The most unique cigar you have had all year

[westg]

It has taken me all year to land this. Believe me,  I have had some time and smoked an all manner of cigars. This particular stick led me to posting .

Nougat, honey and yes I truly get it salty driftwood . Seriously, it is the most unusual and unexpected flavour you can recieve from a cigar . 

Construction is perfect...the draw measured and delivered as if it was diagnosed just for me . 

Half way , a little honey some cashew nuts....sensational 

Final third , everything has intensified an absolute overload of the above. Medium bodied , a delight to smoke...If you have come across something truly unique this year people, share it with us. For me La Espepcion . Remarkable , unique.  

 

[RDB]

Love this review, thanks. For me it was my first ever LGC MdO4, smoked in Uganda after a hellish journey. Great, distinctive flavours and unusual format - and the setting didn’t hurt. Looks like you were doing ok in Daquiri land too...

[BrightonCorgi]

For me it was a Toscana.  I had the La Espepcion and was really cool too, but for unique the Toscana is hard to beat.  So impressive how much smoke and how long a cigar so short can smoke.  The flavors were different and terrific.  Great change of pace from a Habanos.

[cigcars]

   *That Castaglia Daughters of the Wind you guys had profiled late in the year. Truly crossed my eyes and scrambled my eggs!!! LOVED IT!!! 

[Riverstyx]

Rafael Gonzalez 88 AP regional.  Won it for a FOH contest. Didn’t expect much but turned out to wonderful...and different. The initial flavors were what through me off.  A warm taste that’s great for these cold months. Pleasant surprise. 

[PigFish]

An older Monte Esp. #2. Might have to revisit the box before the year end to see if any more are like the last one. Cheers! -P

[Tstew75]

The most unique I smoked was a young Punch La Isla. Tremendous cigar.

[JohnS]

The most unique cigar I had this year was graciously gifted to me by @alloy (thank you!). Yes, it's Cuban. My original write-up is below...

This is a rare cigar, the Elie Bleu Che Humidor torpedo from 2004. For more information on this release follow this thread below...

How did it smoke? In one word...gloriously! Beautiful notes of smooth chocolate, and orange citrus twang, some gingerbread sweetness and a little creaminess, like something close to the 2011 Montecristo No.2 Gran Reserva. Good luck to you if you can hunt down an original release of these!

[westg]

3 hours ago, cigcars said:

   *That Castaglia Daughters of the Wind you guys had profiled late in the year. Truly crossed my eyes and scrambled my eggs!!! LOVED IT!!! 

Ha.Sounds good to me ?

[Meklown]

For me, the most "wow" factor I've gotten out of a cigar was a RA CA EL15. So earthy, one could mistake it for a roll of shaven truffles. Equal parts pasta and truffle, topped with a butter sauce.

I'd never tasted anything like that before, so it inspired me to buy the next box of RACA that came up on FOHauctions!

[Islandboy]

My one and only (so far) Tainos Formosa. The flavor and aroma transported me to a place I’d been before, but never previously experienced with a cigar. 

[westg]

1 hour ago, Islandboy said:

My one and only (so far) Tainos Formosa. The flavor and aroma transported me to a place I’d been before, but never previously experienced with a cigar. 

??

[Nino]

Last week in Hong Kong -

A 1972 Hoyo de Monterey Chateau Yquem - the most oily cigar I've seen in my life.

Absolute delight to smoke.

[RichUK]

I had a Diplomaticos El Diputado yesterday whilst walking the dog. Absolutely amazing, went straight to the top of my 2019 list.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[westg]

50 minutes ago, nino said:

Last week in Hong Kong -

A 1972 Hoyo de Monterey Chateau Yquem - the most oily cigar I've seen in my life.

Absolute delight to smoke.

That looks amazing Nino, terrific pictures . Thanks for this ??

[Tstew75]

3 hours ago, FatherOfPugs said:

It was a LGC Glorias ER 5ta Avenida 2015. For the size and shape of cigar, it was quite the experience. 

I only own a 5pk of these & have them buried at the bottom of my collection for a reason. They're calling my name ?

[bmf30180]

I was lucky enough to enjoy a HLP Behike 54 with Hector and Jorge at Hector's Finca.  It absolutely blew me away.  Stewed fruit/port wine/lemon grass/cream.  I have no idea if it was me just being caught up in the moment or if it was really that sublime.  Also, I'm curious if a 'real' Behike 54 (having never even seen one) is anything like what I had at the farm.  I also had the siglo 3 and the siglo 6, both of which were hard for me to differentiate from the Cohiba. 

[westg]

Very nice . I don't think you were caught up...they are sublime. ?

[civicum]

Diplomáticos - Nortenos - ER Canadá 2018

 

 

Az én iPhone készülékemről küldve a Tapatalk segítségével

 

[rcarlson]

14 hours ago, nino said:

Last week in Hong Kong -

A 1972 Hoyo de Monterey Chateau Yquem - the most oily cigar I've seen in my life.

Absolute delight to smoke.

Those look absolutely incredible.  Could you describe a little of what you got out of them?  I just licked my computer screen and want to compare tasting notes.   

[Puros Y Vino]

On 12/24/2019 at 3:51 AM, nino said:

Last week in Hong Kong -

A 1972 Hoyo de Monterey Chateau Yquem - the most oily cigar I've seen in my life.

Absolute delight to smoke.

 

Hoyo de Monterrey de what!?!!?!  ? OK. No one's asked but I'll bite.  What is the story behind HdM Chateau Yquem?  No reference of it in CCW as regular/discontinued/special release.  Is this some sort of errata that  MRN got a hold of?  From the photo it does look like the Davidoff release in terms of size/vitola.  Is this an old example of "Cuba being Cuba"? 

[99call]

48 minutes ago, bundwallah said:

HdM Chateau Yquem?

Didn't HdM run a Chateau series before Davidoff?  You can find a "Chateaux Beaugency" on MO auction site

[Trevor2118]

Never heard of this (or any HdM Chateau series for that matter), but considering the providence of the cigars...they are genuine.

You never stop learning. 

[Fugu]

1 hour ago, bundwallah said:

Hoyo de Monterrey de what!?!!?!  ? OK. No one's asked but I'll bite.  What is the story behind HdM Chateau Yquem?  No reference of it in CCW as regular/discontinued/special release.  Is this some sort of errata that  MRN got a hold of?  From the photo it does look like the Davidoff release in terms of size/vitola.  Is this an old example of "Cuba being Cuba"?

Nope. that's the original Hoyo Château series by importer/merchant A. Dürr & Co. The same who created the Series Le Hoyo (as early as in the 1940s). It was just a bit later that Zino Davidoff was given exclusiveness to that line.

There is some historical dispute about who actually "invented" the series (while keeping in mind Zino having been a particularly 'strong' character.... ). One of the best and in-depth accounts I have seen can be found in an early CA-article by JS (from a time when CA was very well worth its money....).

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/cuban-davidoffs-7798
 

The Château bit:

"There's always been some mystery around the chateaux series of Davidoff anyway. Both the Cubans and Davidoff agree that the line began just after the war. The Cubans were finding it difficult to sell their cigars, and they decided to ask the Swiss to help Zino come up with a new marketing concept. Cubatabaco claims that the cigar producer first asked the Zurich-based cigar merchant, Dürr, who came up with the idea and later gave it to Davidoff. The cigars were then sold as Hoyo de Monterrey, Specially Selected by Zino Davidoff. However, Zino Davidoff strongly disagrees with the Cubans' story. He takes all the credit for what remains the most prestigious line of Cuban cigars ever produced.

"I created the chateaux [series] in 1946--an extraordinary innovation," Davidoff says. "It was me. They came to see me in Geneva as they knew me [from] when I had been over in Havana at the time. I had opened the shop in Geneva, and they told me that the war had ruined them as they hadn't been able to export their goods. They wanted to make a new start and wondered how they should go about it. We were in a French restaurant and the idea struck me as I was looking at the wine list. France had its grand crus. Why shouldn't Havana?"

According to Rudolf Wey, a Zurich-based business consultant who worked for Dürr for many years, the Cubans' version of the creation of the chateaux series is closer to the truth. In a telephone interview this summer, Wey said that the English agent for Hoyo de Monterrey, Tobacco Torceido Trade Limited in London (now defunct), Dürr and Davidoff met just after the war and decided to start the chateaux series together. "I recently watched Zino Davidoff on French television take full credit for the chateaux series but it wasn't like that," Wey said. "All three companies were present at the meeting. A Mr. Hart from England, Mr. Vogel from Dürr, and Zino Davidoff." At the outset, Dürr imported the cigars from Hoyo de Monterrey, keeping the chateaux series for itself in Zurich while selling them to Davidoff in Geneva. Later, Dürr decided to give Davidoff exclusivity for the range, said Wey."

[Puros Y Vino]

1 minute ago, Fugu said:

Nope. that's the original Hoyo Château series by importer/merchant A. Dürr & Co. The same who created the Series Le Hoyo (as early as in the 1940s). It was just a bit later that Zino Davidoff was given exclusiveness to that line.

There is some historical dispute about who actually "invented" the series (while keeping in mind Zino having been a particularly 'strong' character.... ). One of the best and in-depth accounts I have seen can be found in an early CA-article by JS (from a time when CA was very well worth its money....).

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/cuban-davidoffs-7798
 

The Château bit:

"There's always been some mystery around the chateaux series of Davidoff anyway. Both the Cubans and Davidoff agree that the line began just after the war. The Cubans were finding it difficult to sell their cigars, and they decided to ask the Swiss to help Zino come up with a new marketing concept. Cubatabaco claims that the cigar producer first asked the Zurich-based cigar merchant, Dürr, who came up with the idea and later gave it to Davidoff. The cigars were then sold as Hoyo de Monterrey, Specially Selected by Zino Davidoff. However, Zino Davidoff strongly disagrees with the Cubans' story. He takes all the credit for what remains the most prestigious line of Cuban cigars ever produced.

"I created the chateaux [series] in 1946--an extraordinary innovation," Davidoff says. "It was me. They came to see me in Geneva as they knew me [from] when I had been over in Havana at the time. I had opened the shop in Geneva, and they told me that the war had ruined them as they hadn't been able to export their goods. They wanted to make a new start and wondered how they should go about it. We were in a French restaurant and the idea struck me as I was looking at the wine list. France had its grand crus. Why shouldn't Havana?"

According to Rudolf Wey, a Zurich-based business consultant who worked for Dürr for many years, the Cubans' version of the creation of the chateaux series is closer to the truth. In a telephone interview this summer, Wey said that the English agent for Hoyo de Monterrey, Tobacco Torceido Trade Limited in London (now defunct), Dürr and Davidoff met just after the war and decided to start the chateaux series together. "I recently watched Zino Davidoff on French television take full credit for the chateaux series but it wasn't like that," Wey said. "All three companies were present at the meeting. A Mr. Hart from England, Mr. Vogel from Dürr, and Zino Davidoff." At the outset, Dürr imported the cigars from Hoyo de Monterrey, keeping the chateaux series for itself in Zurich while selling them to Davidoff in Geneva. Later, Dürr decided to give Davidoff exclusivity for the range, said Wey."

Fantastic!!  Great bit of history. Thanks for posting this.