Montecristo #1 JOF NOV 03

Mike33 · September 7, 2008

I've steadily smoked through almost this entire box that I got from Rob and Lisa about a year and a half ago. All of the cigars have been solid and consistent, with a couple that were sheer brilliance.

The cigar had a rather dark Colorado wrapper and was fairly smooth with no veins or imperfections readily apparent. Good solid bunch at the foot, and no hard or soft spots could be felt throughout the length of the cigar. I clipped the cap of the cigar and it drew beautifully with only a little resistance. It needed no warm up time as it began to immediately provide chocolaty and creamy notes through the first couple of inches.

It stays medium-bodied the whole time, but does pick up a little bit of power middle way through. This is the kind of cigar that you can smoke at anytime during the day and not worry about it being over or under-powered. The cigar develops some other flavors including vanilla and coffee bean, along with a slight nutty character that comes and goes in the last 1/3. Towards the end, it gets a little harsh, but not bad enough to put down. This last about 1/2 an inch and then recovers and finishes with a creaminess that is unbelievably smooth.

Overall: I would give it a 91 as it was very good, but could have used some more complexity and balance. Construction was flawless as was the depth of flavors it produced. I wonder if another 5 or 6 years would make a huge difference in these. I would have to say that the #1 is my favorite Montecristo by far; the size and depth of flavors it produces make it a must have imo.