Tweet
Okay, this will be a fairly short review by my standards - understandable I hope, as it's a fairly small cigar that I'm commenting on!
This one was smoke a little over a week ago, so this review is based on the notes I took at the time. It was the first day of our holiday and the No5 was given an airing near some water whilst my sister met her dive club buddies. Water does appear to be the location of most of my cigar moments recently... river in Cardiff > harbour in Plymouth > dive centre in Lancashire (the Monte No5) > river in Lake District... and so on...
The view:
The cigar:
Appearance /15
(Size: 4" x 40)
The Monte No5 had a light wrapper, which was very neatly put together. There were very few veins, and those that were present were quite small. The cap was very well applied and looked very tidy. However, there were a few, very small cracks in the wrapper - possibly related to the lack of a sheen that most of my recent cigars have had. But for this last point, it would have been a perfect score. Either way, a very nice looking stick. 13
Smoking Characteristics /25
Pre-light there were hints at a nutty (perhaps slightly woody), chocolately smell - which seems to be quite a commonplace aroma. The lighting of this stick was quite straightforward (one would hope so with so little to light...) The burn was very good - it was quite even throughout and was generally good and very consistent. As a result, the ash was very solid... You can see from the photo that the ash wasn't, at times, the most attractive, but it always instilled a confidence that it wouldn't suddenly drop in one's lap. The draw was excellent - it was slightly firm, but very comfortable. Unfortunately though, the No5 had one minor downfall - the aroma of the smoke was not fantastic, it was quite powerful, but not there was little aroma. Overall, however, for such a small stick, this was excellently put together, and as a result it displayed some excellent characteristics. 22
Flavour /25
An odd cigar, the No5. It's a small stick, so hits you with its variations in quick succession. Straight off there was a distinct woodiness, tempered very early with some fresh toastiness. The wood gave way to some more vegetal notes, which soon took on a very slightly harsh bitterness, of cocoa/espresso impressions. As these died away towards the end, the woodiness came back to the fore, this time having lost the toasty edge, to be replaced with a slightly more 'slap you round the face with a haddock' straightforwardness. Despite the bish-bash-bosh end, there were never the very harsh, acrid notes you get when the cigar is overly hot - so yet another testament to this cigar's construction. Overall, pretty good for such a small stick. 21
Overall Impression /35
This is no bad cigar... within twenty-five minutes you can have enjoyed your cigar and a coffee or a coke, yet still have been taken on a bit of a journey. The complexity of a robusto, or even some petit coronas is not there, but you do have some distinct changes to give you something to think about. Having said all of this, there was just something about this stick which didn't quite click with me... it didn't quite meld together as I might have hoped, and it was a little rough around the edges - which is a shame, as it is a delightfully constructed cigar. Something that I will definintely be giving another shot - but I shall be trying some others as competition in the quick smoke category. 29
Grand total... 85/100
This one was smoke a little over a week ago, so this review is based on the notes I took at the time. It was the first day of our holiday and the No5 was given an airing near some water whilst my sister met her dive club buddies. Water does appear to be the location of most of my cigar moments recently... river in Cardiff > harbour in Plymouth > dive centre in Lancashire (the Monte No5) > river in Lake District... and so on...
The view:
The cigar:
Appearance /15
(Size: 4" x 40)
The Monte No5 had a light wrapper, which was very neatly put together. There were very few veins, and those that were present were quite small. The cap was very well applied and looked very tidy. However, there were a few, very small cracks in the wrapper - possibly related to the lack of a sheen that most of my recent cigars have had. But for this last point, it would have been a perfect score. Either way, a very nice looking stick. 13
Smoking Characteristics /25
Pre-light there were hints at a nutty (perhaps slightly woody), chocolately smell - which seems to be quite a commonplace aroma. The lighting of this stick was quite straightforward (one would hope so with so little to light...) The burn was very good - it was quite even throughout and was generally good and very consistent. As a result, the ash was very solid... You can see from the photo that the ash wasn't, at times, the most attractive, but it always instilled a confidence that it wouldn't suddenly drop in one's lap. The draw was excellent - it was slightly firm, but very comfortable. Unfortunately though, the No5 had one minor downfall - the aroma of the smoke was not fantastic, it was quite powerful, but not there was little aroma. Overall, however, for such a small stick, this was excellently put together, and as a result it displayed some excellent characteristics. 22
Flavour /25
An odd cigar, the No5. It's a small stick, so hits you with its variations in quick succession. Straight off there was a distinct woodiness, tempered very early with some fresh toastiness. The wood gave way to some more vegetal notes, which soon took on a very slightly harsh bitterness, of cocoa/espresso impressions. As these died away towards the end, the woodiness came back to the fore, this time having lost the toasty edge, to be replaced with a slightly more 'slap you round the face with a haddock' straightforwardness. Despite the bish-bash-bosh end, there were never the very harsh, acrid notes you get when the cigar is overly hot - so yet another testament to this cigar's construction. Overall, pretty good for such a small stick. 21
Overall Impression /35
This is no bad cigar... within twenty-five minutes you can have enjoyed your cigar and a coffee or a coke, yet still have been taken on a bit of a journey. The complexity of a robusto, or even some petit coronas is not there, but you do have some distinct changes to give you something to think about. Having said all of this, there was just something about this stick which didn't quite click with me... it didn't quite meld together as I might have hoped, and it was a little rough around the edges - which is a shame, as it is a delightfully constructed cigar. Something that I will definintely be giving another shot - but I shall be trying some others as competition in the quick smoke category. 29
Grand total... 85/100
.
Comment