dulaney22
Banned
Over the past weekend, I finally finished up the behemoth of a read that is The Count of Monte Cristo, so what better time could there be to light up this behemoth of a cigar? 
After 5,400 pages on my iPhone (yes, it is wonderful for reading), I was happy to count down the last couple hundred with a fine smoke.
This cigar is like a super-sized Monte #2, at least in appearance. Feel was fairly firm to the touch. The cigar was pretty veiny and medium brown in color. I did not find the wrapper to be very oily. The stogie lit easily and provided a nice draw.
Once lit, a nice peppery spice greeted my palate. Quickly, this turned to a vanilla/honey cream that was accompanied by earthy and leathery tastes during the first third. The second third exhibited sweet cinnamon tastes to accompany toasty undertones of cedar. About halfway in, the cinnamon picked up in richness and, by the final third, evolved into a creamy, chocolate smoke. Other than one point about halfway in, the burn was perfect. Luckily, the problem corrected itself.
I really enjoyed this cigar. At this time, it is definitely not worth the price. Case-in-point . . . I smoked an '06 Monte #2 a few hours before the Dantes and it exhibited pretty much the same flavors in a bolder, richer fashion . . . at about a third of the cost. However, this cigar is only a year old and did exhibit some fine, although somewhat muted, flavors. I hope time will make this stogie more robust.
After 5,400 pages on my iPhone (yes, it is wonderful for reading), I was happy to count down the last couple hundred with a fine smoke. This cigar is like a super-sized Monte #2, at least in appearance. Feel was fairly firm to the touch. The cigar was pretty veiny and medium brown in color. I did not find the wrapper to be very oily. The stogie lit easily and provided a nice draw.
Once lit, a nice peppery spice greeted my palate. Quickly, this turned to a vanilla/honey cream that was accompanied by earthy and leathery tastes during the first third. The second third exhibited sweet cinnamon tastes to accompany toasty undertones of cedar. About halfway in, the cinnamon picked up in richness and, by the final third, evolved into a creamy, chocolate smoke. Other than one point about halfway in, the burn was perfect. Luckily, the problem corrected itself.
I really enjoyed this cigar. At this time, it is definitely not worth the price. Case-in-point . . . I smoked an '06 Monte #2 a few hours before the Dantes and it exhibited pretty much the same flavors in a bolder, richer fashion . . . at about a third of the cost. However, this cigar is only a year old and did exhibit some fine, although somewhat muted, flavors. I hope time will make this stogie more robust.
