Montecristo no. 5

[complex]

This was the first cigar that got me hooked with the world of cigars ....
Actually the first one I had was the Fuente Fuente Forbidden X cigar, they're both totally different from each other. In terms of flavour scale they're definetly located at the opposite end of each other ... My taste pallete has definetly not yet been fine tuned for this Fuente cigar, perhaps a couple years of acquiring the necessary skills I might be able to enjoy it ...

anyway, here's what I think of Monte 5:

As I said this tiny monte 5 pleasantly surprised me. It's a 30 - 40 mins smoke. It's amazing how they managed to pack all of these flavours in such a short one, but happy they did.

Appearance and construction: Although monte 5 has a modest appearance, they are very similar to other small montes. Nice even medium brown cloured wrapper. It has an even burn and draw.

Flavour: The very beginning was spicy but after a couple minutes things changed. You'll a very smooth flavour and the spicy flavour has certainly toned down. about 20mins later, taste of cocoa and coffee was certainly there, which made it extremely delicious.
I must that when there is only 1.5 - 2 cm left, things get a little too hot to further enjoy this cigar.

I think monte 5 is relatively mild and light cigar that you can enjoy in almost every day. Fuente cigar was a bit too overwhelming for me. So I would certainly recommend monte 5 to beginners like me as one of the cigars they must have in their list of cigars to try or start with ...

Happy .....

[whisky77]

Nice Review.

Nice review Complex.The MC is a great little cigar for smoking anytime of the day.

[HabanoSy]

Very good review complex, spot on.

For me the Monte 5 is best enjoyed early in the day with a nice cup of strong coffee...

Cheers, HabanoSy

[Howling]

Reviewed the Monte No. 5 a long time ago, in forum far, far away (Jan 2006) Thought it would be interesting to have another opinion on this
Ubiquitous Perla...

Been a while since I had tried a small Monte and as my Secret Santa had supplied this nice looking No.5, I poured myself a glass of whisky and started the evening off with this little Perla.

I must admit to being a little wary of this cigar as I have had a few bland and uninspiring Monte No.4 and No.5's in the recent past. The construction and unlit aroma was spot on however, the clean cutting cap and easy draw I hoped would be an indication of things to come. The cigar came to life with a surprising and satisfying amount of smoke, as you might expect from a much larger cigar. The flavour was also there this time; the fine Cedar twang with the medium tobacco and a hint of citrus on the finish as I have found with other Montecristo's. Perhaps I had misjudge these little Montes?

I was settling back and really enjoying the smoke when unexpectedly it just went out after nearly an inch, one moment chugging along, next out! Relighting was a minor distraction, no more, but the flavour had subtly lost something, gone was the cedar, just plain tobacco now. The cigar went out again at the halfway stage, but the relighting really did alter the flavour, a metallic tarry note now pushing in.

Really I knew things would only go downhill from here on, but out of deference to Santa I persevered to the band, taking in total about half an hour to smoke it.

In summary the first ten minutes were great, the flavours were about to change my mind about small Monte's when the frustration of it going out let things down. My own opinion is that if a Perla or Petit Corona sized cigar goes out more than once it is bugg@red. Just don't think there is enough tobacco to absorb the extra heat from relighting without the flavour of the cigar being ruined. I think I have learned my lesson with these vittolas, it is two strikes and you?re out!

[Deano]

Thanks for the two reviews chaps. I must admit to not having had many no.5's, I'll try to get my hands on a packet.