2001 Montecristo #2

[solomr2]

I bought a 5-pack from a CW member recently, and decided to light the first one up a couple of days ago. They have apparently been aged approximately 1 year based on box code.

Now, I've had around 10-12 of these in the past, and the last one I had before this one was about 4-5 months ago. That one was a 2000 specimen, aged around 2 years, and I really enjoyed it a lot.

As I normally do, I like to taste the tobacco for a little while after clipping but before lighting it. Immediately, I could tell something was different. Normally there is a little bite to that first taste, but this time there was none.

I lit the cigar and sat back to concentrate on the flavor and enjoy with a Grolsh beer. Again, something was different. The cigar tasted okay, but it didn't seem to have that bold Monte taste and that rich, complex character I normally associate with this cigar. The flavor was smooth, no roughness, and there was the ever present Cuban twang, but no depth. I smoked on and on, past the halfway point, but the cigar didn't really develop any further. The body remained at medium, and the flavor was average throughout. Certainly not a memorable experience. In fact, this was probably the most disappointing Monte #2 I've ever had.

I'm wondering if aging longer would help the other 4 develop some more character and depth. At this point, I don't particularly look forward to smoking them any time soon given the experience from the first one.