Vitola: Espresso (Rothschild)- 4.5” x 50 ring gauge
- MSRP $7.99
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
General Cigar started updating the Hoyo de Monterrey line several years ago with the original Hoyo La Amistad, in collaboration with AJ Fernandez. It was renamed La Amistad Gold when the Silver came out, and the Black was added just last year. For this year, they decided to send the series in a different direction.
Senior Brand Manager Ed Lahmann said, “We turned the original Hoyo Dark Sumatra blend over to AJ and gave him the green light to run with it. Although the blend is the very same one that has been used continually since the brand launched decades ago, when met with AJ’s fermentation, aging and cigar-making techniques, the result is a cigar that tastes vastly different from the original.”
So, this blend serves as a replacement for the Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Dark Sumatra that has been on the market seemingly forever. It uses Nicaraguan, Honduran and Dominican fillers, a Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper.
Burns Tobacconist received a shipment of these in all 3 available sizes the second week of July. I grabbed one the first day and decided I needed to do a review on it. This review sample is my third time smoking it; all three were purchased at Burns Tobacconist.
Prelight
The general motif used on this release is the same as the other Hoyo La Amistad releases, although I think the bright red boxes with black type and accents is the best-looking of the series. The band is especially sharp in black and red and silver foil. A cedar sheath wraps the bottom of the stick below the two bands. This is a great example of using a familiar design in such a way that encourages buyers to notice and pick up the cigar.
The wrapper leaf of the Amistad Dark Sumatra was as dark as an espresso bean and almost as oily. It had a strongly woody and leathery aromas, while the foot of the cigar had notes of earth and cocoa powder.
Once I clipped the head, I got a really good cold draw that had a mix of semi-sweet chocolate, copper, and red pepper.
Flavor
Firing up the Hoyo La Amistad Dark Sumatra, I got a ton of cedar and red pepper right up front, making for a very woody, very spicy opening salvo. There as a little sweetness underneath along with touches of earth and bell pepper. The retrohale was also very spicy, with roasted nuttiness and more cedar coming in behind. As I got deeper into the first third, I got notes of citrus and dark chocolate, copper and pepper, cedar and roasted nuts, all with a medium-full, oily smoke.
The second third had an increase in sweetness while peppery notes receded a bit. The notes of cedar and copper rode steadily right behind the sweeter chocolate flavor, while there was just a touch of coffee on the finish.
The final third of the Hoyo La Amistad Dark Sumatra finally saw the cigar live up to the vitola name with tons of espresso flavor, while chocolate sweetness fell into a supporting role and pepper and cedar were more evident on the finish.
Construction
I had a very good draw, solid ash and fairly even burn line that just needed a couple touch-ups along the way.
Value
This blend has significantly improved from the old days of the Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur version, while the price has stayed steady. Great value.
Conclusions
Hoyo La Amistad is my favorite installment in the AJ Fernandez-produced series so far and really shows off a different side of AJ’s blending. This was a medium-to-full bodied delight of a cigar with tons of complexity throughout. I would highly recommend this cigar to anyone who enjoys fuller Sumatra-wrapped stick.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
