Cigars.ie

12 Robustos of Xmas, Day 6: Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2

The 12 Robustos of Xmas, Day 6:
Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure No.2

The Epicure No.2 is one of the most popular vitolas of Hoyo de Monterrey and one of the most popular Robustos in the market. It happens to be one of my favourite cigars too, but it can be very inconsistent. When you smoke a good Epicure #2, not many cigars can be compared to it. However, you have to go through quite a few until you get that good one. Those few can be very bland in taste or very poorly constructed. The latter productions seems to have brought back the high standards of this robusto, that seemed to have gone in the 2003-2006 productions. The Epicure I will be reviewing today is quite young (March 09).

Appearance & Prelight 12/15

The Epicure #2 has a cinnamon/brown wrapper with a few light veins and some wrinkles. It is smooth to touch and a little oily.  It is generally spongy, with a few harder spots, and strong aromas of earth are present on the foot. The prelight draw is good, slightly on the looser side.

Flavour & Body 23/25

The initial burst has a strong earthy flavour, full body and plenty of spice. It takes no more than a few puffs for the cigar to mellow and become more balanced. The spiciness is gone, being replaced by vegetal and sweet floral flavours, still trailing the earthy profile of the cigar. The Epicure gets sweeter as you smoke though the second third, with flavours of leather, honey and cocoa, and a long creamy finish - definately its sweetspot! On the last third the body gets fuller and the cigar gets slightly hot, with most of the flavours in the array of the second third being muted. No need for burnt fingertips!

Draw & Burn 22/25

The cigar has a slightly loose draw from the very beginning, that remains consistent all the way through, and produces clouds of smoke. The burn is mostly even, but seems to be changing in those couple of hard spots in the cigar, where the burn gets slower and the flavour smokier. The ash has a thin texture and does not reach more than an inch in length.

Overall impression 33/35

After lighting up the Epicure #2, I thought I should have gone for a D4, one of my favourite cigars of the year, as my last cigar of 2009. After taking a few puffs, I realised I was lucky enough to hit one of the better Epicure #2’s. Although it didn’t knock my socks off, its medium body and the sweet earthy flavours made it very enjoyable. Not the best Epi I have had, but still good enough to score 90 points. If it wasn’t for the loose bunch, it could have scored a couple more points.

TOTAL 90/100