Montecristo Epic
Friday, August 31st, 2012Thanks to Altadis for sending me samples of the Epic. They have a cool little packaging thing going on. Basically, when Altadis sends samples to idiots like me, they are in customized “Blogger Edition” boxes of three. Pretty cool! Anyway…
It is claimed that this is a limited production run. Some smokers say that the Epic breaks away from your standard ho-hum Montecristo. Mike also said that this is only available at brick and mortar shops. I can appreciate that. I assume this is to appeal to more smokers like myself. So without further ado…
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Vintage 2007 Nicaraguan and Dominican
Size: Toro 6 x 52
Price: $14.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The wrapper was shiny with oil, and it had no flaws to speak of. The odor from the wrapper was earth, wood, and a slight, spicy tingle in the nose. I could only get a earthiness, and a generic sweetness, off of the foot. The cigar wasn’t consistently packed, but it was nothing of concern. Some minor hard and soft spots were randomly found. The draw was a little snug, but within my tolerances. The pre-light flavor was interesting, and I had a hard time pinning it down. It was sweet, bitter, and floral.
The burn required two corrections, and the ash held for around one inch.
Flavor:
The first third was pretty straight forward, but interesting. As I chewed, swished, and exhaled smoke, the flavors introduced themselves in the following order: Coffee, wood, easy pepper, and a nutty component at the end. The smoke feel was smooth, with just a little zing through the nose.
The second third had an uptick in strength and body. The flavors smoothed out, and mixed together more evenly. Straight cocoa joined the flavor profile, and as you would expect, there was a slight bitter component. The smoke feel became dense, and borderline creamy.
The last third changed up a bit. Coffee was the dominant flavor. Up next was cocoa. Think of cooking chocolate or dark chocolate. Retrohaling revealed a zingy pepper, with a woody component. The smoke feel became crisp and dry.
Conclusion:
This was a good, even a very good, full bodied cigar. From beginning to end, it fired on all cylinders. If I had to complain, I would say the price is high. That alone would probably make me pass this cigar on the shelf. $14.00 is out of my comfort zone. But, if money is no object, and this sounds like something you’d like, I say go for it. It is a good smoking experience.