Montecristo No.2 TAO JUN 21 (FRCSW1)

[bishop532]

I had a box of PSP Monte no. 2 arrive right around the New Year. Tried to let it rest for 30 days but didn’t quite make it. I’m proud of myself for not smoking one right off the truck; that’s generally a battle for me, and one I tend to lose. I’m really excited to try these, both now and down the road after some time in the humidor. Interested to see how the wrapper affects the flavor. 

At any rate, I grabbed the one on the far left, which ended up with a slightly cracked foot on the journey to their new home. The wrapper has a nice, slightly oily sheen to it, and is a pretty milk-chocolate Colorado color. The smell from the foot is oaky and tangy, with a hint of barnyard. The cold draw is creamy and woody, milk coffee.

When I light the cigar, the aroma is the first thing I notice. Along with wood, there is scalded milk; a really unique, interesting smell that quickly translates to flavor. The taste is tangy, oaky, and most of all warm milk with a bit of dark coffee in it. I like it. It’s pretty close to the taste of a café au lait at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, minus the chicory. The construction and burn are spot on. 

The second third sees a transition from milk with coffee to coffee with cream. A few notes of cocoa in there, and the oakiness continues on. The construction is still pretty great for a young cigar that just finished a long journey halfway around the world. That said, I notice it is burning pretty fast. I hit the halfway point at right around 30 minutes. 

Happily, the cigar slows down for the final third. I taste black coffee, some dark chocolate, a bit of barnyard, and a fair amount of spice. Maybe nutmeg, a bit of pepper, something tangy. Some of the flavors are muted and transitions are a bit muddled, but there’s a lot of building blocks for the cigar to work with. Im pretty excited to see where these end up! 

It’s definitely young, but I still really enjoyed this cigar. There’s a lot of promise of good things to come, too. The chocolate flavors are very light, but they should develop. That spicy mix at the end could become really interesting. And that milky coffee flavor at the beginning blew me away. It’s pretty much the opposite of how I prefer to drink my coffee, but I sure enjoyed it in a cigar! I’m expecting a really great smoke in a few years time. There’s a reason the Monte 2 is a classic. 
 

Total burning time: 1 hour 17 minutes 

Score: 91/100

 

[Ford2112]

This is great to hear. I have the very same PSP box code sitting in my humidor. I am not going to dive into these for a while. But after reading your review,it will be much harder to do! They smell and look awesome!

[Woody Hayes]

19 minutes ago, Ford2112 said:

This is great to hear. I have the very same PSP box code sitting in my humidor. I am not going to dive into these for a while. But after reading your review,it will be much harder to do! They smell and look awesome!

You can fire one up as you watch and enjoy Tom Brady's retirement conference.

[MrBirdman]

Nice review!

[bishop532]

2 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

This is great to hear. I have the very same PSP box code sitting in my humidor. I am not going to dive into these for a while. But after reading your review,it will be much harder to do! They smell and look awesome!

I’d say there are good things to come when you open it back up! 

[Ford2112]

I open it to smell it from time to time lol. Cigars are like chicks,I have to sniff them on occasion!

[GoodStix]

How long do you think best (willpower permitting) to rest a good box of Monte 2s?  El Pres says in video review he prefers to enjoy the chocolate goodness over the first 5 years.  When best to crack into 'em?

(opinions will vary of course, all good)

[JohnS]

Yes, opinions will definitely vary on this subject so a useful response requires a multi-tiered answer. So, here goes...

1. Keep in mind that recent stock of post 2019/20 stock is smoking very well right now and doesn't necessarily require 'time down' to settle.
2. Depending on your preference when it comes to this cigar you may want to smoke them now, or perhaps later.
3. If you like them more cocoa-intensive, maybe if your sticks are dark-wrappered perhaps, then you may like to sample one sooner than later.
4. If you like them more mellower, more 'creamy coffee' you may want to leave them to rest longer.
5. Take note though, the flavour profile of this cigar varies and if it starts out 'cocoa-intensive' it may never get to that 'creamy-texture' you seek, and vice-versa of course!

In summary, what you are best to do is smoke one now and find out if it's smoking to your liking now or perhaps find out if it's 'close-to-the-mark'. If not, the second one from the box should be sampled in 12 months potentially rather than say, 6 months, for example.

The example El Pres cites is in context of the Montecristo marca as a whole. In general, excepting perhaps the Montecristo Especial and Especiales No.2, marcas that have a dominative 'chocolate-y' flavour profile do not tend to benefit from more time down, unlike other marcas with different flavour profiles such as Cohiba and H.Upmann, as an example.

[GoodStix]

Thank you.  And I've been enjoying reading all your smoking diaries ('19 onwards).  Half way thru '20 now.  Enjoyed how you point out the difference the wrappers (light vs dark) make in the Monte 2s (creamy coffee vs cocoa intensive).  Looking forward to finishing your diaries.  Outstanding body of work! -- thank you 🙂

[bishop532]

On 1/30/2022 at 10:55 AM, JohnS said:

In general, excepting perhaps the Montecristo Especial and Especiales No.2, marcas that have a dominative 'chocolate-y' flavour profile do not tend to benefit from more time down, unlike other marcas with different flavour profiles such as Cohiba and H.Upmann, as an example.

Thanks, John! One great thing about this hobby is how much there is to learn. I had no idea about this; definitely useful knowledge to have. I’ve watched some of your YouTube review series. I’ve enjoyed them. Have to check out the smoking diaries Goodstix mentioned too! 

This one was a lot more creamy coffee (or actually coffee-y cream, I might say) as opposed to chocolate forward. So maybe a little time down would be helpful. Winter makes it a little easier for me to leave these larger vitolas alone for a few months at least. 

 

On 1/30/2022 at 10:30 AM, GoodStix said:

How long do you think best (willpower permitting) to rest a good box of Monte 2s?  El Pres says in video review he prefers to enjoy the chocolate goodness over the first 5 years.  When best to crack into 'em?

(opinions will vary of course, all good)

As you might have noticed from my review, I’m a proponent of cracking into a box as soon as possible

After that, I try to do something like what John mentioned (though the cadence usually ends up being more “try one every 1-3 months” vs every 6-12 months. 

This applies to most cigars I smoke, though, not just Monte no. 2.

[rascalmonkey]

the 2019-2021 stock (esp. Monte #2) has been so good that I've thrown most of the tried and true rules out the window

If something is smoking good I smoke them all (like a drunken sailor)... maybe leaving 1-2 that i tuck away in deep storage at the bottom of the cooler

everything in moderation, including moderation 

[bishop532]

50 minutes ago, rascalmonkey said:

everything in moderation, including moderation 

*especially moderation