking a Monte #2.

Anna and I danced all night, slowly, quickly, even making fools of ourselves in the jovial manner most do on days like this. The night wound down and she took my hand to led me outside for a moment. The feeling of her lips on mine made all the heartbreak and sadness of the last few weeks drain away. I was lost in my own darkness, my eyes closed and my hands around her waist as she placed he hand on the back of my neck. She pulled away from me, handing a slip of paper to me before turning away and heading for her rental car, she turned to flash me a smile as she walked away. I looked in my hand to see a group of numbers and the words “I would like to see you again”. After wishing the happy couple a wonderful honeymoon and thanking them for the honour of being in their wedding my taxi arrived and took me back to my hotel for the night. I was planning on spending the week in Sydney following the wedding to check out the city, catch up with a few friends and now, hopefully, see Anna again. Even though it was well after midnight, I found I wasn’t tired. I felt alive for the first time in months. I didn’t want to sleep for fear that I would wake up and the emptiness I had woke with the morning before would return. I sat on the balcony of my hotel room with a glass of Gin from the hotel bar and another Number 2 from the box. Time passed and my mind drifted on, replaying the events of the night over and over until there was a knock at my door. Wondering who would want me at such a late hour I got up to answer it. In walks Anna, dressed in the same gown from the wedding. I stand there, speechless. She smiles at me and holds up a room key similar to my own. She walks into my room and shuts the door behind her before saying “it looks like we’re neighbours”. Before I had a chance to answer she slides the straps of her gown off her shoulders and it falls to the floor.

The end of this cigar is approaching. The creaminess from the previous third has turned sweeter now, aided by the introduction of a sweet spice, cinnamon perhaps. The youth of this cigar is becoming more prominent. Leaving a harshness on the tongue that is only noticeable during the finish. The creaminess helps to dissipates this flavour but it is still there. Most of the cigars I smoke are less than 5 years old, so this is not surprising or unpleasant. It does not detract from the other flavours. It more of a reminder that the end of this cigar is in site.

The week passed quicker than any in my life up to that point. We spent every night together, alternating between her room and mine, then get up and enjoy the city. She had lived here before moving overseas so she played tour guide as I followed and enjoyed her company and the feeling of her hand in mine. In the evening we would go out and dance and drink until the early hours before returning to our room. We would talk about our lives and families, of the heartbreak we’d both experienced and the lives he both knew we would eventually have to return to. We would sit together and watch the sunrise. Anna would drink Whiskey and I would smoke another Number 2 from Pauls box before catching a few hours sleep, wrapped in each other. We would then get up and do it all again. I knew I was using her to forget my own heartbreak, but I also knew she was doing the same. We knew our time together was limited but at that moment in our lives, we were what each other needed. I was grateful to her for that, as was she. All too quickly, the time for me to return to the real world was at my door. Anna sat in bed while I packed my things to begin my trip home. She insisted on seeing me off at the airport. I wasn’t sure I still wanted to catch the flight. We travel in a cab, sitting in silence, wondering how this departure was going to play out. I checked in for my flight and we moved to the gate. We sat, hand in hand until boarding. We both stood and turned to face each other. I looked her in those deep green eyes and kissed her. She pulled my body closer to hers and I wiped a tear from her eye. She was never going to ask me to stay, I knew this, but a small part of me wished she would. I couldn’t stay, but I wanted her to want me to. Final boarding was called and I tried to savour the last embrace in Annas arms. A hostess tapped me on the shoulder, telling me it was time to go. I kissed Anna one last time and before heading for the gate. Before going through, I looked over my shoulder at the beautiful, amber haired and emerald eyed Anna. She was standing there, with her arms wrapped around herself and a small tear running down her cheek. I mouthed the words “goodbye, my sweet” before the hostess shut the doors. Once in my seat on the plane I emptied my pockets into my backpack and found a piece of paper placed in my wallet. On this slip of paper was a single sentence, written in Annas hand writing, “I could have seen myself loving you”.

My Number 2 is winding down. My fingers are burning and while I am still very much enjoying it, I am forced to put it to rest. It was a fitting end to a good box of Number 2’s. I sit here, pondering the story of the green eyed Anna and find myself wondering what became of here. I never saw her again after our week together. Paul never mentions her when we talk and I’ve never asked. I am not haunted by this road not taken. Quite the opposite. Anna, like this cigar, was a short pleasure that helped me to escape the pressures and troubles of my normal life and allowed me to return to it with a refreshed view on it. Perhaps that is a complement, perhaps it isn’t. I’m not sure. All I do know is that the final cigar of the box I’ve tied to her is a fitting description of our time together. Wonderful, but sadly, like all good things, it had to end.

[Stanislaw]

Wonderful bit of storytelling about of my favorite smokes.... Thanks for the great review/reading....

[Jringe1109]

so what ever happened with anna bro....?

good review and story

[Jringe1109]

whoops i didnt read the very last paragraph sorry.

[Munts]

I love those quiet self reflections when I have a smoke just to myself.

Great story Polarbear.

I think we all can relate to those moments in time. There is a song, that is much hated, but it has the great line "but we shared a moment that will last 'til the end". While life goes on and things and people move on or change, we all should enjoy great memories for what they are and for what they were.

[Dimmers]

I love those quiet self reflections when I have a smoke just to myself.

x 2. Well written PB!

[paulF]

x 2. Well written PB!

x2.

What a beautiful story and an excellent review. Best Cigar review i ever read so far

[SigloVI]

Tremendous job...thanks for sharing

[Mr.T]

Wow, I got goosebumps reading that. Wonderful story and review.

[GammerSmokes]

Amazing review to a top notch cigar and a great story to go with it.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

[Upmann2009]

Cigar review ... Good

Your life story... Terrific

[Rye]

I love it when a good cigar becomes a great journey. It is one of my favorite reasons to smoke alone, when I do.

Nice read!

[Isotonic]

I can second that. I starting reading for the review then got lost in the story. I think most of us can relate to such a happy yet ultimately sad moment

I have come to understand that cigars can offer private moments of reflection that can take us back to special times in our lives. Lovely story mate and one that makes me want to get back into writing.

[nick87night]

great story! i now know what box is coming next!

[polarbear]

Thanks for the kind words guys

Its always nice to get feedback

[JayJay]

Great story and review. My favorite cigar.

[garbandz]

Touching story,but a great memory........thanks PB......