Montecristo No. 4 OMR DIC 14 - (SMRW)

[MrGlass]

I picked up this box traveling through Dubai about a year ago, initially because of the age, but then amazed at how oily these sticks were when I opened the box.  Unfortunately, the construction of these sticks has been a little lacking, with nearly every stick being extremely tight.  Before anyone asks, I don't have a PerfecDraw as outside of this box, I have never really needed it.  So I made do with the pick from my pipe tool for stabbing through the head of the cigar to allow some air through.  It's still tight, but at least I can get some air through now.  Unfortunately this process did end up cracking the wrapper near the head, but ultimately this didn't cause any problems.  

The cigar opened with chocolate and raisins and maintained this all the way to the halfway point.  Then it took a surprising turn, becoming quite salty and almost meaty.  The chocolate is still in the background, but it's quite subtle.  The cigar makes me think of both chocolate covered potato chips and prosciutto - it's a really unusual experience, but not unpleasant.  This new flavour combo remains all the way through to the end.

Overall, the biggest disappointment with this cigar was the construction issues, which has been the overall story with this box.  They are the trophy wife of my cigar collection - pretty to look at, but useless for anything else.