Of all the Cuban cigar reviews I’ve done over the past 18 months this is the one I looked forward to the most when it popped up on the schedule. I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on some exceptional sticks – like the Cohiba Behike 56 or the Partagas Salomones – but for some reason this one had a special significance for me. The Hoyo de Monterrey Escogidos has been on the market since the end of 2019 but, remarkably, this was my first time enjoying it. Its relative rarity – La Casa del Habano Editions being, by definition, harder to come by – is probably a major factor in this, but for whatever reason it had remained on my “to smoke” list without ever finding its way into my humidor.
The usual rarity of an LCDH Edition is only enhanced in this case by the size: at 49 ring gauge by a little over 7 inches, wrappers to roll cigars like these have been in short supply in the short time since its release. I spent about 2 hours enjoying this one.
Construction: 10/10
- The first impression of this cigar was magnificent. The wrapper was dark and shiny, the fill was generous and even, and the scent of the unlit tobacco rich and tempting.
Draw: 9/10
- Ever so slightly stubborn for maybe the first centimetre, but then opened up nicely.
Combustion: 10/10
- Perfect, from start to finish. A credit to the torcedor who created it.
Ash: 5/5
- Thick, solid and silvery-grey. Never dropped off of its own accord, and would probably have stayed in place much longer had I not removed it myself.
Smoke: 4/5
- Volume of smoke followed the pattern of the draw; a little underwhelming at first, especially for such a wide gauge, but increased as soon as the draw opened up.
Flavour: 21/25
- Hoyo de Monterrey is, of course, designed to be light-bodied, but this was surprisingly so. The gentle mouthfeel meant I had to go searching for the flavour notes at times, but they were there, and were impressive.
Overall: 32/35
- Often when something is built up in your mind it can be a let-down when it finally arrives, and this is always a worry a natural product like a rare(-ish) cigar. Thankfully, the Hoyo Escogidos did not let me down, rather it filled a significant amount of my evening with nuanced and well-balanced flavours.
Final Score: 91/100
- The ultra-light body that came from such a large cigar, and with such a deep brown shade of wrapper leaf, took me by surprise. Coupled with the slight issue with less-than-generous smoke output at the immediate beginning, this meant I began to worry I was in for a crushing let-down. I needn’t have. Delicate sweetness, notes of caramel and honey, began to creep across my palette, and as the draw corrected itself, they only became more pronounced. As I moved into the middle third the body was now akin to what I would expect from a large-format Hoyo, and the sweetness replaced by grass, hay and vegetable notes. Not a hint of spice was detected as I moved through the stick and, while the final third brough warmer flavours than the 2 before it, these were of deep oaky wood. This cigar was well worth the self-imposed wait to try it.