Montecristo Number 2 LUB ABR 14 WRC

[schubb]

One of my favorites this year because these have performed flavor-wise every time. Some from this box have been good, most great, and one or two absolutely amazing. The burn has been hit or miss but the flavors have always come through. A warm December day is the perfect time to bring out a cigar that's a bit bigger than the normal winter petit coronas and smaller.

Prelight: Draw is a bit on the firmer side, wrapper is a bit oily. Went with water for this review but I do like bourbon with these as well.

Start: 3:22pm. No wind at all.

First third: Immediately hit by cream and cocoa. Draw is excellent. Burn is a little wonky. Towards the end of this third, puppy joins me outside for the review and beautiful weather.

Second third: Bit of coffee starts to work into the profile. Body is increasing as well. Draw starts to tighten up a bit. Burn requires some touchups. By then end of this third the draw is very tight, despite cutting off a bit more of the head.

Final third: Coffee has stepped up in intensity, cream has faded to back. Cocoa still present. Constant attention is required to keep the wrapper burning however.

End 4:56pm

Total time: 1 hour 34 minutes.

Construction was an issue throughout the entire cigar. The wrapper didn't seem to want to burn and the draw was very tight. Despite this, the flavor profile was still good and enjoyable, going from a smooth cream and cocoa to a coffee and cocoa by the end. Good cigar, but I've definitely had much better from this box. The fact that I felt a little let down by 'just' a good cigar is why this is one of my top cigars of the year.

[Kurt]

Thanks for the review.. looks like the puppy wants to eat your smoke.

[schubb]

Thanks for the review.. looks like the puppy wants to eat your smoke.

She's always on the lookout to make sure its not food she should be begging for! Occasionally I have to keep her from getting a lick in when its sitting on the ash tray but she's usually content with just watching people and the smoke from it drift away.

[NSXCIGAR]

Nice review, thanks.

Construction and consistency is always my enemy w/ Monte 2. Smoked a few 2015s last week and they had flashes of absolute brilliance but they either fade in flavor and/or have burn/draw issues.

If the flavors stayed strong and consistent and they had perfect construction they'd have been 95 point cigars. They're just missing the mark but they're so close to greatness. Come on HSA! The rest of the Monte lineup is so much more consistent.

[Optic101]

Nice review and companion !

[westg]

Nice review ..Monte 2 one of my favourites

[saver]

Thanks for sharing.

Nice review.

[irratebass]

Nice review, view & puppy....thanks for the write up

[schubb]

Nice review, thanks.

Construction and consistency is always my enemy w/ Monte 2. Smoked a few 2015s last week and they had flashes of absolute brilliance but they either fade in flavor and/or have burn/draw issues.

If the flavors stayed strong and consistent and they had perfect construction they'd have been 95 point cigars. They're just missing the mark but they're so close to greatness. Come on HSA! The rest of the Monte lineup is so much more consistent.

Which others from the Monte lineup would you recommend? I would love something that could reliably deliver this flavor profile without the construction concerns.

[NSXCIGAR]

Which others from the Monte lineup would you recommend? I would love something that could reliably deliver this flavor profile without the construction concerns.

I've always found the 1-5 and Especiales to be pretty consistent. The #2 has always been the outlier for me. The #2 should be a bit stronger than the rest of the lineup when it's on. I've had several recently that start out blasting and then literally just fade to blandness in the 2nd third. Weird. Or some that have just a muddled LE type flavor the whole way. If you're looking for the full flavor found in great Monte 2s I think the rest of the lineup might fall a tad short but the tradeoff is a more consistent cigar. A Monte 2 firing on all cylinders is a tremendous cigar but hard to find.

I personally prefer the Especiales #2 and the Monte 3, but you can't go wrong with a Monte 1 or 4. The Monte 5 is just too darn short for me. Once it gets going, it's over. They've been very, very consistent and no construction issues whatsoever out of the 7+ boxes of # 3 and 4 I've smoked this year. BUM/MUL codes have been just fine. 2013 & 2014 were pretty good years for Monte IMO but I wouldn't buy the Especiales blind--I'd get them from Rob.

[schubb]

I've always found the 1-5 and Especiales to be pretty consistent. The #2 has always been the outlier for me. The #2 should be a bit stronger than the rest of the lineup when it's on. I've had several recently that start out blasting and then literally just fade to blandness in the 2nd third. Weird. Or some that have just a muddled LE type flavor the whole way. If you're looking for the full flavor found in great Monte 2s I think the rest of the lineup might fall a tad short but the tradeoff is a more consistent cigar. A Monte 2 firing on all cylinders is a tremendous cigar but hard to find.

I personally prefer the Especiales #2 and the Monte 3, but you can't go wrong with a Monte 1 or 4. The Monte 5 is just too darn short for me. Once it gets going, it's over. They've been very, very consistent and no construction issues whatsoever out of the 7+ boxes of # 3 and 4 I've smoked this year. BUM/MUL codes have been just fine. 2013 & 2014 were pretty good years for Monte IMO but I wouldn't buy the Especiales blind--I'd get them from Rob.

Thank you for the recommendations. I'll have to keep an eye out on the 24:24 for some of these. There were a few Monte 3s and 4s that went up recently that were very tempting and I'll have to snag one next time they are up.

[dflan82]

Nice review! Working through a box of EML JUN 14's that have been excellent and part of my 2014/2015 Top 10 list. Love these when you get a good box!

[TheMonk]

Very nice review!

[RijkdeGooier]

Monte is mass produced. Never buy these blind.

[schubb]

Monte is mass produced. Never buy these blind.

Luckily I had read that here before I even started buying any CCs. Everything I get comes from our host and the 24:24. Its unfortunate that this cigar was the one for the review as it was probably the worst from this box and was still good. The last one I had about a month ago was absolute perfection, perfect draw, burn, and the flavor was insane. That was one to dream about.