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Old 08-26-2006, 06:57 PM   #1
jazznut
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Montecristo C EL 2003

"Torch Song"

Montecristo C Edición Limitada 2003

Country of fabrication: Cuba
Dimensions: 5.63 inches by 46-raing gauge
Type of cigar: Coronas Gorda
Date smoked: Saturday August 26th, 2006


Setting: A pleasant late afternoon on the back porch.

Accompanying drink: Redbreast 12 Year Old Pure Pot Still Whiskey with a tall glass of cool water at the side. The thrust of this Irish classic, embellished with a serious spiciness and constantly shifting between enlivening barley grain and a more fruit-laden Sherry-induced component, matched the Montecristo step for step.

Texture of wrapper: Semi-gloss and slightly rumpled. Visible seams as well as a few raised veins with a telltale hem-stitch appearance. Some leaf stretching. Scattered tooth that protruded above the surface like small pimples. No gold awards here.
Colour of wrapper: Deep cocoa tending to Van Dyke brown. The vein ridges, in contrast, a lighter golden raw sienna.
Colour of binder: Sanguinous burnt sienna.
Colour of filler: Sandalwood through cocoa to a mixture of Indian red and Van Dyke brown. Fairly deep overall.

Roll density: Compact.
Finger feel: Firm.

Pre-light aroma: Musty. Dark earth and undergrowth. Faint cedar, chocolate, cinnamon and cayenne.
Pre-light draw: Somewhat muted, cedar-tinged tobacco with distant echoes of ginger and orange zest.
Post-light aroma: Warm, sweet, lush, leathery embering tobacco.

Combustion: A severely slanted burn edge required multiple corrections during the early moments, though this aberration eventually corrected itself. Solid shale grey to charcoal ash. Blunted cone. No relights.
Draw: Perfect.
Total smoking time: Approximately 1¼-hour.

Opening portion: Deep, rich, toasted tobacco laced with cedar and pepper. A decidedly sweet edge akin to fruit sugar. Quite stunning in light of the restrained pre-light draw characteristics.
Early stages: Structured and not at all overblown. Plum fruit and orange pulp melding amidst incoming waves of Cuban leaf, the pepper element tightly wound within the ripeness.
Mid point: Soothing, seductive, toasted tobacco. At once crisply delineated and luxurious. Undercurrents of herbal tea, honey and leather. Similar in many ways to a classic No.2, yet with additional exotic twists of taste.
Latter stages: Scintillating cedar and pepper, the latter oscillating from ground black peppercorn to cayenne to chili. Thai basil. Flickering dark chocolate and expresso. Escalating tobacco intensity.

Lingering sensation: Well cured tobacco with a hint of sweetness.
Length of finish: Outlasted the whiskey.
Flavour progression: Dynamic with a head-spinning finale.
Evidence of tannins: Very high quality tannins that, though readily apparent, never abraded or intruded on the sense of balance.
Textural quality: Riding the razor’s edge between subtlety and out and out opulence. Brilliant.
Strength: Medium-strong.

Summary: A truly unique smoking experience. Those fruit-like notions almost reminded me of a Padron Serie 1964 Imperial, but the overall effect was unmistakably Montecristo.
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