Vitola: No. 1 (Corona Gorda)- 5.6” x 46 ring gauge
- MSRP $8.79
- Samples provided by General Cigar Company
Background
Quarantine-land was not without new cigars…although getting them could be tough in some areas since stores were closed or on reduced hours…or stores simply weren’t bringing in new products because they didn’t know how they were going to pay for them with sales in a bit of a depressed place. One of the new products announced by General Cigar was the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Selección
This collection was meant to pay homage to Honduras, the country that has been the home of the Hoyo de Monterrey brand for more than 50 years. “The Honduran puro channels Hoyo de Monterrey’s rich history and celebrates the tradition of Honduran cigars and Honduran tobacco that began in the 1950s when the Villazon Cigar Factory was established.” They describe Epicure Selección as an “artisanal line” that uses proprietary aging techniques and “old world craftsmanship” at the HATSA Factory in Danlí, Honduras. You might have noted “Honduran puro” above…so all components of the blend use Honduran tobacco.
General Cigar provided samples to me for review purposes. This review stick is about the third time I’ve smoked the blend.
Prelight
Epicure Selección is presented in a very classic old-school plain wood cabinet-style box. The slide-top slots into a groove on the back of the box for presentation in the humidor and while it looks slick, it won’t work in every humidor. I suspect a lot of shops will simply toss the lid and present it in an open box like most other cabinet boxes. The band is a classic-looking band that you could easily imagine on a 5-decade-old Cuban blend. It’s quite the departure from the Hoyo Amistad line which goes to great lengths to look very modern.
The wrapper leaf of the Epicure Selección was a milk chocolate brown color and very oily to the eye and to the touch. It smelled of earth and natural tobacco, with just a hint of cedar, as well. The foot had more muted earthiness and a touch of chocolate.
After clipping the head, I got a very good draw that had flavors of earth and cedar with an underlying sweetness.
Flavor
Once fired, the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Selección featured earthy and leathery notes up front, with backing flavors of wood and bell pepper and semi-sweet chocolate. There was a little black pepper heat on both the palate and on the nose. Certainly it was more complex than I would have expected for a Honduran puro…and both of the previous samples I had—and this one, too—made me think they had some Nicaraguan leaf in them. As the first third continued to burn, I got plenty of earth and leather, with increasing pepper and chocolate notes.
The trend of chocolate increasing continued during the second third with a nice semi-sweet note that pushed the earth and leather to the background. The pepper was a steady burn on the finish.
The final third of the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Selección had more pepper with a little decrease in the chocolate sweetness. Earth, leather, and wood notes still played secondary roles.
Construction
I had a great draw, very even burn line, and solid ash throughout.
Value
Very good cigar and reasonable price point, adds up to great value.
Conclusions
The Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Selección was a very nice, slow-burning cigar that came in at a medium to medium-plus in body and had a nice amount of complexity. I’ve been disappointed by so many Honduran-heavy cigars in the past that I tend to automatically dismiss them, but that would be a mistake for this cigar. It was very nice from end to end.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
