Monte Pascoal Belicoso

Monte Pascoal Belicoso (5 1/2 x 52)

I had my first Monte Pascoal a month ago; the Double Corona. In that review I mentioned that the cigar was "not exactly one that I typically reach for". Well, as I learned from Wes Gensel, Managing Partner of Monte Pascoal, is that all their cigars use the same tobacco but each vitola uses different amounts of that tobacco. That was very unusual sounding. No other company does that (to my knowledge), so I was intrigued as to what the other sizes would taste like. So that brings us to today's review. To be fair, I will tell you that I have sampled a couple belicoso's since finding out that they are made with different proportions of their tobacco to see if there really was a difference. And the answer was, yes! Now, on to today's review.

Video review HERE.

The cigar is well made. After cutting the cap at an angle I gave it a test draw. It was very good. Upon light up the initial flavors were grapefruit with hints of sweetness and almonds.
After letting it sit for a few minutes the cigar had citrus notes that switched between grapefruit and orange, vanilla, almonds, and some richness is developing in the spice. The finish is average to long with notes of sweet raw almond notes. There is a nice amount of pepper. Not much pepper on the finish at ths point.
About an inch in there were more almond notes. The citrus is a little richer. There is not a lot of sweetness to the citrus. There is some vanilla and almond. The finish is much richer; a rich almond flavor. There is some lingering pepper on the palate. I am enjoying this cigar much more than the double corona.
With about 2 1/2 inches left the richness appears to be coming from the almonds. There is a flavor of almond paste. The grapefruit notes are still there along with subtle vanilla. The cigar is making some changes. The cigar is mild to medium.
The cigar continued to become richer.
The Monte Pascoal logo:

With about an inch and a half left the cigar has a nice richness. It reminds me somewhat of a Perdomo Lot 23. The rich almond notes have drawn even with the grapefruit citrus notes.

At the end of the cigar it winds up like this; this is the best Monte Pascoal that I've had to date. The cigar has been consistent with the citrus notes. The addition of rich almond notes at the midpoint really helped the cigar.
Score: 89