Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Halfwheel.com website)
Altadis U.S.A. has announced that it will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Montecristo brand this year with a new cigar line, a new humidor, a new accessory collection, and a new watch.
It uses tobacco grown by the Plasencias in the Estelí, Condega, Jalapa and Ometepe regions of Nicaragua, with the wrapper leaf coming from Jalapa. There will be two sizes offered:
Montecristo 90th Anniversary No. 2 (6 1/8 x 52) — $40 (Box of 12, $480)
Montecristo 90th Anniversary Nacional (5 1/2 x 56) — $38.75 (Box of 12, $465) REVIEWED TODAY
In addition to the cigars, Altadis is releasing a humidor that comes with a limited edition, handmade watch with a bronze case and skeleton dial that is produced in Paris by B.R.M Chronographes. The humidor can hold 18 cigars and comes with a wach winder as well as playing cards, poker chips, dice, and something called “The Last Chip” game card, which was created for the set. Only 35 sets are being produced and are priced at $15,000. This is the second time that Altadis U.S.A. has partenred with B.R.M. for a Montecristo release.
The Montecristo 90th Anniversary cigars and humidor set are scheduled to debut on Aug. 30 at Casa de Montecristo stores, while other retailers will get them on Sept. 15. The company is planning a series of launch events from August to October.
Montecristo was created in Cuba in 1935 by Alonso Menéndez. Following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, he and business partner Pepe Garcia fled the island and re-established the brand, first in the Canary Islands and then in the Dominican Republic in the mid-1970s. The brand eventually became part of Altadis U.S.A.’s portfolio.
The cigar is medium brown and a large ring. It has a nice feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors at light up were orange citrus, brown sugar, cinnamon, tanned leather, and earthiness. There was black coffee rated at 7 1/2. Not a bad start.
At the first third (23 minutes) the sweet notes are still in play but there is a tremendous amount of earthiness now. There is also dry nutmeg. The leather is still prominent. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is citrus with very good lingering black pepper. The sweet notes are nice but there is not enough of them to compete with the massive earthy and nutmeg flavors. I rated the first third 92. Had it maintained the initial light up flavors it would have scored 94.
As I moved through the second third (50 minutes) the sweetness was very much decreased. There are hints of it. There is still plenty of earthiness and nutmeg, plus there is some black coffee and citrus peel in the mix also. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is hints of citrus, leather, and earthiness with very good lingering black pepper. I rated the second third 88.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 20 minutes. There was more sweetness decrease, a lot of black coffee with leather, earthiness, citrus peel, and nutmeg. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is leather, black coffee, a little citrus peel, and very good lingering black pepper. This cigar moved rapidly downhill from the light up. I expected so much more. With all the Nicaraguan tobacco and coming from Plasencia I expected this cigar to be fantastic. It was not. I rated the final third 84. For a cigar of this price tag it should be amazing. It is not.
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