Montecristo #2 ISOM

[cigarsarge]

Tonight I fired up a Monte #2 that I got from a BOTL in Memphis. It was dated 6/03 which made it a year old this month. It is one of the few cigars I totally lost myself in.

It had a light chocolate wrapper with no visable flaws It was well filled with perfect firmness. It was the first Monte I have had with the new band.

I clipped it and drew on it. The draw was a little tight. I torched the foot and my mouth was filled with tons of pepper. Made my eyes water.

It soon smoothed out and soon became a smoke to remember. It tasted of coffee and sweet spice. The last third became stronger and more flavorfull. The smoke filled my breezeway with the smell of Havana.

I have heard #2s are a hit and miss cigar. This one was definately a hit. :love:

 

[Tony Bones]

I have heard #2s are a hit and miss cigar.

Boy, ain't that the truth. The #2 has blown me away and has also left me wondering what happend?

Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Treamayne]

Great stogie.... one of the few non-maduro 'gars I have truely enjoyed and (luckily) one of the few ISOMs they sell here in Okinawa <grin>

Definitly a cigar to note and remember.

 

[ricmac25]

Agree with you 100% on the hit or miss. I had an '02 that was good not great. Then I had an '03 that was absolutely amazing. Definitely an experience. That was what a Monte #2 was supposed to be.

Glad you got a good one.

 

[txmatt]

I appreciate your review and the follow ups. Once I feel I have properly trained my tastes enough to appreciate ISOMs I think I might avoid this one at first because of the hit/miss experiences.

Like others I am glad to hear you had a winner!
Matt

 

[golfgar]

I have heard #2s are a hit and miss cigar. This one was definately a hit.

I lucked into some April '03's that were perhaps in the top 2 or 3 cigars I've ever smoked. Other years are good but not nearly that highly prized.

 

[cigarsarge]

Wonder if 2003 is a good year for #2s?

 

[Tony Bones]

Wonder if 2003 is a good year for #2s?

The April 03's are very nice. The 04's are definitely still way young. Got beat up by one a few days ago

 

[winston]

The Monte #2 ISOM that was lucky enough to get from Gr8ful2day last Saturday was great. One of the best I've smoked in a while. I'm glad that it was "a hit." A couple of those in my humi would be great.

 

[cigarsarge]

Smoked another last night. I too was dead on. Wish I would have got more.

 

[Maggs44]

The April 03's are very nice. The 04's are definitely still way young. Got beat up by one a few days ago

Thanks for sharing that Tony, I was going to light up the 04 I have soon, but think I'll wait at least another 6 months if I can

 

[emodx]

The April 03's are very nice. The 04's are definitely still way young. Got beat up by one a few days ago

Thanks for sharing that Tony, I was going to light up the 04 I have soon, but think I'll wait at least another 6 months if I can

Smoke them young or put them down for a long nap. If you wait too long, you might find it going into a sick period. It just the nature of isoms...

Emo

 

[Maggs44]

Thanks for sharing that Tony, I was going to light up the 04 I have soon, but think I'll wait at least another 6 months if I can [/QUOTE]
Smoke them young or put them down for a long nap. If you wait too long, you might find it going into a sick period. It just the nature of isoms...

Emo [/quote]
Ok, now Im confused. Isn't there a direct curve on ageing cigars? 6 months old is better than 3, 1 year better than 6 months etc. ?

The one I have I got a couple months ago, so it must be an early 04; so in 6 months is will be a year old and should be a bit smoother, less harsh?

Bruce

 

[emodx]

As isom's mature, they start to release gases due to further maturation. So often, a box of cigars will taste pretty good straight from the factory. For most isoms, depending on how long from table to box, you could have a very fresh cigar. Others, could take a few months from table to box. So you really don't know how old they are. A lot of times a cigar will taste flat or as some people call it muted. This is a sign that they are starting to go into a sick period. The sick period could last 6 months to a few years. It usually goes something like this:
Fresh from the factory they taste good and punchy(kinda strong)
After a while they start to taste kinda of dull(begining of the sick period)
During the middle of the sick period they will smell and taste of amonia.
After a while they will loose the amonia flavor, but they will taste "green" or young.
Once they start to loose this flavor they either start tasting good, or back to the flat dull taste.
After the dull taste they start picking up flavor again.
Some cigars cigars won't develop much of a green tannic taste. Others will taste really green and tannic, but won't get too much amonia flavor.
Each brand is different and will go through varying degrees of sickness. Within the same brand, different sizes and blends will go through different types of sicnkess. As you can see, it goes through a bell curve of sickness. Some people like the tannic taste and don't consider it part of cigar sickness.

Emo

 

[Maggs44]

It usually goes something like this:
Fresh from the factory they taste good and punchy(kinda strong)
After a while they start to taste kinda of dull(begining of the sick period)
During the middle of the sick period they will smell and taste of amonia.
After a while they will loose the amonia flavor, but they will taste "green" or young.

Ok, I think I follow that.

The Monte I have came from Tony B, and he said it was young. So I think for a frame of reference, I will try my #2 this weekend, and taste a young one. I certainly dont want to stick one cigar in my humi for 2 years.

Ok, my Independence day weekend lineup...

ISOM
RASCC from sept 02
Monty # 2 from 04

Domestic
Opus X Fuente Fuente # 5 (I think) not sure of the year.

Think I'll have the Opus while watching the fireworks.

 

[Maggs44]

The April 03's are very nice. The 04's are definitely still way young. Got beat up by one a few days ago

Well, having read a few opinions about young Montys and when to smoke em, I decided to light up the Monty # 2 I got from Tony (an 04).

We finally got a sunny day here in Milwaukee so I ad a nice day swimming etc, and after a nice late lunch I sat on my patio and took in the scenery.

The construction was flawless. Nice prelight aroma. I noticed a slight spicy tatse and a hint a sweetness... a nutty flavor soon followed. I did notice a lack of creamyness I get from the RASCC's (my only regular ISOM), it was there just slightly, so maybe thats the "greenness" I hear about. For the most part, it seemed to be a medium strength.

The burn was mostly even, but I noticed it was rollded very loose, unlike the RASCC's I smoke, and it drew very easy and produced a tremendous amount of smoke. Ash was grey to black.

I could tell this really was a strong cigar about 3/4 through, and in spite of being a pretty big cigar, it smoked fast, maybe only 45-50 minutes.

The finish was long, pleasent. BUT..... about 15 minutes after letting it die this powerfull sucker snuck up on me and knocked me down. Yep Tony, it beat me up

Still young or well aged, this ISOM is better than almost every domestic Ive smoked.

 

[cigarsarge]

I blew through the fiver I bought pretty quickly. Could not help myself. Possibly the best Island smokes I ever had.

 

[ejquin]

I had one last night, and it must have been about to go into a sick period. It tasted like...well nothing. There were the subtelest hints of flavor, but for the most part, down to the nub there was nothing. Pretty sad day :sneaky:

 

[emodx]

I had one last night, and it must have been about to go into a sick period. It tasted like...well nothing. There were the subtelest hints of flavor, but for the most part, down to the nub there was nothing. Pretty sad day :sneaky:

This is what I hate about Habana's. I know that the late 03's and 04's have some good flavor to them, but guessing when they will peak and when they will be flat can be a pain in the arse. Keeping detailed notes about the box code, wrapper color, age when smoked, and overall impressions will help you in the long term, but the near term can be a craps shoot. I guess that's why so many old school Habana smoker open a box only when it is 3-5 years old. :love:

Emo

 

[moki]

A had a Monte No.4 from 1997 while out in CA -- it was in excellent shape, and a pretty good cigar -- didn't really ring my bell though.