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

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