The battle of Epicures Nr. 2

And the battle continues! On the battle field today we have a classic Cuban robusto: Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2.




Brand: Hoyo de Monterrey
Type: Epicure No.2
Vitola: Robusto
Size: 4,9"/124x50
Origin: Cuba
Box: AGO 12 (cab of 25)






Appearance/Construction (4,5 points)

Very decent looking cigar. Wrapper is light brown and has a soft feel to it. Nice triple cap and good packing. Some little veins here and there but it brings character to the cigar. Feels good in hand when pressing, no soft spots. On the nose I get mild, sweet and woody aroma and the wrapper leaves a mellow, spicy taste on my lips.

Flavor (4,5 points)

1/3: The nose and pre-draw exists pretty well in the flavor. Sweet spice, wood and vanilla are the main instruments in this Cuban latino band. The woodiness is the basic rhythm, vanilla is the beautiful singer and spiciness the trumpetist playing a solo. The flavor is pretty full but I think that's because it's been two weeks since my last cigar.

2/3: Creamy texture and easy on the palate. This Hoyo has turned to be a very complex cigar. The sweet lady and the spicy guy has moved to backstage while the woody rhythm stays on taking the leading role.

3/3: Allright, now we are in a part where the this Cuban latino stick begins to get toastiness and some breadish nuances. The band has left the building but the party goes on. This last third reminds me of the PL Encantos. Very enjoyable mild to medium flavor with no bitterness at all.


Smoking experience (4,5 points)

Well, when we talk about vitolas I think robusto is one of the most popular ones, also for me. It has good length, ring gauge isn't too small or too big and it fits to hand nicely. So for me a robusto is often a way to go cigar and there is nothing I hate about that vitola but nothing special also. This Hoyo burned nicely(excluding two touch ups) leaving a medium gray solid ash. Flawless performance and earns it's place among the best Cuban robustos.

Quality-price ratio (4 points)

This is the tricky part. The quality of these Hoyos is usually good but I'm not sure about the price. I think the average price is somewhere around 10 euros. It could be lower because it is such a popular and easy to find -cigar and as a buyer you always want to get your cigars as cheap as possible. But hey, it's a classic cigar!




Hippie's judgement

Appearance/construction: 4,5
Flavor: 4,5
Smoking experience: 4,5
Q-P ratio: 4

The average: 4,375

The final grade is 4,5!

Hippie's flavor profile: 4