Hoyo de Monterrey - Le Hoyo Du Prince PTS OCT '06 (SMRW3/4)

[The Squiggler]

Slot Machine Review Weekend! (lets try this again ?)

Hoyo de Monterrey - Le Hoyo Du Prince, from 5x5 cardboard cube (40x130mm; box code: PTS OCT '06)

According to CCW, the Hoyos du Prince are 'almuerzos' or 'coronas'.  Based on the dimensions, however, the du Prince is closer in size to other petit coronas than it is to other cigars in the 'corona' category, so I'm going to assume this fits the bill. 

At cold, flavors of aged tobacco and a touch of raisin are present, but faint.  The draw is very tight with a simple straight cut, but I decide to give it a go and hope it opens up quickly. 

First light reveals essences of leather and rich toasted tobacco, leaving a pleasant saltiness on the lips.  There is a bit of bitterness left on the palette in the first inch or so from hot-boxing, and eventually I have to dig out the perfect draw.  After a bit of minor surgery, the draw remains tighter than I'd like, but excess puffing is no longer necessary, so the bitter flavors recede.

Into the second third, flavors of mild pepper and celery salt emerge.  Leather is still prominent, but a touch of earthy minerality is now present on the palette in addition to the saltiness on the lips.  Warm, nutty flavors emerge around the halfway point, reminiscing of roasted chestnut.  There is a touch of charred sugarcane/flaming marshmallow on the finish, adding a welcome touch of subdued sweetness to the profile.

The 'leather' flavors seem to become more vegetal in the final third, now reminiscing of root vegetables accompanied by a salty meatiness.  Flavors seem to jump around at this point from one puff to the next, but this could be my imagination or the fact that my palette has become a bit fried from sucking too hard (due to the tight draw of the cigar, of course ?)

The flavor roulette doesn't pose much of a problem in my mind, as all of the flavors produced by these fluctuations are still quite nice.  Unfortunately, however, the cigar begins to crack and swell as the burn line passes the band and I wind up tossing it with around an inch and a half left.  If this hadn't been the case I probably would have nubbed it.

Final impressions: The flavor profile of this cigar was right up my alley and the vitola is right in my wheelhouse, but the construction left something to be desired.  All in all, it definitely could have been worse, but the obstructed draw created an obstacle that made it difficult to sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience.  In summation: if the draw on this thing hadn't been so tight it could have been great (a 92 or 93 point cigar if the core flavors are any indication).  As it stands, however, I'd probably still give it a (forgiving) 85/100, anticipating that the next one won't suffer the same problems.

[Chucko8]

Nice review and pictures. It is a shame when the draw is sub par and makes the experience less than desirable. 

[The Squiggler]

1 hour ago, Chucko8 said:

Nice review and pictures. It is a shame when the draw is sub par and makes the experience less than desirable. 

Yep, and unfortunately I've encountered a few with this problem recently.  I've started dry-boxing at 62 for a couple weeks or more (as opposed to a couple days.. sort of an 'on deck' system), and this seems to be helping. 

[Chucko8]

8 minutes ago, The Squiggler said:

Yep, and unfortunately I've encountered a few with this problem recently.  I've started dry-boxing at 62 for a couple weeks or more (as opposed to a couple days.. sort of an 'on deck' system), and this seems to be helping. 

Yes I've been employing a similar system for a bit now also. Try putting aside a number of sticks which I'm thinking of consuming in the coming months in a tuperdor with 62% boveda packs in. Admittedly this box has now got around 40 sticks in it. Lol. But does give me quite an array to choose from at any given period with different formats etc.

[The Squiggler]

Just now, Chucko8 said:

Admittedly this box has now got around 40 sticks in it.

?yeah, mine holds around 50 and is close to capacity... I try to keep one example of each vitola I have a full box of (unless they are way too young to smoke) and then examples from my loose cigars, especially the ones acquired in 5 packs, quarter or half-boxes.  Adds up quick, but hell, it never hurts to have a selection.

[Hammer Smokin']

I prefer my drybox sits around 58 for any stick with a RG below 50