Dominican Montecristos

[schenker]

It was a trip I made to the Caribbean that ignited my interest in cigar smoking, and sent me to the web and ultimately to this website. I smoked some Montecristo #4 and loved them. My question: how do the Domenican Montecristos compare to the ISOMs? Are they worth trying?

 

[Devil Doc]

DR Monte's are a good but over priced cigar. They have nothing in common with the ISOM, except the name.

Doc.

 

[BrownDevil]

I'm a ISOM Monte fan so in my opinion there is absolutely no comparison. Others will surely disagree.

 

[ggiese]

I'm a ISOM Monte fan so in my opinion there is absolutely no comparison. Others will surely disagree.

Nope - I won't disagree... I like both, but they are very different...

 

[Lee]

I wouldn't waste the money on the DR's, over priced and they don't come close to the habanos....but that's only my opinion. Try a few and see where that takes you. Everyone has different tastes.

 

[Mr Peat]

Personally not a fan of either. They both tend to be lacking in many things from my experience. Granted, I wont turn one down if handed to me for free but I wont go out and buy them either. Lessoned learned on both sides.

 

[moki]

I don't like Cuban Montecristos as a rule... just not a fan of the flavor profile, and find them rather boring (there have been exceptions though!)... but I would take them over the Dominican variants.

 

[antaean]

The Monte-DR's are mild to medium smokes that bear no resemblance to the ISOM versions. I smoke the DR's for a change of pace or as a warm-up for heavier body fuller flavored smokes. I have found that letting the DR versions rest at 65% to 70% RH for 3 or more months really helps their last third or so. Less bitterness I guess. The Cuban Monte #2 is a seriously different smoke than the DR's. I have not tried most of the smaller vitolas of the ISOM version but the 4's and 5's don't seem to develop the flavor range of the #2 and don't seem to be as full either. IMHO the #2 ISOM is a winner, and its smaller brethren are good but not as good.

Monte-DR has many varieties: regular, white, platinum, serie's, vintage. The so-called Monte-DR'93 Vintage Club Cabinet series supposedly will be discontinued soon. These seem to be more medium bodied with a floral/fruity tone and darker wrappers. I like these most of the Monte-DR's.

The prices for the Monte-DR's are in almost the same price range as ISOM's, but if you shop hard you can get them for quite a discount (bid sites, etc..).

Since ISOM's are illegal in the US, the Monte-DR can be an enjoyable alternative but make no mistake: They only share a common name.

Hope this helps.

antaean