Midweek Shootout Poll: Bolivar Belicosos Finos vs Montecristo No.2

[MoeFOH]

Midweek Shootout Poll - where we randomly pit two Cuban sticks against one another to see which comes out on top. 

Punch DC is about to knockout the RyJ Churchill over on last week's poll - closing soon! 

The match-up this week sees the Bolivar Belicosos Finos battling the Montecristo No.2   

If you've had both -great. If you've had one and not the other or have had neither, give us your answer and discussion based on your experience there and/or the allure/desire/interest in these combatants. 

Read the scenario, vote in the poll, discuss below if you wish 

[loose_axle]

Tough one this as I love both, but the Bolivar has it for me and has been consistently good to great whereas the odd Monte 2 can disappoint. 

[chasy]

I don’t even get Monte 2. Never bad, never good. I just assume it’s user error. BBF delivers.

[JohnS]

Bolivar Belicosos rarely disappoints but a Montecristo No.2 that is "on" is simply sublime!

[Ford2112]

Bolivar lately has been frustrating to me with the thin wrappers. Like them a lot when on. Monte 2 is an icon.

[El Presidente]

I smoke BBF 6:1 over the Monte 2. 

[CigarCulture09]

The Monte 2 is a classic but a BBF is a favourite of mine. The BBF is a cigar I never run out of. 

[westg]

Monte 2. Had some absolute stunners.

[gormag38]

If reaching into my current boxes, I'd select a BBF 3/4 times. However, the Monte 2 can surpass the BBF quite easily in my book if it's on. The good ones keep me coming back but the consistency is just a toss up. 

[Lucas Buck]

Not much of a Boli fan. Monte is top 3 marcas for me. Unlike most other marcas there is not a vitola I don’t love. A good M2 is a primo smoke. They age like a dream. A 20-30 year old is almost always sublime. 

‘To be fair I’ve only smoked a few BBF from maybe a half dozen boxes or so and don’t ever recall smoking a cab version or one more than 20 years old. 

[GVan]

Have them both and love them both.  Normally, my vote would be on the BBF's -- But, right now, the best smoking box in my entire humidor (based on my and other experienced CC smokers) is a box of MSU-NOV-19 Monte #2's.  This box "IS ON 🔥" and easily surpasses 94 points on a regular bases!  

[Chibearsv]

Oh, come on. This one is impossible. If both are Optimal, then it depends on the day. Both are so different but delicious. My daily mood would be the only thing pushing me one direction or the other. I abstain, courteously.

[BG318]

When it's a choice this difficult I have to ask myself, "Which one could I not do without if I could only smoke one and never the other?"

I have to go with the Monte 2.

[Havanaaddict]

The Monte 2 is the king of torpedos, but in the past they have been very inconsistent for me. But I have to say that I have not smoked one in many years ! But I do love my BBFs. 

[MrBirdman]

BBF and it's not even close. I smoke Monte more than any other marca and the No. 2 is one of my least favorite vitolas in the classic line - anytime I reach for one just to burn through what I have, I always think, "I could be smoking a Double Edmundo." M2's just don't have enough flavor intensity for me - I kept buying and smoking them for years trying to figure out why they're so popular, and that never happened. But of course I know I am in the minority here. 

[Tunkat92]

23 hours ago, JohnS said:

Bolivar Belicosos rarely disappoints but a Montecristo No.2 that is "on" is simply sublime!

200% agree, that's why I chose Monte 2’s. Late '23 and '24 examples have been spectacular too.

[Mike Mecklenburg]

My vote is for the Monte 2. I like the Bolivar but the Monte 2 is a classic.