Montecristo #2 (date uncertain)

[Van55]

I acquired a ten-pack of Monte #2 in a special that Rob offered a few months back. I tried a second of them last evening. I think they are 07 vintage, but I am not sure which month.

Pre-light: Strange looking cigar. The head was pointier than I am used to. The wrapper was dark and toothy. To foot was sloppily cut -- not quite perpendicular to the length. A bit of the wrapper near the head was loose. The cigar looked to be underfilled, but the draw turned out to be satisfactory on the loose side. I cut the head on a 45 degree angle. The pre-light draw taste was unremarkable.

First 1/3: I paired this cigar with a Brasserie des Rocs Brune, which is an exceptional beer. The initial impression was of a medium to strong mouthful of smoke that was young and tannic. It caused me to sneeze on expelling through the nose. I detected no subtlety or nuance. If you like a slap on the palate, maybe this cigar is for you. It had a long and unpleasantly bitter finish.

Second 1/3: Maybe one day I will smoke a Monte #2 that lives up to the legend. This isn't it. The bitter aftertaste is off-putting, and the smoke remains tannic in the mouth. The word that came to mind is "charry" which I don't think is actually a word, but conveys what I tasted. I got tobacco smoke flavors and little else.

Final 1/3: No hope. I still got no variance or complexity. No elegance. The finish remained slightly bitter and a bit metallic. Purging didn't rid it of a tarry taste. I put the cigar down thinking I should go brush my teeth to refresh my mouth.

Conclusion: Two smoke rings. Maybe with age...... Or maybe I just don't "get" Monte #2. If I weren't sure of my source........

[northo]

I too got a 10 count of Monte 2s from RA about 2-3 months ago, they were dic 06. Mine were a light-medium colorado colour (just as I requested of course), decent amount of oil and no tooth, so a bit different from yours Van. The one that I have smoked so far was very good, and reassuringly unexceptional in that it tasted exactly like most other young montes I have smoked; very rich, very Montecristo. No tannins or bitterness in mine though, imho lighter coloured montes tend to smoke better when young.

The flavour you call 'tarry' may be what I taste almost as a kind of gasoline flavour/smell, which I assocaite exclusively with Montecristos, and absolutely love in a cigar. For me it tends to diminish with age and is usually replaced by sweet creamy coffee.