Montecristo No. 1 Cigar - 1 Single

Date Added: Friday 03 June, 2016 by Staff

Reviewed by Bill Liberman, Illinois (May 2003)

Appearance: This was a beautiful . 6 . 5 x 42 cigar with a perfectly flat front and back and ever so slightly rounded sides . The wrapper had some prominent veining but not so bad as to detract from the elegance of this cigar . It had a very nice sheen to it . I'm sure some time spent in the humidor would bring out a nice oiliness to the wrapper . I would categorize the color as a light shade of Colorado.

Construction: I have always heard that torpedo shaped cigars are the hardest to roll because you can't really use a mold on them . But to me, I would think the Lonsdale and Panetela sizes would be harder to roll due to their length and smaller ring gauge . As I said earlier, this cigar was beautifully done . It was very firm the entire length with absolutely no soft spots and a beautifully applied cap that cut perfectly.

Pre-light aroma: This was not like any Montecristo I've had before . This one had a light and sweet floral aroma where all the other Montecristos I've had, had that great "barnyard" aroma to them. Quite a pleasant change.

Draw: As with most Lonsdales that I've smoked, this one had a less than perfect draw that was just a little on the tight side . Even so, it gave an ample amount of smoke with each puff . Usually as a cigar warms up the draw will get looser . Not the case with this cigar as it smoked extremely cool down to the very end . And that was a nice change of pace . I enjoyed the coolness much more than having a cigar get too warm just to loosen up the draw . Another pleasant surprise.

Flavor: Just like the pre-light aroma, this cigar started off with a very light floral taste . A very clean and refined taste . This lasted for about the first 1/3 of the cigar . From there until the halfway point the taste became more complex with subtle tastes of leather and cocoa . Almost a semi-sweet chocolate flavor . From the halfway point to the last inch and a half, the flavors became very earthy and spicy . These are the flavors I so look forward to when smoking a cigar . After that point, the cigar started to turn a little sour . But that's about as far as I usually like to go with a cigar . So laying it down at that point was to be expected . And even at an inch and a half length, it never got hot . The nice thing about this cigar was that it was complex without being too complex . What I'm trying to say is, it was not like smoking a Montecristo #2 where the flavors change with almost every puff . Not that there is anything wrong with that . But it's nice to have a cigar like this that will consistently give you the flavors you are looking for.

Aroma: Again, as with the pre-light aroma, this cigar gave off a very pleasant, floral aroma . I never got that "what are you smoking" look that I sometimes get with other cigars . And that's always nice.

Ash: This cigar had the typical medium to dark gray ash that Cuban cigars have . A nice firm ash with no flaking that took a pretty good tap to knock off.

Finish: A surprisingly short finish for a Montecristo . A very pleasant taste that made me wish for more . And to me, that's better than not wanting more.

Final thoughts: I was totally impressed with this cigar . It burned perfectly straight so no touching up was required . The feel, aroma, flavors, ash, burn and finish were everything I look for in a cigar . The only minor flaw was the slightly tight draw but that was expected . If I were to rate this cigar on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest, I would easily give these a 9 . 5 . I think I have found my favorite Montecristo vitola. Yes, even more than the Montecristo #2.