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Is a Cuban ever "not so good"? Dan explores this possibility as he takes on a cuban Hoy De Monterey that unfortunately got crushed like a cheap suitcase... in his boss's carry on luggage. 
| Cigar: | Hoyo De Monterey
| | Size: | 5.5 X 42
| | Price: | N/A
| | Type: | Natural | | Wrapper: | Cuban | | Binder: | Cuban | | Filler: | Cuban | Filler Type:
| Long | | Strength: | Mild-Medium | | Shape: | Parejo | | Vendor: |
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Initial Thoughts Ok, so I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but damn, what a tragic thing to happen to a cuban cigar. My boss was sent out here to exciting Tempe, AZ to babysit me. Yes... In spite of the fact that I've got over 20 years of experience in writing software, I need a babysitter because my boss' boss screwed up and sent out a missive basically claiming that "oh, in spite of Dan's heroic effort, we wanna give up and say we can't do this feature." Fortunately for me, managers way higher than his pay grade basically told him to pound sand... the net result: Dan works 128 hours (yes, really), and Dan's boss gets to come to Tempe to babysit. Not withstanding that, I've got a cuban... crushed, abused, probably less than perfectly humidified, but a cuban nontheless.
Alright, look at the picture... this cigar ain't the best lookin'. Sniff test reveals a sweet and earthy smelling cigar. Touch and feel... no soft spots or anything. Unfortunately, this cigar is clearly NOT a great specimen, compliments of the abuse its taken.
 The Smoke Bear in mind, this cigar has been abused... nonetheless, I clip the cap, toast the foot, and take my first puff. Wow... that's all I got to say.. sweet, smooth... fucking awesome. I know, probably not particularly good descriptors, but straight up, there is precious little that beats a cuban cigar. Even this sample, which has been beat and abused like a baby seal in the antarctic... even this sample, is an amazingly good cigar. Lots of billowy white smoke, but mostly, the flavor, is intense -- earthy, and I swear to God, or all that is holy that is remotely related to cigars, this stogie has just a taste of some sort of fruitiness. I'll be honest here... this cigar is a little hard to smoke, mostly because the thing has been abused. Even in this decidedly unacceptable state, the cigar still delivers lots of flavor, plenty of billowy white smoke, and some bizarre sense of satisfaction, knowing that I'm puffing on one of the finer things that this life has to offer. So... whats the deal? Well, at the 1/3 point, the cigar develops a little bit more flavor, decidedly mild, but very nice taste. Bluntly, I prefer more robust cigars (Oliva Serie V), but damn... this cigar is nothing less than Manna from heaven, or perhaps a blowjob in church, or maybe a gal who has absolutely no gag reflex.... you get my point. 2/3rd of the way down, and I find myself intentionally taking a deeper pull on the smoke, holding it in so as to savor the flavor, and truly experience the complexity. I know there are many folks who claim that the "glory days of Cuban cigars" are long gone. Maybe they are, but quite bluntly,if thats the case, PLEASE remove the embargo so I can puff on these wonderously flavorful stogies instead of their non-cuban counterparts. I know, allegedly Nicaragua and/or The Dominican Repulic has nearly the same soil composition, climate, etc. I don't care what they say... an abused cuban that is still smokable is still better. After an hour of puffing on this cigar (yes, I really nursed it for an hour), I'm starting to burn my thumb and index finger. Seriously... what a treat! The Rating | Flavor: | 10/10 | Excellent flavor, lots of nuances.
| | Draw: | 10/10 | Perfect draw. | | Construction: | N/A | I couldn't tell you, since the thing was crushed in transit.
| | Overall: | N/A | I can't realistically give this thing a rating, since it was a decidedly less than perfect specimen. What I can tell you, is that it had excellent flavor and draw, ins spite of the abuse that was inflicted on it. |
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