Montecristo No. 3 PUL MAY 01 (blind tasting)

[cigarnv]

Montecristo No. 3 PUL MAY 01 (blind tasting)

A cigar group that I belong to is doing a blind tasting of 9 cigars over the course of the summer, this was cigar #5 in the tasting. All of the cigars came from Rob, and his team did a superb job of helping us put this tasting in place. There are 15 reviewers who are all seasoned Havana smokers and no reviews were released to the reviewers until all were submitted. Here is a short recap

Ratings

96+ 0 votes

90-95 3 votes

86-89 3 votes

80-85 5 votes

75-79 1 votes

74- 1 votes

NA 2 votes

“The initial flavors of the cigar were harsh, tannic, woody, dry, and mostly unpleasant…I’m glad that it did not remain quite so for too long. Through the first inch or so the flavor got stronger and spicier but still retained its tannic and somewhat harsh and unbalanced flavor profile. A hint of some nuttiness and earthiness emerged and remained through the rest of the cigar.”

“The flavors were very subtle, indicating to me this could be an older cigar vs. a fairly in descript, almost bland, blend. The middle third saw the tobacco flavor assume a toasted quality, along with a slight woodsy taste and a slight “twang”. The last third introduced a very mild grassy note, more toasted tobacco, and a slight bitterness towards the end. All in all, this mild-bodied, one-hour smoke was nothing special for me.”

“Overall cigar #5 was at best a quite boring smoke with no real flavor development and remained one dimensional throughout. Given the light draw and the burn problems I suspect part of the blend tobacco may have been omitted. I would not even guess at this cigar given the lack of distinctiveness. I should rate this cigar a dog rocket but it may be fairer to rate it NA due to construction issues as clearly something was missing.”

“The burn was fantastic and as even as it gets. The ash was a white/black and held on the best of any that I have tested in this series holding for the first quarter of the cigar and then almost a third before falling off the second time. I liked this cigar”

“First puffs show promise of a decently aged cigar. sweet spices come out in the first inch and develop deeper with creamy coffee notes melding. The cigar is currently mild in strength but medium-full in flavor. half way through it's even richer in depth but the notes of spice and creamed coffee have melded into plain old good tobacco. In the last inch the spice came back like pumpkin, gingerbread and spice cake and the strength built to medium. I nubbed it.”

“Even before I lit it, the cigar was beautiful. It had a thin, oily wrapper and was packed solidly with tobacco. When I cut it, I was pleased to find it had a perfect draw. Indeed, when I smoked it, I concluded it was the best-made cigar I've smoked in some time: the wrapper required no touch-ups, it burned slowly and evenly, and it provided dense mouthfuls of smoke. If only all Havanas could be so well made! It was tasty, too. It started mild, sweet and chocolaty. As is often the case, the flavors intensified throughout the smoke. The sweet, chocolate character persisted, but was complemented by sweet cinnamon spice. This was a full-bodied, full-flavored, medium strength cigar I enjoyed very much!”

“It burned and drew well. A little spicy that was more sweet than peppery. The spice disappeared after the first ashing that was quite dark. Basically an ok medium strength smoke that was inoffensive and pleasant.This cigar lasted around an hour. Not too complex, but definitely not mono-dimensional.”

“The cigar finished a boldness that I really enjoy in a Havana. I would not mind having a box or two of these as I feel they are smoking superbly.”

“Earthiness immediately noticed upon first light. The draw is on the tight side. Medium tobacco taste is accompanied by a twang. A musty taste is also developing (as in a damp, old basement). The strength is building with each puff. Burn is good and the ash is holding on tight.”

“Right off, good Cuban flavor. Nice power, balance and body. Yielded rich, chewy mouthfuls of smoke. Sweet wood and leather. As it smoked further gained in strength but didn’t change much. Still, great flavor and nicely balanced.”

“The cigar did taste young to me. Full-flavored, but a little harsh. Outside of straight-forward tobacco flavor, I’d say that Cocoa was the most prominent flavor. This cigar was enjoyable, but not great. There was little to distinguish it as stand-out in any one area. That being said, I think it has a lot of potential to improve with a few years of age.”

[El Presidente]

Hard to believe you coud achieve such a kaleidescope of opinion from cigars eminating from the same box. You can put it down to the inconsistency of the period as discussed in the Dip 2 thread.

Again, this has been an excellent exercise in running a line through the 2000/2001 period. :-)