galtline Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Why can't these cigars remain consistent. Bought a box about six months ago. The cigars look outstanding but half of them are just flat out awful. Its such a shame because it's one of my favorites but with such crappy quality control I don't think it's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Hand pick or if you aren't able to, get someone you trust to pick for you. The cigars with the highest productions always seem to suffer: D4 Monte (in general) but #2 and #4 in particular, then again all of the numbered line apart from the #5 Siglo 6, coro, esplendidos, lancero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potpest Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I've only ever had 3 as singles; none of them were anything special. Not sure if there just not to my taste or if I've always had a bad example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shlomo Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 high demand = high production = rush to fill quotas = inexperienced rollers = using whatever tobacco is available = many sub par boxes. this is the reason i only buy monte 2 myself and havent bought psd4 in years. so many others that are more consistent with less problems. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guybrush Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Montecristos No.2 and Partagas D4 are two of my favorite cigars. In my opinon best at 70% humidity. For me Montecristos No.2 are best with less than 5 years of age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b4z00k4 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I bought a box of 10 Monte 2s last year as one of my very first CC buys. I've smoked 5 of them so far and I've only actually finished 2 of them. 2 were plugged and 1 completely fell apart after the first inch and a half. The other 2, though, were phenomenal. A 40% hit rate isn't going to have me running back for more, though. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramon_cojones Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 haven't had a monte 2 in years though I don't generally like montes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Hand pick or if you aren't able to, get someone you trust to pick for you. The cigars with the highest productions always seem to suffer: D4 Monte (in general) but #2 and #4 in particular, then again all of the numbered line apart from the #5 Siglo 6, coro, esplendidos, lancero Consistency is indeed a problem in these mass produced cigars. Lately I've been sticking to Especiale #2s for Montes & Corona Especiales for Cohiba. Much higher chance for good quality cigars. No substitute for hand picking, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galtline Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 I know what you guys mean last night I smoked one from my PSP batch, flat out awful ! Amazing wrapper great construction. Terrible Draw and the taste was on the level of a Dollar cigar at the local smoke shop. My friend was smoking a Quintero switched to that and it blew my monte 2 away. But then there are the days when everything seems to come together on the cigar and its pure heaven. Just pisses me off because so many of them are duds. On a side note I have yet to receive a bad HDM epicure # 2. Just flat out amazing cigar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dozerhead Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 The Monte 2 has always been inconsistent to me. It's too bad because when you find a good one it makes you realize what all the fuss is about. I like the Monte profile overall but I will usually smoke the Petit Edmundo more than any other in that lineup. It has always been a consistent performer me. Some have mentioned the PSD4 in this thread and I completely agree. If the PSD4 could be as consistent as the Party Short then Habanos would really have something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laxman Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 When you get a great Monte 2 there is not much better. With mass production its best to habe them hand picked but even that does not guarantee they will be great. Personally for me I buy hand picked PSP boxes from Rob and put them down for 3 to 5 years minimum. So far ever box I got has been much better with some age. Heard the 2013's were smoking well fresh but have not tried. Agree 100% on the HDM epi 2's, have not had a bad box or cigar yet and smoked through more then I can count in the last 5 years. The 2013 crop has been amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galtline Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 Hdm might be my favorite cigar.... Just amazing. Will be buying another box on the warehouse sale. Love them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Grab a handful of monte #3, such s great cigar. Usually the uglier the tastier too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramon_cojones Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 might have to try this 3 based on your praise 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt45 Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 please lets get off this hand picked B.S.. and really call it like it is...... If I have a choice between buying completely blind - a box which has not been opened since leaving the factory, or having someone with experience, someone who's gone through thousands of boxes help choose a box for me, I'll take the latter every time. You know where to send the kickback, RA...... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyfall Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 please lets get off this hand picked B.S.. and really call it like it is. you can have great looking and smelling cigars that are not good or as usual with Habanos the box is a mixed bag of cigars. you can't really determine anything with Habanos until you smoke them and then It is stick to stick on what you get. see I can say this .I have no agenda or business. Blessings !!! My cigars are all handpicked, and I do not suffer from consistency issues or construction issues. I would say since 2009, I've only had 2 boxes out of MANY, that contained sticks I felt to be inferior in consistency, flavor and construction. That's like 1%, if that. 2009 Party Short dress box 2010 Cohiba Secretos 10 box As for Monte 2's go. Every box of Monte 2's I've owned or currently own have all been handpicked and at minimum HQ, and I have yet to have a bad , flavorless or inconsistent stick out of 100's. For me, that's a no-brainer for paying an extra premium for, all day, every day. It may not be for some, but it is for me. Even my boxes of CC's from the 90's and early 2000's don't reflect these "Rampant" inconsistencies. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duxnutz Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 I pick my own Monte 2s when I can and every 2013 has been really quite good to excellent. Sadly it's only 3 packs (cardboard) at a time but I've probably gone through 3-4 of them all bought at different times. Always pull one out and look at the fill, wrapper and general construction etc but have only been unhappy the one time i recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laxman Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 My cigars are all handpicked, and I do not suffer from consistency issues or construction issues. I would say since 2009, I've only had 2 boxes out of MANY, that contained sticks I felt to be inferior in consistency, flavor and construction. That's like 1%, if that. 2009 Party Short dress box 2010 Cohiba Secretos 10 box As for Monte 2's go. Every box of Monte 2's I've owned or currently own have all been handpicked and at minimum HQ, and I have yet to have a bad , flavorless or inconsistent stick out of 100's. For me, that's a no-brainer for paying an extra premium for, all day, every day. It may not be for some, but it is for me. Even my boxes of CC's from the 90's and early 2000's don't reflect these "Rampant" inconsistencies. Ditto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fingerburner Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 A cigar that seems to polarize opinion. I'm not a fan of the #2 and have never been enthused about the Marca in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 might have to try this 3 based on your praise Not typical monte to me, I think people wrongly judge them when expecting that so discount them as bad. They are all vanilla, milk choc and raisins to me, 3 years of age and it's like smoking pure vanilla ice cream with raisin syrup. None of that heavy monte power. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post El Presidente Posted February 23, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted February 23, 2014 please lets get off this hand picked B.S.. and really call it like it is. you can have great looking and smelling cigars that are not good or as usual with Habanos the box is a mixed bag of cigars. you can't really determine anything with Habanos until you smoke them and then It is stick to stick on what you get. see I can say this .I have no agenda or business. Blessings !!! And everyone is entitled to an opinion. Some express them with class, others less so. Should any individual not find utility in selected stock, Don't purchase hand selected stock. How hard is it? Should any individual find greater consistency, utility/satisfaction from hand selected stock, purchase what you enjoy Why there is a need to berate one group or the other is beyond me? As a point of history, hand picking stock came about many moons ago as a result of being asked to pick certain stock for members based on "what I would spend my coin on". Buying blind online has it's limitations and this was a way to improve the "hit rate" of great cigars. Word got around and before you know it the only way to keep up with such requests was to classify certain stock. Now some 820,000 cigars later under the program, does anyone think some cigars/boxes didn't live up to expectation? Of course! This is not an exact science. Blend and unseen issues come into play as well as my own fallibility. Still, I am pretty sure that if you had the opportunity to walk into a B&M and pick your own stock, the stock I select (in the vast majority of cases) would be the stock you would be selecting. That is all it is. Onto Monte 3. I looked through 30 or so boxes last week. Not bad (2011 from memory). Wrappers were ok (Colorado), construction pretty good. The only problem is that box to box all cigars were covered in white mold. Now take 30 minutes to an hour eliminating the white mold and I think they would be good smoking cigars. Still in all conscience I couldn't recommend them as benchmark Monte 3 and that is what the program is about Onto Monte 2. We have a great track record in picking excellent Monte 2. Some may underperform. It may have been my selection or it could also be (in conjunction) with the fact they need more time, storage conditions, or even your own palate. Let's face it, the majority of members will smoke a new arrival ROTT. No different to wine. most members recommend 30-90 days rest after arrival. Most can't do it. The only way to gauge consensus on a cigar when purchasing is to read plenty of reviews and in particular to gravitate to reviews where the palate of the reviewer (the flavours they can pull) is similar to yours. That is stage 1. Stage 2 is to purchase singles or boxes over time and to smoke them. Smoke them young. Smoke with a little age. Gain an understanding if it is a cigar that you enjoy. My only role with the program is to give you every chance of a great box or singles. When I read reviews I gravitate to certain members who share a similar palate. I automatically discount members who use generalizing terms such as "crap" (although I am known to do it, more out of frustration than anything else). Give me a member who put's time and effort into a review. I am not here to question their experience (good, bad or ugly). As I said there a plethora of circumstances that can lead to the final experience. In the modern world, there is a need for a shortcut. With cigars you can increase your chances greatly but as to what you like and what you do not like comes back to you trying cigars over time. There really are no shortcuts. The hand picked program is only there to increase your chances for a better experience. Again, if you were in a B&M and able to purchase your own cigars, I doubt you would pick much differently to what I do. We simply separate the wheat from the chaff. In summary, chill. Have some class in the comments you make. It is only cigars, not life and death. if you have an opinion share it but it is only an opinion that will be judged by your own contribution, experience over time. Your experience will be different to others, is it more valuable? Highly bloody unlikely. Yet it makes up the potpourri of the discussion. Never assume a level of self importance beyond what you have earned over time. Same goes for me. Cheers Rob 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbibby Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 ^ That's the greatest post I've ever seen or read on any forum. Time to pack up guys. The Internet was just won!! Thanks for the work that you do Rob! I haven't had the pleasure of purchasing from you (yet) but I know when I do, that I will have some seasoned eyes picking out my product. Cheers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallclub Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 please lets get off this hand picked B.S.. and really call it like it is. How many times in your life have you been in a B&M that sells habanos, with plenty of time to hand pick your selection? Just curious… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanislaw Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Had a monte 2 HQ box go missing in shipping for six months... OZ politely replaced it with another one and all have smoked well from that box... Six months later the original HQ box arrived and after two months in my humidor they too are smoking beautifully.... The czar has the experience, expertise, and god given gift for detail to be trusted with this huge responsibility for multiple customers and for those who turn their nose up and cry "foul" feel free to stay out of my (potential) stash..... Monte 2's that I've smoked between 1995-1998 (when I had a B&M to go to and handpick my own) would be a 50/50 crapshoot. I got so many plugged sticks but I also had just enough brilliant sticks to keep coming back and never had a bad tasting one. Now, from 2008-now, I have had more well-constructed smokes that would have no flavor than a plugged unsmokable stick. But that ratio has been 1 out of 10 and I feel that has to do with the fact that all of my Monte 2 boxes have been hand selected by the Czar... And so we dance.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galtline Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 I didnt mean to start a ***** fest just wanted to share my experiences with FOH. I buy all of my cigars from Rob (hand picked) and will continue too because at the end of the day its the best deal going on the internet. I think the issue with Monte 2 is that there is no way to pick great tasting cigars. Its a factory issue and until they get that fixed this is going to be an issue will all cigars. But again I have to say Epicure 2 are incredible ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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