Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2 - UBM AGO 19 (L&SRW1)

[triphitter]

Tale of two halves with this Epi 2. Went it knowing the cigars from this specific box (gifted from another member) had wrapper and burn issues. Draw on the punch cut was fine until it started to get the tar bubbles. Guillotined it shortly thereafter. 

It was rather harsh and peppery for about the first half and had to touch it up 2-3 times to keep the wrapper burning uniformly. It was not fun or enjoyable, outside of the nice weather. First half was a 2/10 and was 95% sure I was going to chuck in the next 5 minutes.

The second half was a complete 180, smoke was creamy and the common cedar, cocoa, coffee, nuts notes were actually becoming apparent. The harshness and pepper went away and I was able to puff it down to the nub. Second half was a salvage success and I give it a 8/10. 

I can see these as a nice 4-5 hole golf cigar or a perfect 1 hour casual smoke. I have one more left from this box code and hopefully it starts better.