Montecristo No. 5 ESL AGO 18 (MRW)

[saltbox]

Only had time for a quick smoke so grabbed one of my No. 5s. I'm a big fan of Montecristo No. 2s but I've found that I don't seem to love the smaller ring gauges as much as they don't have the decadent creaminess of the No. 2 (for me).

First third: nice creamy chocolate and cinnamon spice. There's cream on the flavor profile but the texture of the finish feels almost powdery, if that makes sense. A little bit like eating a spoonful of hot cocoa mix.

Middle third: more of that slightly odd creamy/powdery dynamic. A rich aged tobacco note comes through underneath and the flavor profile becomes a nice milk chocolate over top tobacco.

Last third: the powdery texture fades away. This last "third" is really short given the size of the cigar and as the burn line approaches the end, the heat and harshness just overwhelms any nuance like that.

Overall: not bad, just a solid quick hit of the standard Montecristo flavor notes. I think this is the second cigar I pulled from the few I received in the trade and this one smoked far better. 87/100