Montecristo Especial SEA ENE 17 ERC

[David88]

To say it has been a tough week is an understatement. Work had me take a group of 12 year olds on a week long international residential trip, which is as fun as it sounds... So when I got back I felt pretty exhausted and in need of some me time and a good cigar!

I chose the especial. These are hard to come by at the moment but they are worth the effort to find them in my opinion. I bought my box a few months ago and this is the first one I have tried from it.

I picked one of the uglier examples, I tend to keep the best until the end and some age has set in, but it looked perfectly acceptable. The initial draw was fine, I prefer it on the tighter side and this was exactly that. 

The first third opened slightly under medium body. Typical Monte flavours (to my palate) of creamy coffee and mild cocoa. 

The second third really took off. The body upped to a straight medium. The cocoa flavour took on a slightly bitter/darker chocolate flavour while the creamy coffee started to bring in some wood notes. 

The final third was a continuation of the second but a peppery character was evident also. 

These are still too young for my tastes and this was evident in the final third. It got slightly bitter at times but overall it was excellent and exactly what I needed after a long week. I’m not sure why the coffee shop decided to put hearts into my flat white, but it looks nice I suppose 

i would currently give it a solid 91 at the moment but I can see these developing into something special with time. I won’t touch them again until next year now but I look forward to seeing hem progress!

[grizzlee]

91 and young, should become quite impressive with some rest

[David88]

7 hours ago, grizzlee said:

91 and young, should become quite impressive with some rest

Absolutely. The aged examples I’ve had of the especial have been fantastic

[TheMonk]

With age, it really can be a great stick. Good job!