Hoyo De Monteray Le Hoyo Du Depute

[Davex]

This little stick was part of a sampler pack from C.Gars Ltd.

Cuban, Gauge 38 (but mine measured 40), Length 110mm, UK cost ?7.99
Out of humidor 75% Rh 22 `C, After quite a light lunch, drinking water. 29`C, 85% Rh

Appearance\construction; I have a bad feeling about this one, the pictures I can find on the internet show the cigar without a band, this one has one. The general appearance is very tatty, parts of the binder are visible towards the foot of the cigar, heavy veins, and the cap is poorly placed. The length of the body seems a touch loose, this may be down to my humidity problems, but in general it looks fairly poor.
1st.jpg
Pre draw was very loose, not much flavour to describe, light aroma of tobacco

1\3 Lots of smoke, very cool, easy draw, flavour rather lacking, a slight harshness on retro-hale. Ash dropped after 3\4 inch.

ash.jpg

2\3 Some "woodiness" and possibly cinnamon flavours coming through now, still cool, harshness gone, very mild. wrapper is starting to unravel before it reaches the cap.

cap.jpg

3\3 Still very mild, plenty of cool smoke, easy draw, strength slightly increasing right at the end. Smoked to 1\2 inch after 35 minutes.

Conclusion; I can forgive it for being mild, it is sold as being so, but I cannot forgive the ugly appearance of this stick; as I am new to this I am reading lots about the "pursuit of perfection", clearly somebody had a bad day at the office with this one, the band also puzzles me it certainly looks real. Between the band, the gauge, and the poor wrapper I am a bit uneasy. Shall not be buying again.

end.jpg

[Puff Scotty]

That does look like the worst of the cab.....I find the de Depute hit & miss, sometimes nothing there at all...if you do get a munter like yours, a polite email to your retailer should sort it..cigars aren't cheap, don't accept anything that your not happy with..I don't think C.Gars would sell you a fake...crap cigar..yes..but fake is unlikely..

[SmokeyDave]

Have you had any problems previously with unravelling?, the only reason I ask is you mention it is 80% humidity. The tobacco leaves will absorb that moisture during your smoke and may cause expansion and possibly burst/plug.

Saying that, from the pictures it looks a rough one.

[Simon Bolivar]

The humidity in your Humi is defiantely higher than we would want in the UK. I understand it's hard to keep it down in tropical climates but it will affect the draw & possibly lead to bursting wrappers in extremis. Having said that the Depute is a poor example of a Hoyo, I give it 69, with 6.5 out of 10 for flav. To give your an idea of where that stands, I give 78 to the Monte no4 & expect any Havana I buy more than once to score above this.

[Davex]

A few issues here;

Am certain the C.Gars would not be selling fakes, and i can understand how a dud could get through the sampler make up, what surprised me was that it got out of Cuba at all; having just read how good they are at quality, rejecting anything not perfect etc. Will not complain to C.G, after all they did put a free jet lighter in the same consignment.

Have not really smoked enough out here to assess the effects of humidity outside the humidor,think that may take a few more sticks yet , but yes clearly it would not have helped.

PS\SB, interested that you both think it could be better, even had the construction been perfect i doubt i would have rated it much higher. So we are in agreement, this pleases me because it vindicates my assessment, as a nooby it can be a bit daunting putting up a negative review.

But, what about the band? is it usual? Have i just smoked and binned a highly valuable ultra rare collectable? perhaps i had better go and have a lie down, getting to excited

[tippexx]

But, what about the band? is it usual? Have i just smoked and binned a highly valuable ultra rare collectable? perhaps i had better go and have a lie down, getting to excited

No .... not a collectable.

No bands before 2005 .... banded after.

[monkey66]

I would just drop Mitch a line and tell him your experience.

I never worry too much about appearance but it certainly doesn't sound like a prime example.

[lestabantam]

I've had some cracking hoyo du deputes, both aged and recent. 6 months ago I would have said they were my favourite in this or similar size. Now I would say the Ramon allones small club corona is the best,

I suppose it'd be a dull old world if we all liked the same stuff, or if our tastes didn't change and develop.

[Simon Bolivar]

Gosh Les, I would never put Deptues & RASCC in the same bracket (69 v 88pts), in different leagues for me. Think you just proved your point about different tastes. After all if we all enjoyed the same Havanas, they'd be trimming down the lines even more

[ACMCC]

I have had some great Deputes from 96/97 - they have a creamy cedar profile which can go towards a friut and nut chocolate taste, not had them younger than 02 so can only conclude that they are inconsistant, bit tight on the draw sometimes, have to store these at 65%, not as good as the des Dieux in my opinion, but for the size they are a nice small (110/38) cigar if you can find the early ones ..

[Simon Bolivar]

The Dieux is a good cigar but I'll keep your tips in mind, if I stumble across some well aged Deputes.