Hoyo Epi 2

[mbpenguin]

What is everyone's thoughts on this particular stick?  

I had it for the first time a few weeks ago and will probably not do it again.  It was quite boring and was just no-nonsense stick but I expected some Coh Robust levels of smoke.  Either that or I'm really getting bored with these smokes and tend to go back to the Dom and Nig made cigars.

Partagas Lusi's are something I went back for the 2nd time and found it to be a masterpiece.

[Bijan]

In my experience the Epicure No. 1 and to a lesser extent the Epicure No. 2 are extremely creamy. I found my first Epicure No. 1 really boring and long. But some people really like cream, and it's not a very common flavour... I find the Epicure No. 2 is not as bad (though I haven't had too many), but it's in the same ballpark. If you don't want a light to medium-light cream bomb, then it's not for you.

[Bijan]

11 minutes ago, Lrabold89 said:

you have a epi 1, for example, and just think dang this is just so pleasant and easy to smoke ...not a lot of taxing of the palate....cream, wood, spices...perfectly pleasant

That's what I think of the le hoyo du series. For me the epicure 1 and 2, sometimes have too much cream and not enough wood and spices. Not always but not infrequently.

[JohnS]

HdM Epicure No.2s? They tend to be either woody and potentially bland or alternatively, sweet cream heaven sticks with beautiful cinnamon spice on the side, at times. It's that second description that keeps me chasing them!

[Tstew75]

Factory matters with Epi 1 & 2. Look for La Corona examples (LGR/RAT).

When good they have a lovely elegance to them & are wonderful morning smokes.

[Bri Fi]

Best cigar I ever had was an epi 2. Pure cream and toasted nuts. Flavor that kicked you in the mouth with a silk shoe. It’s a dragon I’ve been chasing my whole life and I’ve yet to find again. The three other boxes of epi 2 I’ve gone through have been sad examples. I wonder if the blend needs to be exact for the flavor to be on. Because, it seems to be off more than on for me. 

[Gamehawker]

Not for me. 

[Webbo]

The epicure no 2 is a strange but wonderful cigar. On paper it should not appeal to me as I don't like mild, woody flavours, but in this cigar BOOM!    It just works and at its best is such a superb, tasty cigar with an mingling of sweet cream, cloves bound together with for me an undefinable unique note (almost a butterscotch but its not) that seems to make the cigar sing. The right example, on a sunlit evening with a  fine beer at an English countryside pub is truly a thing of rare beauty.

[Yellot00tr]

Doesn’t do it for me either. The hoyo des dieux? Now that is a real winner.

[karp]

Agreed with many of the comments above. Sometimes they're amazing: creamy with sudden flashes of sweetness and/or nutmeg/spices. But this is not the majority. Most are just smooth and subtle - cream and wood that does not hit the high notes.

It's like eating padron peppers... most of them are OK but once in a while you hit a flavour bomb.

[SmokyFontaine]

I find them ok. The petit robusto is sensational though IMO.

[ReturnFreeRisk]

It was one of my first buys as I waded into CCs along with D4, Monte2, CoRo and I thought to myself how is this any different than NC. One dimensional, standard was my takeaway. Another mans treasure maybe, but I moved on and haven’t revisited after that first 5x3 pack. Epi Especial also creamy when I want that hit, usually has darker wrapper which I felt adds complexity

 

 

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[Yellot00tr]

7 hours ago, Lrabold89 said:

Aged epi 1 taste almost identical


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Interesting. Gotta crack an aged box.

[JWTan]

All cigars taste the same to me. I can't taste the nuance in the flavour like everyone else maybe perhaps pepper. The rest are are mild cigar, medium cigar or heavy cigars to me:(

[Queens88]

The only experience I’ve had with HdM is with the Epi.2. They have been okay but nothing special. Maybe I should give the DC a chance?

[Tstew75]

6 hours ago, JWTan said:

All cigars taste the same to me. I can't taste the nuance in the flavour like everyone else maybe perhaps pepper. The rest are are mild cigar, medium cigar or heavy cigars to me:(

Give it some time...smoke lots of different things & write down thoughts of each. You'll start to discern much quicker than you think. Building a palette for anything takes time...the same goes for food, wine, liquor, etc

20 minutes ago, Queens88 said:

The only experience I’ve had with HdM is with the Epi.2. They have been okay but nothing special. Maybe I should give the DC a chance?

The DCs are nice, but maybe try something like the Epicure Especiale or San Juan. Both can be great with some rest & neither are too big.

[bbguardsp]

For me 2020 codes are much better than prior years.  Have two 2020 boxes, two different codes, both fantastic.  Worst box I had was a 50 cab TPO 2018 in which many required a perfect draw tool, seriously lacked flavor and only occasionally had that HDM creaminess.

[Woody Hayes]

10 hours ago, JWTan said:

All cigars taste the same to me. I can't taste the nuance in the flavour like everyone else maybe perhaps pepper. The rest are are mild cigar, medium cigar or heavy cigars to me:(

I'm in the same boat especially with wines, bourbon.  I think a certain percentage of people lack taste buds on the level of FOH individuals.

[JWTan]

3 hours ago, Tim Fleming said:

I'm in the same boat especially with wines, bourbon.  I think a certain percentage of people lack taste buds on the level of FOH individuals.

I can roughly make out the 'value' of whiskeys from its layer and complexity. But I can't tell the flavours apart. I like to taste whiskey and read what how connoisseurs describe the taste profile, and try to develop a palate from the flavours describe. But still the individual flavours are extremely elusive to me. 

[shippers]

6 hours ago, JWTan said:

I can roughly make out the 'value' of whiskeys from its layer and complexity. But I can't tell the flavours apart. I like to taste whiskey and read what how connoisseurs describe the taste profile, and try to develop a palate from the flavours describe. But still the individual flavours are extremely elusive to me. 

All comes with time and experience I think. I am much better at pulling out flavours from Whisky than I am Cigars. But that makes sense to me. I take part in regular Whisky tastings from multiple clubs I am involved in which are normally comparing multiple drams from the same or different distiller at once and I often make notes. Compare that to Cigars where I only smoke one or two a week (less if its cold out) and I have not been to many enthusiast events to learn (but slowly starting to).

I quite liked this video from Boveda & Davidoff on tasting Cigars - getting similar formats but different blends and comparing at the same time is something I plan to try to improve my palate.

.