Today's special reading smoke was the Flor de Farach Momotumbito. This uncommon cigar was given out as a gift by Hudsonvalley at a recent Palmer's mini-herf. In its original blend (which this is) this was one of Tom's favorite everyday cigars and I can see why. Thank you for sharing this delightful smoke with me and the rest of the boys. The review was a long time coming but I wanted to take my time on a warm and sunny day.
The Momotumbito is a classic pyramid-shaped vitola like its stablemate, the El Rey del Mundo Flor de la Vonda. Just a quick refresher on cigar shapes. The parejo shape means any cigar with straight and parallel sides from foot to head. Today, this is by far the most prevalent geometry made. It's relatively easy to learn to roll and aside from the extremes of small/thin and long/thin, is a shape that can be made by average torcedors with great throughput. The general class referred to as "figurados" includes several common shape variants. The Perfecto is doubly tapered: at both the head and the foot. This shape, once considered the ideal shape for Habanos, is what is commonly represented in cartoons: fat in the middle and pointed at both ends almost like a football. The now-discontinued Romeo y Julieta Celestiales Finos and the La Aurora Preferidos are examples of this shape.
The two other related figurado shapes are the Belicoso and the Pyramid. Upon casual observation, these two shapes would seem to be the same thing. However, there is one distinguishing characteristic. The Belicoso has sides that are parallel for most of their length with the taper occurring near the head. The Pyramid, which is also has a slang synonym of "torpedo," has sides that taper for a good portion of the cigar's length. Confused yet? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) The Padron Anniversary Series contains both a Belicoso shape (frontmark "Torpedo") as well as a Pyramid shape (frontmark "Pyramid"). The Padron Serie 1926 has as a Belicoso the No.2. In the picture below, the the Flor de Farach Momotumbo and Momotumbito are both Pyramid shapes with the former having a conical head and the latter having a flat head! A well known Belicoso is the ubiquitous Bolivar Belicosos Finos and the archetypal Pyramid is the Montecristo No.2.
Enough of the preliminaries. How did the cigar smoke?!
Prelight and Initial Stage
The Momo is rustic looking cigar with a thick leathery wrapper that is veiny and stretched in several places. This did not bother me at all as I am one of those people who couldn't care less what a cigar looks like. It could look like a rawhide chewgar and if it smoked well, I'd be happy. The wrapper was a deep colorado and had a soft, musty note of subdued tobacco. The feel was fairly firm but not over packed. A lick of the flame and we're off and running.
Ignition was trouble-free and the medium draw immediately began releasing moderate amounts of mellow smoke. I am not sure exactly how old this cigar was, but it gave every impression of having at least 3-5 years on it as blowing smoke through the nose was not harsh in the least. The flavor was mellow and initial notes were of sweet wood, medium tobacco and a toasty aroma. There was no pepperiness that I could detect but hints of sweet spice (cloves and cinnamon) were faint but pleasant. The ash was white to light grey and on the firm side of fluffy. The burn line was razor thin, almost nonexistent. Burn in general was very good, requiring no corrections at all.
The first third was predominantly mellow, sweet wood licked with tobacco and sweet spice. The smoke texture was neither creamy nor drying and the lingering aroma was aromatic and pleasing. All in all, it was reminding me most of the Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas and Churchills. So far, this was an engaging, relaxed cigar that I found soothing as I read page after page of philosophy and educational research papers. Fresh water was the sole accompaniment.
Finish and Final Impressions
In the middle third, I found the sweet spices to become a little more assertive but by no means strong. Puffing very gently enhanced the sensation of sweetness and aromaticity. So far, no major transitions. In the final third, the burn developed a lag that needed a little touch of flame and the sweet wood and delicate spices started to fade. In the last 1.5" the smoke started becoming tangy with a slight harshness that increased as time went. Slowing down my pace and puffing more lightly did not help.
A close examination of the cut head suggested a reason for this development. In the photo below, you'll see that on the cut surface, there is an area between 6 o-clock and 8 o-clock that is substantially darker than the surrounding region. This is the area of the bunch that effectively all the smoke was channeling through. Executing a quick draw and then pulling the cigar from the lips allowed me to confirm that this was the case. In fact, I noticed this a bit earlier and so I massaged the cigar by rolling the head region between my fingers in an attempt to shift the channels. Sometimes it works but this time it didn't.
Ideally, smoke should channel down a majority of the cut bunch slowing down tar and condensation build-up and the onset of harshness.
After 80 very enjoyable minutes, I decided to lay this soldier to rest.
In summation:
The Flor de Farach Momotumbito was a satisfying and comforting cigar. Elegant in proportions with a mellow profile to match, it was a pleasant reading companion for almost an hour and a half. With a sweet profile that was reminiscent of Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey, it is a great value at $2 a stick, which is cheaper that it was selling for back in 1996-97 when it was introduced. I cannot comment on whether the blend changed in these ensuing years, but if it did not, this would be an inexpensive cigar worthy of socking away a few boxes for enjoyment down the road.
Thanks again, Tom for sharing this tasty smoke. I see why you liked them so much.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...lordeFarach.jpg)
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...Momotumbito.jpg)
Wilkey
Note 1: Tom, this cigar is the first one that I had to go back into my archives (a box in the basement) to find information on.
Note 2: The name of this cigar is spelled "Momotumbito" in the original JR Cigars catalog from 1997. However, it is now spelled "Momotombito" on the JR website as well as on Perelman's.
The Momotumbito is a classic pyramid-shaped vitola like its stablemate, the El Rey del Mundo Flor de la Vonda. Just a quick refresher on cigar shapes. The parejo shape means any cigar with straight and parallel sides from foot to head. Today, this is by far the most prevalent geometry made. It's relatively easy to learn to roll and aside from the extremes of small/thin and long/thin, is a shape that can be made by average torcedors with great throughput. The general class referred to as "figurados" includes several common shape variants. The Perfecto is doubly tapered: at both the head and the foot. This shape, once considered the ideal shape for Habanos, is what is commonly represented in cartoons: fat in the middle and pointed at both ends almost like a football. The now-discontinued Romeo y Julieta Celestiales Finos and the La Aurora Preferidos are examples of this shape.
The two other related figurado shapes are the Belicoso and the Pyramid. Upon casual observation, these two shapes would seem to be the same thing. However, there is one distinguishing characteristic. The Belicoso has sides that are parallel for most of their length with the taper occurring near the head. The Pyramid, which is also has a slang synonym of "torpedo," has sides that taper for a good portion of the cigar's length. Confused yet? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) The Padron Anniversary Series contains both a Belicoso shape (frontmark "Torpedo") as well as a Pyramid shape (frontmark "Pyramid"). The Padron Serie 1926 has as a Belicoso the No.2. In the picture below, the the Flor de Farach Momotumbo and Momotumbito are both Pyramid shapes with the former having a conical head and the latter having a flat head! A well known Belicoso is the ubiquitous Bolivar Belicosos Finos and the archetypal Pyramid is the Montecristo No.2.
Enough of the preliminaries. How did the cigar smoke?!
Prelight and Initial Stage
The Momo is rustic looking cigar with a thick leathery wrapper that is veiny and stretched in several places. This did not bother me at all as I am one of those people who couldn't care less what a cigar looks like. It could look like a rawhide chewgar and if it smoked well, I'd be happy. The wrapper was a deep colorado and had a soft, musty note of subdued tobacco. The feel was fairly firm but not over packed. A lick of the flame and we're off and running.
Ignition was trouble-free and the medium draw immediately began releasing moderate amounts of mellow smoke. I am not sure exactly how old this cigar was, but it gave every impression of having at least 3-5 years on it as blowing smoke through the nose was not harsh in the least. The flavor was mellow and initial notes were of sweet wood, medium tobacco and a toasty aroma. There was no pepperiness that I could detect but hints of sweet spice (cloves and cinnamon) were faint but pleasant. The ash was white to light grey and on the firm side of fluffy. The burn line was razor thin, almost nonexistent. Burn in general was very good, requiring no corrections at all.
The first third was predominantly mellow, sweet wood licked with tobacco and sweet spice. The smoke texture was neither creamy nor drying and the lingering aroma was aromatic and pleasing. All in all, it was reminding me most of the Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas and Churchills. So far, this was an engaging, relaxed cigar that I found soothing as I read page after page of philosophy and educational research papers. Fresh water was the sole accompaniment.
Finish and Final Impressions
In the middle third, I found the sweet spices to become a little more assertive but by no means strong. Puffing very gently enhanced the sensation of sweetness and aromaticity. So far, no major transitions. In the final third, the burn developed a lag that needed a little touch of flame and the sweet wood and delicate spices started to fade. In the last 1.5" the smoke started becoming tangy with a slight harshness that increased as time went. Slowing down my pace and puffing more lightly did not help.
A close examination of the cut head suggested a reason for this development. In the photo below, you'll see that on the cut surface, there is an area between 6 o-clock and 8 o-clock that is substantially darker than the surrounding region. This is the area of the bunch that effectively all the smoke was channeling through. Executing a quick draw and then pulling the cigar from the lips allowed me to confirm that this was the case. In fact, I noticed this a bit earlier and so I massaged the cigar by rolling the head region between my fingers in an attempt to shift the channels. Sometimes it works but this time it didn't.
Ideally, smoke should channel down a majority of the cut bunch slowing down tar and condensation build-up and the onset of harshness.
After 80 very enjoyable minutes, I decided to lay this soldier to rest.
In summation:
The Flor de Farach Momotumbito was a satisfying and comforting cigar. Elegant in proportions with a mellow profile to match, it was a pleasant reading companion for almost an hour and a half. With a sweet profile that was reminiscent of Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey, it is a great value at $2 a stick, which is cheaper that it was selling for back in 1996-97 when it was introduced. I cannot comment on whether the blend changed in these ensuing years, but if it did not, this would be an inexpensive cigar worthy of socking away a few boxes for enjoyment down the road.
Thanks again, Tom for sharing this tasty smoke. I see why you liked them so much.
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...lordeFarach.jpg)
(IMG:http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h73/Gins...Momotumbito.jpg)
Wilkey
Note 1: Tom, this cigar is the first one that I had to go back into my archives (a box in the basement) to find information on.
Note 2: The name of this cigar is spelled "Momotumbito" in the original JR Cigars catalog from 1997. However, it is now spelled "Momotombito" on the JR website as well as on Perelman's.
