Welcome to Cigar Keep.
Trade Cigars. Smoking Room. Articles & Content.
This site displays content related to tobacco.
Welcome to Cigar Keep.
Trade Cigars. Smoking Room. Articles & Content.
This site displays content related to tobacco.
"Elegantes" a very fitting name!
This seems to only come in box of 10 and I must say, the consistency is great.
Very interesting and uncommon vitola from Hoyo de Monterrey, certainly some of the most gorgeous cigars Cuba has to offer.
Construction was immaculate. The draw was just right, not too tight, not too loose. The burn was quite good too, took a bit of effort to get it evenly in the beginning but after that there was no trouble at all.
The aroma was very delightful indeed.
But being a beautiful cigar is not enough. Regrettably, the enjoyment itself leaves a lot to be desired. I always associate Hoyo de Monterrey with a smoke that is extremely smooth in texture, especially the Epicure No 2, but I did not find the Elegantes to share this quality, which was a shame. The flavours were subtle, perhaps a bit too subtle, even for a Hoyo de Monterrey, and quite frankly lacked characters. Most noticeably was the faint bitterness that persisted throughout the entire cigar, not much, but just enough to be noticed, informed the youth of the cigar. The last third did get a bit better, it did not get overtly bitter, stereotypical of young cigars, to its credit. Although it could has easily got there if you're not very patient with the puffs. Definitely not recommended for fast smokers!
These are priced cheaper than the epicure No 2 (where I'm from), despite being a much more difficult vitola to produce as far as I understand.
In conclusion, certainly not a bad cigar, but it should be better, especially to match the wonderful presentation. Perhaps some aging might help, I have to test it to find out. And until then, cheers!
