Hoyo De Monterrey Regalos EL 2007 (Cuban)

Settling down for yet another day-late review, I bring you Hoyo De Monterrey’s Regalos Edicion Limitada 2007.

The Good Stuff: Actually, there is no good stuff really. I had a hell of time trying to find any information what so ever on this cigar. Basically, it runs about $16 a stick and consists of Cuban tobacco that has been aged for 2 years before manufacturing. Not a lot to go by, and I apologize for that. But it will make smoking this cigar that much more interesting!

Prelight: The Hoyo de Monterrey Habana Edicion Limitada 2007 bares similar to construction to most any top tier Cuban cigar you see out there. The wrapper is a tad bit darker than what I am used to. The body of the cigar sports a delicate, vein filled composition that gives just a little as it is squeezed between my fingers. The foot is extremely tightly packed.  There are really no soft spots, but the cigar is general feels really soft. The body leads up to a very nice, Cuban style triple cap. Polishing off the cigar is a nice little double band. The first one is a standard white, and red inked band with gold embossed ink and the “hoyo de monterrey Habana” shield and crown as well as the words “Cuba” and “Habana” printed in red along the back. The secondary band is a simple gold on black stating “Edicion Limitada 2007”.

The wrapper of this Hoyo de Monterrey give off a nice peppery, stout, citrus aroma. The foot of the cigar gives off just a nice, simple, cedar aroma. The cap cut clean from this Edicion Limitada 2007.  The cold draw seems a little tight, but gives way to some great pepper, leather, and cedar flavors.

Size: ~5.5 x 46  –  Wrapper: Cuban  –  Binder/Filler: Cuban  –  Body: Medium

First Light: The Edicion Limitada 2007 starts out just as I expected. Tons of cedar, lots of spice on my lips, a bit of leather, and some citrus mixed in. Oh, and you can’t forget the saltiness that I pull from my lips from just about every Cuban cigar I have ever had. The draw is a bit tight. I wouldn’t say it’s plugged but I would much like it to be a little looser. The burnline for the most part is even with only one wave that started out huge, but is quickly correcting itself as I approach the end of the first third. The ash is actually a lot more compact that I thought it would be, sporting a dark grey color as it held one for about an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: The more I smoke this cigar, the more I pull out this just really rich, spicy, cedar taste. It’s not your typical cedar. It’s really deep and almost tart. I love it. It’s strange too cause the aroma coming from the minimal stationary smoke that this Edicion Limitada emits, seems to match that flavor perfectly. Outside of the awesome cedar taste, all I am really getting is a nice, smooth natural tobacco, and still some of that citrus, but the cedar is overpowering it now.  And on another plus note, the draw has really started to open up into the second third kicking out a nice cloud of  rather thin smoke that dissipates pretty quickly. I am not feeling any type of nicotine from this cigar, but it does have a little bit more body than I was expecting. The burnline has completely corrected itself now and is burning dead even.

Finish: I just cannot get over how great this cigar smells. Not to mention this Edicion Limitada 2007 had a lot more spice than I thought it was going to. The flavors have remained similar to the first half with the deep, rich cedar, citrus, and tobacco but now there is a softer bittersweet chocolate thrown in the mix. The flavors on this cigar are unlike most Cubans that I have ever smoked. The body ramped up slightly, but it wasn’t too strong. I only felt a slight nicotine kick after the hour it took to smoke this cigar.

Overview: This was a very tasty cigar. The flavors weren’t terribly complex, but there was definetly enough of them to go around. The body was slightly fuller than I expected and in most cases, that is always a plus. The tight draw really didn’t bother me too much as it was just at the start of the cigar. Did this cigar wow me? I wouldn’t go as far as saying that. Although I really enjoyed this cigar I just couldn’t justify paying ~$16 a stick for it. I think I’d probably grab a Partagas or a Monte #2 before I picked this cigar up. Don’t get me wrong, its a good cigar. Hell, a great cigar. There is just better choices out there for the money.

Pairing: My stomach had been crazy upset the last few days so I decided to go ahead and pair this cigar with water. Who cares.