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Montecristo No 1
Size: 165 x 42 ? Cervantes
Smoke time: 1hour 45mins
Box date: Nov 08 Source: FCC
Appearance: Rugged. Toothy textured, dark brown coloured wrapper with a look of old leather with some minimal veining and a luxurious oily sheen. The wrapper spiral looped almost seamlessly up to the perfectly applied triple. Standard band ?C? (un-embossed)
Construction: The cigar was packed solidly with a yielding degree of ?pinch? along the length untill the head where I felt a definite hard spot, but other than some kneading during the final third it caused little problem. The pre-draw was a resistive as was the smoking draw, but as said previously, wasn?t any great issue. The burn was a straight and the grey ash well compacted. No re-lights, no corrections.
Flavour: The pre-draw aroma was musky hay and tobacco and I could detect salts in the wrapper prior to lighting up. The initial flavour was quintessential Montecristo, like opening the drawer to an antique desk, woods and leather with light citric hint, dry and yet simultaneously strangely refreshing. Moving in and a softer tangy sherbet came through along with some aromatic wood which together provided the delicious and totally distinctive Cuban ?twang?. The rest of the third was exceptional. Totally fruit dominant, although what fruit I had no idea, the tastes were myriad and carried a cider freshness and vivacity. Towards the end of the first third and into the second the fruit flavours underwent a transformation becoming more candied, like raisins, apple and lemon peel with an almost cooked quality that was totally delicious. The flavour and body strength I would catagorise as being Medium/Medium and the cigar behavior was totally impeccable, fresh and totally clean tasteing. Moving through the second third and I began picking out a dry cherry liqueur taste held for several puffs and then shifted back to a woody citric taste not to dissimilar to lemon cheesecake base. With the final third looming the flavours shifted again as the multi-fruits returned but this time ?fuller? and with an amazing fermented quality. In retro-hale the taste was equally as good. Woodyard. Into the final third, with the draw tightening just a little and the body shifting up a gear, woods and fruits came together equally into a perfect balance which lasted until the last half of the third when they were joined by sweet, light tobacco. Fabulous!
Overall: An absolute cracker. Great flavour and a total joy to smoke. I?m surprised not to see this Lonsdale mentioned more on Forums because it is genuinely outstanding. A little word of caution though, for two of it?s thirds the Monte No 1 seem docile, but in final third the tobacco strength
increases dramatically, and you will notice it on standing up.
Marks. Magnificent tasting cigar, but lacks some of the flavours repertoire and complexities of the Boli Inmensas and Party 898. Superior to the Dippy, I?m awarding the Monte 1 a well deserved 7.65. The Partagas 898 on 7.85 is still the one to beat.
Next. Saint Luis Rey Lonsdales.
Size: 165 x 42 ? Cervantes
Smoke time: 1hour 45mins
Box date: Nov 08 Source: FCC
Appearance: Rugged. Toothy textured, dark brown coloured wrapper with a look of old leather with some minimal veining and a luxurious oily sheen. The wrapper spiral looped almost seamlessly up to the perfectly applied triple. Standard band ?C? (un-embossed)
Construction: The cigar was packed solidly with a yielding degree of ?pinch? along the length untill the head where I felt a definite hard spot, but other than some kneading during the final third it caused little problem. The pre-draw was a resistive as was the smoking draw, but as said previously, wasn?t any great issue. The burn was a straight and the grey ash well compacted. No re-lights, no corrections.
Flavour: The pre-draw aroma was musky hay and tobacco and I could detect salts in the wrapper prior to lighting up. The initial flavour was quintessential Montecristo, like opening the drawer to an antique desk, woods and leather with light citric hint, dry and yet simultaneously strangely refreshing. Moving in and a softer tangy sherbet came through along with some aromatic wood which together provided the delicious and totally distinctive Cuban ?twang?. The rest of the third was exceptional. Totally fruit dominant, although what fruit I had no idea, the tastes were myriad and carried a cider freshness and vivacity. Towards the end of the first third and into the second the fruit flavours underwent a transformation becoming more candied, like raisins, apple and lemon peel with an almost cooked quality that was totally delicious. The flavour and body strength I would catagorise as being Medium/Medium and the cigar behavior was totally impeccable, fresh and totally clean tasteing. Moving through the second third and I began picking out a dry cherry liqueur taste held for several puffs and then shifted back to a woody citric taste not to dissimilar to lemon cheesecake base. With the final third looming the flavours shifted again as the multi-fruits returned but this time ?fuller? and with an amazing fermented quality. In retro-hale the taste was equally as good. Woodyard. Into the final third, with the draw tightening just a little and the body shifting up a gear, woods and fruits came together equally into a perfect balance which lasted until the last half of the third when they were joined by sweet, light tobacco. Fabulous!
Overall: An absolute cracker. Great flavour and a total joy to smoke. I?m surprised not to see this Lonsdale mentioned more on Forums because it is genuinely outstanding. A little word of caution though, for two of it?s thirds the Monte No 1 seem docile, but in final third the tobacco strength
increases dramatically, and you will notice it on standing up.
Marks. Magnificent tasting cigar, but lacks some of the flavours repertoire and complexities of the Boli Inmensas and Party 898. Superior to the Dippy, I?m awarding the Monte 1 a well deserved 7.65. The Partagas 898 on 7.85 is still the one to beat.
Next. Saint Luis Rey Lonsdales.
Personally I find the Dippy No. 1 slightly smoother and more satisfying than the Monte No. 1, but they're both very decent cigars. I reckon that the only serious contender for the 898's title is going to be the Boli GM.
that thankfully so far no ones picked me up on!). I think Si Bolivar has already hinted I haven't left myself much room to maneuver .... on the plus side the Party 898 is proving tough to beat, so marks above might not be an issue.
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