Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2

The Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Number 2 is one of the all-time classic Cuban cigars. They are available in cabinets of 15. 25 and 50 and run around $10 USD per stick. They are among the most sought-after regular offerings from Habanos S.A. I have a cabinet of 25 that I have been pulling from for about 6 months now and I have yet to find time to review this cigar; that ends today. The cabinet I have is a 2019 box, so they are still relatively young at the time of smoking.

Wrapper: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Filler: Cuba

Length: 4 7/8"

Ring Gauge: 50

Size: Robusto

The Smoke: I paired this cigar with a macchiato and enjoyed both of them early morning on a rare day off from work in between the Christmas and New Year's holiday. The first thing to note about this cigar is the light tan hue provided by the wrapper leaf. The wrapper has a velvet like texture along with some wrinkles. The cigar feels well-constructed but is not made as tight as other Habanos cigars I have smoked in the past. The cigar appears to be slightly under packed as it has, what I would deem, a significant budge when squeezed. No matter, the scent of the cigar is great. The aroma has notes of hay and flowers. 

I used my Xikar V2 cutter to take a wedge out of the head. Upon slicing the cigar, some of the wrapper became loose at the base of the head and I removed it by tearing the leaf away from the wrapper. The cold draw was good and provided notes of nut, malt, and caramel. The cigar is slightly sweet too. As the cigar progresses, cocoa and cedar enter. The flavor is complex and blend together well. 

The burn rate of the cigar is good, and it retains its construction despite the issue with the wrapper from the cut. The cigar is of lighter strength than many Cuban cigars that I have smoked but I would still place this cigar as a medium strength smoke. 

Overall, this cigar is solid. Out of the 6 or so I have smoked, this one was the only one that had any issues with construction quality. My advice would be to add this to the list of must have cigars in your humidor.

The Score: Buy a Box

Cohiba Siglo II

 

I bought a box of the Cohiba Siglo II on a business trip to Montreal in 2018. I remember looking through the humidor in the Duty Free Shop at Dorval Airport and thinking to my self, "what in the world.... all they have are Romeo and Juliet and Montecristo.." Don't get me wrong, those can be great smokes too but I wanted something different. With more digging, obviously, I came across a two boxes of 5. If memory serves me, the cost was around $15 USD per stick which is comparable to what I have seen these priced at from on-line retailers. As happenstance would have it, this particular cigar was also the last one from that purchase.

Wrapper: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Filler: Cuba

Length: 5 1/8"

Ring Gauge: 42

Size: Petite Corona

The Smoke: I enjoyed this early on a Saturday morning along with an americano.  The wrapper provides a nice Colorado tan hue with some veins and slight toothiness. The cap was removed by my trusty Palio straight cutter, no problem. The cold draw was firm but brought along notes of leather, earth, along with an abundance of cedar. Once lit, the cigar retained the massive cedar notes along with some coffee. The body of the cigar was mild to medium early in the smoke. The draw remained tight in the early stages of the smoke.

As the smoke progressed, the cigar became more complex. The profile of the smoke became fuller and reached what I would consider medium bodied. The flavors were also enriched with vanilla and cocoa which complimented the coffee and cedar notes that remained. The cigar's draw opened as well. This cigar feels very balanced between the flavor and it's body. It does a great job of neither underwhelming or overwhelming any of the senses.

The cigar burned relatively slow and, despite its smaller size, smoked for about an hour and a half. The burn rate was even and nearly straight as an arrow during the entire smoke. The construction of the cigar remained intact too. 

This is a great cigar. I am disappointed that this was the last one in my possession. But, better days are ahead. I can always choose to refill my humidor via mail but I think I am going to wait to when I can return to Montreal on my next business trip. Half of the fun is the hunt.

The Score: Buy a Box

Bolivar Coronas Junior

Bolivar is one of the lesser sought Cuban cigar brands, if there even is such a thing. Bolivar is known to be robust cigars that have strong bodies and profiles than most other Habanos SA brands. I find them to be very good and they are one of my favorite Habanos. 

This particular cigar is the Bolivar Coronas Junior. The Junior feels slightly box pressed and comes in slightly shorter than a typical Cuban Robusto viotla length as well as a thinner 42 ring gauge. They can be very affordable when available as I have seen them retail for around $140 USD for a box of 25. That comes to about $6 USD per stick. That price is getting to Cbid territory for the typical Cbid humidor fillering cigars.

Wrapper: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Filler: Cuba

Length:  4 1/3"

Ring Gauge: 42
Size: Corona 

The Smoke:  I used my Xikar V-cutter for this since it has a slight box press. The wrapper leaf displays a medium to dark brown with some veins and the cigar itself feels sturdy in my hand and has a good sponge response when squeezed. The cold draw is a little tight after cutting but open enough to allow some cedar and leather notes on to my palate. The aroma from the cigar has strong cedar and floral notes too. 

After lighting the cigar, the cigar brand's strong profile hits immediately. This is a FULL bodied cigar. Flavors are a complex mixture of coffee, cocoa, pepper, cedar and leather. The flavor and profile of the cigar is consistent from beginning to end. The construction of the cigar maintains during the 50 minute long smoke while the draw is good for the cigar's lifespan. It should be noted that the draw opened almost immediately after lighting.

I guess that leads me to how I would describe this smoke. Consistent. This thing is consistent. It starts off strong with great flavor and aroma and it just stays that way all the way to the end making this cigar one of my favorites to nub.  This cigar just bangs. When comparing it to the value, keep in mind this is a cheap Cuban offering, this cigar represents one of the best values in the market. You simply can not go wrong picking up a bunch of these cigars.

The Score: Buy a box of 20

H. Upmann Magnum 46

The Upmann brand is not as highly sought out as other Habanos offerings but the Magnum 46 is one of the better values available. This 5 5/8" x 46 Corona Gorda typically runs around $12 USD per stick from one of the reputable on-line retailers. Not too shabby. Fortunately for me, I have friends that are good to me as I received this cigar as a gift. 

Wrapper: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Filler: Cuba

Length:  6 1/2"

Ring Gauge: 56
Size: Corona Gorda

The Smoke: I enjoyed this smoke on the back porch, like I usually do with most smokes. The cigar has a nice medium tan color to it. The wrapper has some veins and the cigar, as a whole, feels well constructed with some sponginess to it when squeezed. I used my Xikar V-cutter and it dug into the cigar with some mild effort.

The cold draw was good but a little tight. The unlit cigar had  flavors of wood and cedar along with some mild earthiness. Lighting the cigar was easy. The light flavors started with a strong coffee and leather. Shortly after some honey sweetness joins. About mid-stick the the coffee disappears and the dominate flavor is now cedar and leather. As the smoke nears the final quarter, some mild chocolate and pepper arrive. The medium strength of the cigar was  consistent from beginning to end.

The cigar remains intact during the life of the hour and half smoke. The draw as decent for most of the smoke and certainly opened as the smoking session progressed. The ash is dense and held well as I only had to ash the cigar 3 times to prevent it from falling into my lap.  

Reflecting back on the experience, I would say the cigar was very enjoyable. It is milder than most Cuban offerings which was a good thing on a hot, late summer afternoon. I could see times where the cigar would be too mild for the moment. I would most definitely smoke another one of these but I would probably not buy an entire box which is a difficult task to achieve as one generally has to purchase a box of any Cuban cigar to acquire that cigar. One the of chance you ran into a broken-up box I would buy some.

The Score: Buy a 5 Pack

Partagas Serie D No 6

You have probably noticed by now that most of my Cuban cigar reviews are on smokes of a shorter length. I have larger Cuban cigars in my stash but I typically grab the smaller ones because I am always on the go and have limited time to enjoy a smoke outside so the smaller format is perfect for my lifestyle. This past week was no different. I found myself on the go and enjoying a Partagas Serie D No. 6 on a commute into the office earlier in the week.

This size cigar was first released in 2014 and it is the shortest cigar from the Habanos branded Partagas. I have a couple boxes of these cigars sitting in my tupperdor from the 2019 production season and I figured it was time to puff on one. One of those boxes was in full view in my article about how to determine the authenticity of your Cuban cigars. While I have not reviewed it at this point, I seriously enjoy the longer Serie D number 4 and find that to be one of my favorite Cuban Cigars. The main difference between the number 4 and the number 6 is about 1 1/8" inches, with the Number 4 being the larger of the two. In fact, the only difference between all the offerings in the Serie D lineup is the length of the cigar as all of them come with a 50 ring gauge size.

Wrapper: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Filler: Cuba

Length:  3 1/2"

Ring Gauge: 50
Size: Petite Robusto

The Smoke: As I mentioned previously, this cigar was smoked on a morning commute into work along with some coffee out of my Jura E8 espresso maker served black with a sprinkle of cinnamon. This cigar has a medium-brown hue provided by the wrapper leaf which is smooth and has almost no veins.  The cigar feels solid and well constructed. 

The scent is full of Spanish cedar. The pre-lit draw feels tight but the sample provides some slight sweetness and earthiness to the palate. Once toasted and lit, the draw continues to be a battle. Eventually, the draw opens up about 1/3 of the way through the smoke. The favors of the cigar are inline with the number 4 that I enjoy: cedar, earth, leather. Some cocoa and coffee join the fray at about the half way point. The last portion of the stick adds some black pepper notes while sweetness fades away.

The smoke begins at medium strength and grows its body overtime to a strong cigar towards the finish. The change is subtle but it definitely becomes stronger as the smoke progresses. The construction of the cigar maintains during the smoke as well, and the burn rate remains mostly even during the 30 minute session.

This was a good cigar. The flavor was enjoyable and it made for a good quick smoking session. The tight draw was slightly frustrating to begin and probably caused me to have a lower overall impression of the cigar. I still enjoy the number 4 more than this stick but I am interested to see how this ages and if aging helps open the draw. More to come.

The Score: But a pack of 5

Montecristo Number 2

The Montecristo Number 2, the most popular and highest selling Cuban cigar in the world. This torpedo shaped cigar is quintessential to fulling understanding the prowess of Habanos SA when it comes to their ability to develop world class premium cigars. 

Since they are so popular, they are probably one of the easiest Cuban cigars to find and a box of 10 cost around $150 USD while a box of 25 runs around $310 USD. When I purchase these, I usually buy two boxes of 10 because most retailers set them around $275 and they boxes of 10 fit in my already packed tupperdors. Like I said earlier, these cigars are a torpedo vitola that is 6.13" x 52 and all leaves and tobacco come from Cuba. 

Wrapper: Cuba

Binder: Cuba

Filler: Cuba

Length: 6.13"

Ring Gauge: 52
Size: Torpedo

The Smoke: I had this particular cigar while on the road, which was my first work trip in over 5 months due to the covid-19 pandemic. Being on the road again felt good but it was ultra-weird. Anyways, nobody including myself cares to delve into that. What was important is I smoked this cigar in an outside seating area of an airport hotel in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with a great view of planes coming into land which was really cool.

The light tan hued cigar looks and smells very inviting with scents of cocoa and spice. The maroon band along with the gold insignia is a thing of beauty alone. Right away you can tell that this is better than any Altadis produced "fake" Montes that most people in the United States are smoking. 

The cap of this cigar came off with ease with my straight cutter. The South Dakota wind made it slightly more painful to toast and light this cigar with my Bic lighter but eventually I got it going once I found a corner outside of the hotel that I could duck into. The draw of the cigar is good through the entire smoking session which lasted just over an hour.

This cigar is medium bodied with a smooth and creamy smoke. The flavors that this cigar produces is cinnamon, cedar, pepper along with some light floral notes. At times, the flavors are light and other times they are very pronounced. To me the first third and the last third of the cigar are when the smoke is more full and the middle third is when the flavors are more subdued. Still, this is a relatively easy cigar to enjoy but I think the smoker should be aware that the flavors and the body of the cigar vary during the length of the stick.

Overall, this is a great cigar. Truly, the word world-class should be used when describing this smoke. This is a smoke that is consistent and one that every connoisseur should have a box in their humidors to enjoy.

The Score: Buy a Box of 20

Vegueros Mananitas

Yup, you guess it; time for another small Cuban cigar review. This time it is the el cheapo Habanos SA brand, Vegueros, that is the topic of today's review. The Mananitas is a petite torpedo that is 4.25 inches long and comes in at a 46 ring gauge, it is pretty stout thickness for a cigar of this length. 

The Vegueros brand consistently has a price point below $100 USD and are delivered in tins of 16 for the trouble. The brand's other consistently found offering is the Entretiempos which has the same length but comes in with a ring gauge of 52 and is a petite robusto. 

Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 4 1/4"
Ring Gauge: 46
Size: Petite Torpedo

The Smoke: For a lower cost cigar, the construction is decent. The cold draw has elements of wood and nuts. The lit draw adds some earth and peppery spice. Overall, the flavors are not over whelming. The body is medium with a mild nicotine buzz. The construction mostly holds for the 35 minute smoke. Some of the leaves began to come loose but it did not come apart. The burn rate was even. Perfect smoke to begin the day.

The Score: Buy a Box of 20

Trinidad Reyes

You have probably noticed most of my reviews thus far have been on rather small cigars and I am going to continue that trend with this review of the Habanos SA branded Trinidad Reyes. I enjoy cigars of this size because my only free time to smoke is on my commute to and from work and that only takes long enough to burn a 30 minute smoke. Anything longer requires a lazy Saturday or Sunday out on the lanai. Similar Cuban cigars to this size include the Montecristo Petite Edmundo, H. Upmann Half Corona, Bolivar Coronas Junior, and the Vegueros Mananitas. These are a bit pricier than the Bolivars and the Vegueros but fall in line price wise with the Petite Edmundos and the Upmann Half Coronas.

This particular stick is from a 2019 box so it is not all that old and these age into fantastic little smokes, or, so I have heard. They come in a nice sized Spanish cedar cabinet of 24 cigars that uses a flip top as opposed to the typical slide wood top. 

Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 4 1/3"
Ring Gauge: 40
Size: Petite Corona

The Smoke: I lit this up just as I started my car and began my ride to the office. The flavor of the cigar is light wood along with a very faint layer of pepper. The body is light to medium and is a fairly straightforward and easy smoking cigar. The cigar maintained its construction and had an even burn rate. The ashing held together nicely and I had to only ash twice during the smoke. I had to pull into a parking lot to finish my smoke prior to entering the office, which was just fine by me. I hate that place anyway. All said, it took about 40 minutes to enjoy. This is a fine smoke and I am excited to see how the remaining 22 I have left in the cabinet age.

Relax, I am sitting in a Publix parking lot.

The Score: Buy a Box of 20

How To Tell Your Habanos Are Legitimate

One of the common challenges for the Cuban Cigar aficionado is to know if the cigars you have are real Habanos or are fakes. There are some generally easy signs and techniques that can be used to determine the authenticity of those Cuban cigars you have.

The first tip is to only deal with reputable Habanos sanctioned retailers and exclusive distributors. For one thing, these reputable dealers do not want to risk losing their highly lucrative license to retail Habanos by peddling fake merchandise. Sticking to these reputable dealers will be the first thing to ensure your cigars are authentic. The opposite of a exclusive retailer are those fly-by night vendors in markets and other highly trafficked tourist areas. Those Cuban cigars you bought from the taxi driver two steps off an airplane in Punta Cana are most defiantly fakes. The Cubans your uncle got during his cruise to Cozumel.... also fakes bro.

The other thing to look at is the packaging the cigars come in. Real Habanos cigars come in boxes or cabinets. There is no glass used in any portion of the packaging process, so, if glass is used to display the cigars, they are fake. Also, Cubans are rarely sold as singles. That is another useful sign, buy Cuban cigars in boxes or buy nothing! Many legitimate boxes can be purchased that have a per cigar price less than $10 USD.

In addition, each box or cabinet should be sealed with a label on the left side of the box. Inspect the seal carefully as it is designed to specifically thwart counterfeiters. The seal is always on the left of the package, about a 1/4 to 1/2"  from the left edge. The positioning of the label should have the bar code always to the left of the packaging and the hologram on the right. The proper method of installation is displayed below. 

My advice is to only buy sealed boxes that way you know what is inside is legitimate.  There are many in the community that want the boxes open to inspect for mold, which I totally understand, but my experience is retailers are open to working with you on replacing moldy cigars. Open your boxes right after purchase or arriving on your front porch. Many B&Ms will do that for you at the time of purchase too.

The seal itself is designed to become damaged when someone is attempting to remove the seal from a box. The adhesive is designed to remain on the original package so it can not be reused with another adhesive application. Adding other adhesives will bleed through the seal and discoloring it.  

In addition, each seal will have a unique code that can be entered into authenticity check. This check can be used to verify the authenticity of the box. The Habanos website will take your box code manually or can also be used with a photo of the bar code. This check will return the Habanos brand and size that the seal should be placed on. Make sure they match to the cigar box your are looking at. 

The bottom of the box also will have important information to check like packaging date and some other logos that are difficult to counterfeit. There are a few variations of these and they seem to change occasionally. Check out Habanos Marks of Distinction for more information on the marks on the bottom of the box. Each box will also have another seal on the right corner:

If the seals and outside of the packaging look good, you should open the box. This will help to ensure boxes with mold are identified immediatly so you can work with your retailer on arranging replacements. Once the box is open, we can review the insides of the container. 

Each form of packaging will have a piece of paper and/or a thin piece of cedar. Additionally, a certificate of authenticity printed on wax paper will be included. Pick up the certificate and place it flat on your hand. If it is a legitimate certificate, it will roll-up or fold in half after a few seconds of laying in the palm of your hand. The certificate is designed with paper designed to do this.

The next give away is the cigar bands themselves. Habanos makes high quality bands that often include holograms, especially for the more expensive brands like Cohiba. Look at the bands and the logos of the bands. Everything should be centered on the band. Habanos also uses vibrant inks for the band manufacturing process and that vibrance, especially bands with golden ink, should help make the bands of legitimate Habanos cigars easy to spot. Any bands that look dull of off centered are a sign of fakes; but, if you follow my advice and buy only sealed boxes this step is pretty much pointless but I included this tip in case you buy unsealed boxes.

Hopefully these tips help you get your hands on some legitimate Cuban Cigars. In my opinion, Cuban cigars just hit differently and are clearly a step above cigars from other countries. Get you some real ones!

H. Upmann Half Corona

This is another small cigar offering from Habanos SA. I believe this is their shortest offering with most of their other small cigars closer to 4 inches, or slightly larger, in length like the Montecristo Petite Edmundo we reviewed earlier. A good friend gave me this particular cigar, but it is commonly available and very affordable from most online Cuban cigar outlets with most boxes priced around $110 USD for 25.

Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 3 1/2"
Ring Gauge: 44
Size: Petite Corona

The Smoke: Like the Monte Petite Edmundo, this small cigar packs a strong punch and is more robust than you would expect for being in such a small package. The flavor of stick features some solid floral with some light wood notes.

The size of the cigar is perfect with a burn rate that takes about a half hour to consume; perfect for a cup of coffee or maybe a stronger espresso-based drink. This sample did not have an even burn rate which caused me to prematurely ash to try and even up the burn. 

Overall, this cigar delivers everything you would expect. A favorable smoke that can be completed quickly while delivering what only a legitimate Cuban cigar can deliver.

Score: Buy a box of 20

Montecristo Petite Edmundo

Montecristo is one of the legendary Habanos SA brands from the Cuban cigar powerhouse. The brand is responsible for producing the world's most popular cigar in the form of the Montecristo No. 2. The Petite Edmundo is a slightly different animal in that it is much smaller than many of the Monte offerings and is targeted to smokers that want a quick 30 to 40 minute smoke while still providing the world-class Cuban cigar smoking experience. Habanos SA makes many cigars in this size like the H. Upmann Shorts, Trinidad Reyes, or the Bolivar Coronas Juniors. A slightly smaller cigar that also fits in this size category is the H. Upmann Half Corona.

The Petite Edmundo is basically a version of the full size Montecristo Edmundo that was cut an inch short, which I guess is cool; I mean, you can find these for under $10 a cigar if you hit them promotions right and they are a good quick smoke.

TFW that box of Monte Petite Edmundos hits the porch.

Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 4 1/4"
Ring Gauge: 52
Size: Petite Robusto

The Smoke: This cigar is a M80 firecracker in the size of a Bang snap. This cigar is robust with a nice cocoa base that has flashes of earth and floral. There is some nuttiness within the smoke as well. The cigar has an even burn and maintain's its construction during the entirtity of the quick 30 minute smoke that I encountered. 

Score: Buy Box of 20

Juan Lopez Selección No 2

Juan Lopez is one of the lesser known Cuban cigar brands within Habanos SA line-up but this one should be near the top of the list for every cigar smoker and it is one of my personal favorites. The only two true Habanos Juan Lopez offerings are the Selección No.1 and the Selección No. 2, with this review focusing on the latter.

Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 4 7/8"
Ring Gauge: 50
Size: Robusto

The Smoke: The draw of this smoke is nice and easy to puff. The flavor is grassy with a hay like taste followed by slight vegetables and wood. Mid smoke the flavor changes to some light chocolate. The flavors are robust, but they never overwhelm the palate. The 4 7/8"  robusto cigar burns evenly and maintains its construction for the entire smoke.  My only complaint is that it was not a longer smoke as I thoroughly enjoyed the smoke and I puffed this one to a numb in about 45 minutes. 

This is a great cigar and at relatively inexpensive price point for Cuban cigars. A box of 25 usually runs around $225 to $250 including shipping leading to a per cigar price of about $10 USD. I highly recommend buying a box if you come across one as it is one of the best Cuban cigars and brings the largest bang for the buck on the market.

Score: Buy a Box of 20

Romeo Y Julieta NO. 2 Tubo

I have had the great fortune of traveling to Montreal several times in my life and each time comes with being able to bring some Habanos back. For all the other locations I have been in Canada, Montreal is the only one where the duty free shop post US Customs sells Cuban cigars. 

A few years back I was able to grab a box of Cohiba Sigilo VIs and a box of these Romeo Y Julieta number 2 tubos. If I remember correctly, the box of 10 cost $115 USD when I purchased them. That price is probably high for what these cigars are. The date on the box was young when I purchased with a 2018 date. Now with a few years on them, I took a lazy Saturday to smoke and review.

Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Length: 5 1/8"
Ring Gauge: 42
Size: Petit Corona

The Smoke: The draw on this cigar is slightly tight making it slightly difficult to pull the smoke onto the palate. There are notes of light grass and some mild wood. I am generally a slow smoker and this one took me about an hour to smoke. During the duration of the smoke, the cigar held together and had an even burn for the duration. It maintained its construction as well. Overall, the taste of the cigar is mild and would be great starter cigar for novice smokers if it were not for its somewhat higher price point. 

I don't think I would buy a box of these again as they are too mild for me and their are substantially better cigars, both Cuban and non-Cuban, that are immensely better for the price.

Score: Scroll Past

Me reviewing the credit card statement after purchasing these.