Montecristo Joyitas TBR OCT 05 (Take 2)

[zuma]

Montecristo Joyitas TBR OCT 05

It is supposed to be spring around here... yet we had drizzle and a rather chilly arvo.

This Monte "little jewel" I dry-boxed for about a week... I like this laguito 3 and I have liked it for a while... but, alas, it must be smoked ever so slowly, demanding a peaceful moment and/or state of mind... I don't have 'em often.

This was not the nicest looking cigar... it looked somewhat like it had been sutured a-la-Frankenstein and, although it had a glimmer of oil, it felt dry and very firm to touch. In fact, it looked like one of those wrinkled-bark wooden sticks that my two-year-old daughter picks up when we take her for a walk.

The smell at cold was faintly sweet and hay-like... clipped the cap and found a perfect draw that left a taste of hay on the lips.

The opening was wham! Intense coffee and vanilla bean from the onset, with a somewhat dry cedar texture on the palate and hints of cinnamon and vanilla bean lingering on after each draw.

Within the first half inch it turned into a slap-on-yar-face espresso core with a burnt citrus rind edge. It was still quite dry on the palate, yet left a subtle coffee with vanilla-milk taste lingering after each draw.

A faint touch of sweetness was welcomed near the beginning of the second third whence it mellowed to a long back core with a dash of cedar cream... dry and bready texture on the palate... the sweetness was soon completely out, and the long black turned into a thick espresso yet incredibly dry... cedar and milk coffee lingering on after each draw.

With less than an inch to go, the vanilla came back riding on a dark coffee core with cinnamon spice on the tip of the tongue, and subtle saccarin-like sweetness... why so late in the game? Hell, it burnt my fingers...

The burn was bloody straight... dark ribbed ash... loads of smoke volume... about 35 mins... and due to the dry quality of this smoke I had to sip on water almost every other draw.

I'll give it 92/100

I bought this box a little over a year ago, I have been having one every other month and since then the definition and intensity of flavour has truly evolved... almost a year ago I posted [link=http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/board_entry.php?id=59864&page=0&category=all&order=name&descasc=DESC] a review of a stick from the same box (that was Take 1). [/link] If I don't finish them, I review another in about a year... :cool:

Edit: migrated post to review forum

[El Presidente]

Fantastic review Zuma!

I find dry boxing these guys is the key as it improves what can be a difficult draw and enhances the flavour.