MigsG

'18 VR Famosos tonight. Perfect, dark chocolate, honey, cream. From a light wrapper. So good I forgot to take a photo early on.

Thank you @HopeUgood for sending me these great '15 Shorts! I decided to have one for this Partagas Review weekend after a month rest. These cigars have been in a Tupperdor registering 59-60RH on a constant basis. We've had some days of heavy humidity in Northern California but for the most part mid 50s RH. A little dry boxing, and this cigar (I have a method for figuring out it's RH) was registering 58RH. Perfect condition for today's review. Started out great, cedar, nutmeg and caramel. I'm guessing the coffee and earth have blended nicely to get to this caramel flavor. Age may have mellowed the flavors a bit but I can clearly taste them. Second third brings with it an earthy vanilla flavor. Caramel gone. Less sweet now. Almost floral. Final third is not as great for me. Woody bark and buttery. I'm not going to nub this one. Maybe age has removed some of the flavor I find in younger examples. Score: 85

Totally! Just WOW!

'18 Sancho Panza Belicoso, courtesy of @Bucky McSwensen It was like salted butter to me. Liking this profile.

Siglo III Followed by El Principe Late night BRE FEB 18 HU Regalias, coffee, honey, spice.

@MoeFOH I made a mistake and clicked Harry Potter! Didn't read the instructions properly, thought I was clicking to rid the world of Voldemort and fiends once and for all!

Hello! I'm very familiar with the RyJ Tubos no. 2. Great budget smoke. I'd look into trying the Rafael Gonzalez Petit Corona. Same format. Great price. See if you enjoy it before spending a bunch on more expensive marcas. Great bang for the buck. H.Upmann Regalias, same size, also tasty. Might as well get a bunch of singles to try. Monte 4, another Petit Corona, must try, see if you like the profile.

'15 RyJ Cedros de Luxe LCDH First time with this mild, creamy cigar. Great smoke for a hot day. The subtle flavors are best enjoyed in the daytime, IMO. I glued the bands back to fully enjoy the experience. This definitely has a place in my rotation. Props to @Bucky McSwensen for providing the equipment.

Awemaztastic Diplomaticos No. 2, '16! @Thirds, you picked a great box!

100% Cuaba and Vegueros and La Flor de caca, LOL. I've had amazing JLP (Petit Cetros), best fresh and young.

LOL, nice. Any hints?

Love that description, 7 later chocolate cake!

Enjoying the idea of a Montecristo weekend so much I decided to have another Monte after dinner. Thanks to @Thirds for gifting me this cigar! Upon lighting up, immediately creamy with slightly sweet light cocoa and woody flavors. Nutty and spicy on the retrohale. Smooth smoke. I can tell this is a good cigar. 2/3 still woody and nutty and cocoa. More full flavor, medium to medium full. Very nice. I'm smoking faster than usual and the cigar is staying cool. The final third is mostly savory wood and nutty. Wish the cocoa was still around though. Not a bad smoke, kind of an anticlimactic ending. More enjoyable than my earlier aged Monte No. 5, no contest. Scoring this an 87. It's still very young, that's for sure. Maybe I'll review my beloved Open Junior tomorrow night. Those are smoking the house down! 😄

You're welcome! Are you getting that sweet cocoa goodness already? I'd definitely smoke at least 1 a month and see the progression, they will get better over time. If you smoked the box over the next 24 months, you should be rewarded with progressively better tasting Monte 5s. Edit: I should say 1-3 years as my personal preference.

Pulled out this 2011 Montecristo No. 5, sent to me by a friend, no box code given. I took a whiff of the cigar and was surprised to smell a floral scent over a sweet, mocha citrus type background. 1/3, starts out leathery. Not that good. Then maybe half way through, cream takes over. I can't say it's cocoa cream or coffee cream, just tastes like cream. Leather gone. 2/3 creamier, now with a hint of cocoa. No sweetness like with young Monte 5s. 3/3 turns musky but still creamy. Light coffee makes an appearance. This is the creamiest Monte 5 I've ever had, and also the most aged. I'm not a fan of too much aging. In fact I've found that at some point in the aging process some sweet flavors seem to fade. I prefer a young 1-2 year Monte 5. Score: low 80s on the enjoyment scale for me.