Montecristo Leyenda SOP ENE 20 (RMRRW-M)

[david9985]

These themed review comps are a great thing as they give a prompt towards certain cigars that otherwise I may overlook and save for a "special" occasion. The bulk of my smoking is of regular production modestly sized sticks, often minutos, PCs and robustos. I enjoy the bigger sticks too but to crack them I need to be sure of a comfortable spot and no time pressures. In this case it was a pleasant pub courtyard terrace with good wind protection and a personal patio heater directly overhead.

The Leyenda was a gift from @torsion and was visually stunning. It was obviously a premium stick and the wrapper colour, sheen and construction were highly alluring. Weight in the hand was perfect and clipping revealed cocoa on the draw with just the right level of resistance.

It opened well with blue fragrant smoke pouring from both foot and head. The smoke engulfed the two-person booth we occupied, in a good way! Initial tasting notes backed up the pre-light draw, lots of cocoa, coupled with a pleasant coffee bean note that I also get from VR Unicos. It wasn't excessively sweet either, which pleased me.

Not much variation throughout the first third, just lots and lots of billowy smoke, which does add the enjoyment. Construction lived up to initial impressions and the burn line behaved well, requiring few touch-ups.

In the second third all the good things about this cigar remained but there was an additional mahogany note that lilted in and out and made things more interesting. This was the winning third.

Not a whole lot of change towards the end of the final third. I stopped not long after this point as the flavours became muted and enjoyment waned slightly. 1hr45min total smoke time was a good return and I was very satisfied!

A generous gift, fully enjoyed!

[RDB]

Thanks for the great review. I’ve never had one of these, but it’s a vicarious pleasure to read about your experience, and nice to see a ‘premium’ perform well.