halfwheel.com reported on the Espada back in June:

Altadia U.S.A. is adding a new chapter to the storied history of its Montecristo brand with the upcoming release of Espada by Montecristo, a new collaboration between the company’s Grupo de Maestros and the Plasencia family.

The cigar is a Nicaraguan puro with tobacco coming primarily from the Jalapa region of the country. The wrapper is a Habano Jalapa Vintage 2010, while the binder is a 2009 vintage. The filler draws from a trio of 2008 vintage leaves: Habano Jalapa seco, Habano Ometepe viso and Habano ligero from Condega. The flavor profile is described as spicy, strong, bold and brave but that maintains a worldly sophistication.

The Espada by Montecristo will debut in three sizes: a 5 x 54 called Ricasso, 6 x 50 dubbed Guard and a 7 x 56 named Quillon. The vitola names all draw from terms used in swords and knives in keeping with the name of the cigar, which is the Spanish word for sword. A ricasso is the unsharpened part of a blade just above the handle, while quillon and guard refer to the bar of metal where the blade and hilt meet.

Each will come in ten-count suede covered boxes with single stick prices between $11.25 and $12.50 before taxes. The cigars are made by the Plasencias in Nicaragua.

The release date is scheduled for July 1.

The Facts

Samples Provided by Altadis U.S.A
Price: $11.75
Vitola: Toro
Size: 6 by 50
Wrapper: Nicaraguan – Habano Jalapa Vintage 2010
Binder: Nicaraguan – Habano Jalapa Vintage 2009
Filler: Nicaraguan – Habano Jalapa Seco Vintage 2008, Habano Jalapa Viso Ometepe Vintage 2008, Habano Condega Ligero Vintage 2008
Smoke Time:1 Hour and 10 Minutes
Drink: Water

Pre-light

Like the H. Upmann The Banker, the presentation of the Montecritso Espada is spot on with its triple band. The cigar feels solid in the hand with no soft spots to be found. The oils glisten off the medium tan Nicaraguan Habano wrapper that has only small veins. I am picking up very mild notes of cedar and cardboard off the wrapper, while the aroma off the foot of the cigar is much more appealing with raisin and chocolate notes.

The cap gets the job done but it is not the cleanest cap, making it hard to determine if a double or triple cap has been applied. But knowing how Altadis rolls, I am going with a double cap. My cutter has a difficult time clipping through this tightly packed cigar. Once cut, the draw is more snug than I would prefer, showing some rich cedar, chocolate and raisin and a small amount of spice is felt on my lips. Removing the middle band and foot band, I am now ready to fire up this Montecristo Espada.

First Third

The snug draw is resulting in low smoke production making me take multiple puffs to get enough smoke to discern any flavors. Pinching the middle of the Espada seems to open up the draw a bit more. The flavors in the first half inch of are pencil shaving-like flavor and coffee. The flavors are dark and somewhat bitter. Black, bitter coffee and cocoa sits on my palate for some time on the finish. The burn is thick and wavy but of no concern and the white, flaky ash is holding past an inch.

Middle Third

The second third brings along a similar profile as earlier, with a few minor tweaks. The dry cedar has shifted to a thicker oak flavor, some added citrus and sweetness has joined in, and the coffee is still holding strong. The sweetness is so faint that I am unable to identify what type of sweetness it is but it is rounding out the profile.  As I burn to the halfway point of the Montecristo Espada, the smoke production has significantly increased. This is right around the area that I was pinching earlier to free up the draw. With the smoke production increasing, the flavors seem to be moving from medium to full as well.

Final Third

The Espada Guard is burning rather quickly for a cigar of its size. The soft breeze passing by may be accelerating the burn rate. My mouth is feeling dry after each puff and a sip water is needed to refresh my palate. The pepper spice has picked up,  as well as the cocoa on the finish. Just below an inch and half, the flavors have become a bit charred letting me know it is time to put this Espada to rest.

Wrap-up

The Montecristo Espada has top notch branding and packaging. While removing three bands could be a bit irritating, they add more more than they take away from this cigar. I would give the performance of the cigar a B- with its snug draw, wavy burn at the start, and somewhat ugly and flaky ash experienced in the middle and final third. But overall, there were no touch ups and no real babysitting of the cigar. In regards to the flavors, I am a bit torn. The first third lacked in balance and had some bitterness. The faint sweetness that entered in the  middle third brought balance to the profile. The middle and final thirds flavors were enjoyable, but I don’t smoke a cigar to only enjoy two thirds of it. I think additional rest and aginng of the Espada may relieve the bitterness in the first third. I am going to put my last sample away and revisit in 6 plus months.

The post Montecristo Espada Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Montecristo No. 2

Montecristo makes a wide variety of different cigars in a wide range of sizes from the tiny Joyita to the massive “A”. The Montecristo No. 2 is one of the original sizes which were limited to No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5. Next to the No. 4, the Montecristo No. 2 is one of the top sellers and a very recognizable vitola.

The date on the box for these cigars is March 2008, so at the time of smoking they had just passed their two year anniversary. I found age to make a big difference on these as the younger ones I’ve tried tended to have a bit of harshness to them. The extra age definitely added an element of smoothness to the profile and also allowed some of the other flavors I hadn’t detected in the younger cigar to shine through in the aged one. I am fully planning to keep a few of them aging in my humidor for a few more years.

One other thing to note about this particular vitola is that all the sticks I’ve seen are not the best looking when it comes to the wrapper and perfect cylindrical shape with the tapered head. A lot of them seem to have water spots, veins, crookedness, etc… But I have to say, aside from the odd draw problem (common for many Cubans), the cigars have all been exceptional and well worth trying.

(Tony) Daniel pretty much summed it up. This is a stick was actually sent to me by Daniel awhile back and he has been badgering me to add my portion of this joint review on for week, heck maybe even months (sorry Daniel) . I haven’t fallen in love with many of the cubans that I have had the luxury of smoking, and I really hope this one throws a few surprises my way. For something rated so highly amongst the Cigar Community, I am anxiously hoping this one does it for me. Since Daniel was kind enough to stick to my review format in the joint review we teamed up to bring you of Illusione’s ~88~ , I will return the favor and conform to his review style.

Cigar:Montecristo No. 2
Drink (Daniel): Grahams Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port (2003 Bottle Year)
Drink (Tony):Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre
Vitola:Torpedo/Piramide (6.125 x 52)
Wrapper: Cuban
Binder: Cuban
Filler: Cuban
Price: $30.00 in Canada, about $10 in Cuba
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction (Daniel):
• A few bumps along the wrapper but no major veins
• Cleanly applied cap
• Light brown colored wrapper
• Tightly packed foot
• Evenly packed along the body with a perfect spring to it, some of them had small soft spots
• Nice oily wrapper with a tiny bit of bloom in some areas
• Slightly tight draw, I could cut more but it will likely open up later
• Draw opened up as predicted at the halfway point

Montecristo No. 2

Construction (Tony):
• Almost box pressed body and foot
• Nice almost sticky triple cap
• The Wrapper is Slightly oily with a nice soft gleam
• Very tightly packed foot and body
• One large vein running 2/3 of the way through the body
• Very firm to the touch
• No softspots at all
• Color is a consistently milky brown
• A bit of cracking towards the end of the final third, probably due to my over humidification

Burn (Daniel):
• Toasting was nice and even with no dark spots
• A little wavy burn at the start, is slowly correcting itself
• Needing some extra attention to stay lit
• The wave stayed to the halfway mark but isn’t getting any worse
• After the ash fell at halfway the burn realigned and is razor sharp now
• Was burning fast for the first half, now it’s nice and slow with no extra attention needed
• Allowing me to slow down the draws and enjoy it a little more
• The quick burn at the start made this a shorter smoke than expected, definitely wish it would have lasted longer

Montecristo No. 2

Burn (Tony):
• Lit up very easily with my triple flame torch
• Burn line went all sorts of crazy during the first third but evened out
• Very thin, sharp burn line
• It did tend to go off in its own little tangents here and there but always quickly corrected itself
• I was very surprised on just how extremely fast this cigar burned, not only in the first half but all the way through
• No need for touch-ups or relighting.

Smoke & Ash (Daniel):
• A little less smoke that I’d like at the start
• Resting smoke is quite abundant and smells great, toasted cedar and earthy tones
• Ash is a very light grey
• Ash is holding strong with no flakes or crookedness
• Ash held on for close to 2 inches
• No wind outside and the smoke is dancing in front of me, giving a nice aroma
• Amount of smoke was very full after the halfway point

Montecristo No. 2

Smoke and Ash (Tony):
• Decently big Draw, nothing to write home about, but nothing too tight
• Lots of cedar smelling stationary smoke with hints of spice
• Ash is light grey mixed with dark, almost black spots
• Ash is a bit flaky, but holds firm
• Very dry smoke, leaving my throat and mouth very dry. I may need a few drinks to finish this cigar up
• Ash held on for almost 2 inches before falling off.

Tasting Notes (Daniel):
• A light cedar and earthy aroma on the wrapper
• Stronger cedar aroma on the foot along with a light sweet spice, close to cinnamon-sugar
• Pre-light draw definitely has the cedar and the spice, but the sweetness isn’t there
• Initial draws were of smoky burning wood, more of that spice, along with some leather and earthy notes
• Retrohale is very mild with a smooth cedar finish
• Slight dryness on the back of the throat, Port is taking care of it!
• At the halfway mark, the leather has disappeared and is replaced with a black licorice flavor, smoky cedar and spice are still there
• Throughout the first half, the cigar was fairly mild and had a smooth creamy finish to it
• After the ash fell off near the halfway mark the licorice flavor really came out
• Still can’t quite pinpoint the exact spice but this cigar definitely has some complex flavors that I’m enjoying!
• Body started quickly ramping up to medium-full past the halfway mark
• Flavors are bursting out of this cigar now, super cedar, spice, earthiness, licorice and a great creamy finish
• Got some espresso notes making their way in during the last 1.5 inches or so

Montecristo No. 2

Tasting Notes (Tony):
• Very cedary aroma from wrapper
• Light cedary and more earthy aroma from the foot. Very Dirt and Grass smelling
• Very salty start from the wrapper
• Great cedar Aftertaste
• Very Earthy, with notes of hay and grass
• Spicy notes at the beginning with hints of Cinnamon that mellowed out very quickly
• Retrohale is very smooth and contains lots of cedar with a bit of fruit and earth tones
• Earth and hay flavors ramp up big time in the second half.
• The saltyness on the wrapper is now becoming sweet, making for an interesting changeup.
• Now the creamy, almost milked coffee flavors are coming into play during the last third
• Not a lot of body in this cigar. I did find a slight spike close to the end of the second third, but nothing stronger than medium.
• The final third did end up with quite a few unexpected flavors. Although finishing off a bit harsh there was a ton of cedar, spice, earth, cinnamon, coffee, fruit, and even an uproar of the saltyness that I encountered at the start of the smoke

Final Thoughts (Daniel):
I love this cigars attitude. It was all kind and friendly/mild at the start and then BANG! Flavor + body came out of nowhere and made this smoke even more amazing. The creaminess and espresso flavors at the end were almost like a heartfelt farewell. I did not want this cigar to end! Simple as that. If you have a chance to get some of these, they are definitely a must try. As with most Cubans, be prepared for some bad construction or draw on some of them. If you are buying singles, try to pick ones with no soft spots and a clean wrapper. The well balanced flavors and multiple dimensions while still staying true to typical Cuban cigars flavor were exceptional. I enjoyed every draw from this cigar and will definitely be seeking out more.

Montecristo No. 2

Final Thoughts (Tony):
This was classic cuban through and through. Mild body, with a ton of earthy flavors, and a crappy burn. If you are fond of earthy cigars, or cubans this is a great stick. Don’t let the burn mislead you. Almost every Cuban I have had to date carries similar characteristics in construction and burn. Its like a trade mark for them. This was a good stick, but it left me craving more. More body, and a longer burn. All together it only took me about an hour to tear through this one. One thing to keep in mind is I have not yet read Daniel’s review on this stick. Again, he’s been pestering me for weeks, if not months (Sorry again man) now to add my piece to this review and I really wanted to go in here with a completely biased approach. Hopefully our findings matchup.

Pairings (Daniel):
For me, this Tawny port was an absolute perfect pairing. It would also go amazing well with a nice glass of wine or a smooth scotch/cognac. For non-alcoholic, I think a strong coffee such as a Cuban or Americano would go very well and match better than sweet tea or soda. This cigar definitely deserves a good pairing that allows the flavors from the cigar to really shine. Try not to overpower with something very strong or palate altering to truly enjoy this.

Pairing (Tony):
The Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre proved to be a charming mix and actually helped me battle my way through the random notes I picked up in this cigar. Raison D’Etreis a deep, mahogany Belgian-style brown ale brewed with beet sugar, raisins, and Belgian-style yeast. Not to mention it carries with it a nice 8.0% ABV tag. The sweetness gave a lucrative balance to the saltyness I picked up on an off from the Montecristo while the boldness and strength made up for the mild body of the cigar. I honestly think something even sweeter, such as cola, or sweet tea would be a perfect match.

On a side note (Tony): After adding my portion to this review I found it extremely interesting how different Daniel’s and my experience was. Although many aspects were similar, the flavors seemed to be on different spectrums. Maybe it was the saltyness that I kept picking up in this cigar that gave me a different perception of the cigar, or maybe Daniel purposely stored my cigar with his condements before sending. Whatever it was I love the fact that we had totally different experiences. It goes to show just how different my taste’s and his really are.

Daniel’s Side Note: After weeks of waiting I never thought we’d get this posted due to Tony the slacker! hehe. I did store this cigar with onions and sea salt, attempting my own infused cigar (just joking!) I think the pairings affect flavors as well but even considering that it seems we were fairly close on most things. What does everyone else think about the comparisons between the two?

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