Montecristo Dantes SGA OCT 16 (MCRW)

[Corylax18]

This will be the 8th Cigar from this box and the 10th I've smoked overall. Bar 1, they have all been very disappointing. This cigar was not that 1. 

Thick, rough wrappers, shoddy construction, low quality/poorly processed Tobacco. No redeeming qualities at all. Unfortunately, I have another box with this same code and a few others with different codes. 

The construction on this stick was amateur, at best. The foot half of the cigar was very soft, the head half hard as a rock. After a 10mm punch the draw was firm, too firm. There is a bump, almost horn like, about an inch from the foot. It happens to fall under a thick stem on the wrapper, but looks/feels like a stem sticking up from the binder.

I light the cigar and the first flavor that hits me is Cigarette. Like an American Spirit, better than a Malboro light, but still not appetizing in any way. The draw is very "spongey" requiring several full draws before I can fill my mouth with smoke. Smoke pours from the foot/burn line nonstop. I pick up some dry/dusty faint cocoa flavor, but I might just be imagining it. 

The smoke is acrid, bitter and astringent and the back of my throat starts to ache about an inch in. No flavor development and no signs of improvement after 2"= so I put it down. The cigar was so disappointing that it put me in a bad mood. Just a crappy, in everyway possible. Except for consistency, they have been consistently garbage.

I am a big fan of Good quality Montes, so I had huge hopes for this cigar. Its the only EL that I've ever purchased (beyond a few singles) and it will definitely be the last. I purchased these boxes before I really learned what was going on with the EL/RE programs and my experience with these and the few other "special" releases since then has only reinforced what I've learned. 

[dowjr1]

Wow...that’s too bad.  What is the deal with the RE and LE releases?

[Corylax18]

22 minutes ago, dowjr1 said:

Wow...that’s too bad.  What is the deal with the RE and LE releases?

There is no "deal" per se. Just a lot of smoke and mirrors.  

There are few distributors (H&F, PCC to name a couple) that have the desire, time and ability to put together a truly special/different blend. Add in the Clout required for HSA to give a shit and actually stick to the requested blend and quality standards that are inferred with these "special" releases and chances of them being worth the premium they demand approach Zero. There have been some Great RE's, there have been some Garbage RE's and most fall in the middle. Just like regular production cigars. 

The LE program started as an attempt by HSA to use Domestic Grade wrappers on Export Grade Cigars. I smoked several "peso" during my trip in April that had superior wrappers, construction and flavors when compared to the Dantes I've smoked so far. From HSA's perspective, the LE program has been a rousing success. They found a way to slash costs on the most expensive leaf, while simultaneously charging more for the cigar. Its a genius business move, and people have fallen for it. Harder than HSA could have ever imagined. 25 count boxes of LE's from the first few years ran between $100 and $150 bucks, and they sat on shelves for years. Then comes the rush of "Instagram Aficionados" and HSA cant make enough of them or charge too much for them.   

[havanaclub]

There is no "deal" per se. Just a lot of smoke and mirrors.  
There are few distributors (H&F, PCC to name a couple) that have the desire, time and ability to put together a truly special/different blend. Add in the Clout required for HSA to give a **** and actually stick to the requested blend and quality standards that are inferred with these "special" releases and chances of them being worth the premium they demand approach Zero. There have been some Great RE's, there have been some Garbage RE's and most fall in the middle. Just like regular production cigars. 
The LE program started as an attempt by HSA to use Domestic Grade wrappers on Export Grade Cigars. I smoked several "peso" during my trip in April that had superior wrappers, construction and flavors when compared to the Dantes I've smoked so far. From HSA's perspective, the LE program has been a rousing success. They found a way to slash costs on the most expensive leaf, while simultaneously charging more for the cigar. Its a genius business move, and people have fallen for it. Harder than HSA could have ever imagined. 25 count boxes of LE's from the first few years ran between $100 and $150 bucks, and they sat on shelves for years. Then comes the rush of "Instagram Aficionados" and HSA cant make enough of them or charge too much for them.   

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