Montecristo Nicaragua Series No. 2 (6 1/8 x 52)

Video review HERE.

***(Follow up 3 weeks after this review at end of blog.)

(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)

AJ Fernandez has teamed up with Altadis again to produce another Montecristo with the launch of the Montecristo Nicaragua.

Montecristo Nicaragua is described as a project conceived by Fernandez along with Altadis’s Director of Product Capability Rafael Nodal. The cigar is produced at Fernandez’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It consists of 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos available in four sizes (Robusto, Toro, No. 2, Churchill) presented in 20-count boxes.

This is the seventh project Fernandez has partnered with Altadis and its parent company Tabacalera USA. It is also the third Montecristo Fernandez has produced.

• Montecristo Crafted by AJ Fernandez Toro (sold through Santa Clara Cigars)
• Romeo y Julieta Crafted by AJ Fernandez  (sold through Santa Clara Cigars)
• Gispert Intenso
• H. Upmann by AJ Fernandez
• Monte by Montecristo AJ Fernandez
• Romeo San Andrés by Romeo y Julieta
• Montecristo Nicaragua.

This is also the sixth Montecristo branded cigar to be produced in Nicaragua.

• Espada by Montecristo (Plasencia SA)
• Espada by Montecristo Estoque (Plasencia SA)
• Montecristo Crafted by AJ Fernandez(Tabacalera Fernandez)
• Monte by Montecristo AJ Fernandez (Tabacalera Fernandez)
• Montecristo Epic Craft Cured (Plasencia SA)
• Montecristo Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Nicaragua

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)

Vitolas Available

Robusto: 5 x 54 (SRP $11.75)

Toro: 6 x 54 (SRP $12.25)

No 2: 6 1/8 x 52 (SRP $12.70) REVIEWED TODAY

Churchill: 7.x 56 (SRP $13.70)

The cigar has an obvious sharp pointed cap. The cigar is well made and has an average feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the minimum from the cap was a bit firm so I used the PerfecDraw tool to open up the draw. The initial flavors at light up were a tangy orange citrus, quite a bit of a combination of brown sugar and creamy nutmeg, clean leather, cinnamon, and black coffee. There was black pepper noted at a 7. 

At the first third (23 minutes) the flavors are just like I initially noted and they are becoming very nicely mixed. They are about even on all levels. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is one of cream, nutmeg, and leather with a nice amount of lingering black pepper. At this point the cigar is right in my alley. I rated the first third at 92.

At the second third (55 minutes) I had a nice burn time going. The orange citrus notes are being weighed down by an increasing nutmeg and leather. Some of the nice, sweet, tangy orange citrus is gone. You could now say it's a semi-sweet cedar or citrus. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. With the decrease in sweetness the score is lowered to a 91. This is still a very good cigar but note that some sweetness is gone. The finish us unchanged.

The cigar lasted 1 hour 24 minutes. In the final third I lost a little more sweetness. The nutmeg and leather notes became quite elevated. The cigar is still medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. This cigar is good and I enjoyed it but it definitely lost sweetness throughout the burn time. The final third was rated at a 90. You can purchase these cigars HERE and can try a 5 pack HERE.

Overall Score: 91

11/6/18

Follow-up

I had this cigar again today (3 weeks later) and it seemed to be a little better than it was on the original samle date. While it still tailed off a bit it maintained more of the sweet, tangy citrus notes with a lot of cinnamon mixed in with the nutmeg. The first third was very good. I would rate today's first third at 93.  The second third dropped a bit to 92. The final third dropped to a 91. So, based on today's cigar I would raise the overall score to a 92. Well worth purchasing more. Just a little more humidor time helped this cigar. By the way, the original review was done 3 weeks after receiving the cigars. So at this point, 11/6/18, we're about 6 weeks after receiving the cigars.