Connoisseur’s Corner: Hoyo de Monterrey Exclusivo
This big cigar comes from an intriguing box of 50: half of the cigars are traditional, box-pressed Hoyo Double Coronas, while the other half are Exclusivos, the same size as the Double Corona but presented in the round, and with a different band. The Exclusivos are flavorful from puff No. 1, redolent of coffee bean and truffles. There’s just a touch of copper in there, and plenty of sweet spice on the finish, which is quite long, and smacks of black tea. The draw isn’t perfect, but the flavor is spot on. —David Savona
A beautiful 20-year-old cigar filled with the entire range of flavors, from earthy and savory, to a solid dash of spiciness, all on the first puff. It smoothes out to show a soft peppery note throughout. This cigar offers everything an aged cigar should have; a perfect melding of all its flavor components and near-perfect smoking performance. Still plenty of life left in this special release for the millenium. —Gordon Mott
What was once a fairly bold cigar has matured to show the delicate, sugary sweetness of an almond cookie, along with notes of marzipan, cinnamon, some butterscotch, and, a hint of sea salt. A floral quality has developed that is prominent on first puffs, but fades to the background. The wrapper is rustic, and not the most pristine leaf that Cuba has ever put on a cigar, but it's much sweeter than it looks. —Gregory Mottola
The wrapper on this large, fat cigar is rough and toothy, but it has a superb burn and draw. The smoke has a core of dark chocolate and a flinty note, as well as a faint herbal character that’s far more pronounced in the early third of the smoke than later. It’s medium bodied, flirting with medium full, and maintains its chocolate quality, but the earthy, flinty edge prevents it from being a masterpiece. —David Savona
