Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 1

Description

Last Tuesday I was sitting in my garden, late in the afternoon as the sun was beginning its swing behind the oak trees. You know that quiet? You know the type: when the birds are done making noise during daylight hours but crickets haven’t gotten their act together. I was there, staring at the stone path I’d just finished installing. It took three summer weekends of slinging slate, smoothing sand and bruising my thumbs, but I got it done. Straight lines, solid footing. I was proud in the way that you’re only ever proud of manual labor when it actually works.

My hands were a little dirty still, but I didn’t mind. I wanted a second to be in that win. I didn’t want a flavor bomb that would numb my teeth, and I didn’t want to spend so little time outside that I’d be back indoors in 20 minutes. I wanted something graceful, something that felt like a treat for the job well done without asking too much of my attention. I turned to my travel humidor and came up with something that has been in regular rotation for as long as I can remember.

That smoke? The Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 1. It is the sort of cigar that does not have to shout for attention. It just waits there, so polished-looking, until you figure out that it’s just what you needed all along.

The Specifications

But before I tell you about how this thing smoked, while I was admiring my work, let’s look at the numbers.

If you enjoy the “Goldilocks” zone of cigar sizes, this one is going to be right in your wheelhouse.

First Impressions & Construction

Corona Gorda vitolas just feel right in the hand to me, I gotta say. It’s a little longer than your average Robusto, with just that extra finger or so to dress it up and that beefy 46 ring gauge, which felt elegant and not like I was gnawing on a flashlight but still hefty enough for me to know I’m working. The Epicure No. 1 is a quintessential representation of this shape, and frankly there aren’t many of them left in the Habanos portfolio, so when you lite one up it feels that much more special.

Mine was in a pretty Colorado shade wrapper. It had those telltale red glints that catch the light when you turn it — like an aged mahogany desk. It wasn’t so oily that it was greasy, but it had good sheen. They were hardly veiny, and the roll was pretty consistent from head to toe. No soft spots, no lumps. That’s all, a good, handmade piece of craftsmanship.

Smelling the foot, I found cedar and subtle earthy sweetness.

I clipped the cap with my straight cutter—cleaner than a broker’s whistle—and took a cold draw. What I actually tasted was some dried fruit, maybe a hint of raisin or fig, and just a touch of wood. It seemed open, easy, and it made me even more impatient to get it going.

The First Third: The Setup

Lighting this in the garden was magical. The first few puffs were about what I expected from Hoyo: light and airy with an insanely smooth character. I missed none of that bitter slap-in-the-face “new cigar” bite. It was instead more like an easy opening. The dominant taste was cedar — not some mucky, wet wood, but a light, kiln-dried cedar.

During that shaping time I received a little sweetness as I sat and stared at my stone pathway. It wasn’t sweet but more like a hint of honey or perhaps a gentle floral note. You ever walk by a jasmine bush at night? It had that kind of vibe. This lent the smoke a smooth but thin texture that is just right for the light-to-medium body. It is not a heavy chewy smoke, yet it sort of applies itself thickly to the palate in a very “clean” way. I wasn’t going for water every two minutes to take out the taste.

The Second Third: That Sweet Spot

When I passed through the second third, the ash was domiciling—a good light grey shade with those exquisite “stack of nickels” groove markings.

This is where the personality of the Epicure No. 1 really comes to life. The wood notes remained, though they became a little more layered. I began to glean a little vanilla and perhaps just a touch of cinnamon or other sweet spice. It wasn’t spicy like a “pepper,” but more like a “baking spice.”

It’s just that nice balance that made it kind of stand out to me. Nothing was fighting for dominance. The fruit and spice that greeted me on the cold draw made a brief appearance in the middle of the smoke, as sort of zesty brightness; it prevented things from feeling too woodsy and vanilla-y. I’ve got to tell you, sitting there in the silence with that smoke wafting through the trees, I felt like I made the right decision. This isn’t a cigar that requires and inspection of every puff, but if you do there is plenty to uncover. It’s a cocktail with the gentle wisdom of age and experience about it, something that seems heavy in years in all the right ways (which never feels too old: It did exist before the revolution, after all).

The Final Third: A Wise Exit

Typically as you smoke down a lighter weight cigar, it tends to get a little bitter or hot.

The Epicure No. 1 was not that cigar. It stayed remarkably cool. The flavors developed a bit, the honey went away and the cedar turned into a more powerful oak. Maybe it got just a bit sturdier, perhaps now solidly in that “light-medium” neighborhood, but never out of its comfort zone.

I ended up nubbing that one, which I don’t always do. I simply was not in any rush for the experience to be over. It remained even up until the last inch. There was additional toasted nuts on the aftertaste and even a little more of that vanilla sweetness. It was a dignified end to an unusually dignified smoke.

Presentation & Heritage

I should note the box; if you’re getting a full 25-count, presentation is top notch. All of them arrive in a cedar slide-lid box (SLB) and you open it, they are sitting there with that classic gold ribbon holding them all together. It smells in there like a humidor’s fantasy. Each cigar has two bands, the traditional Hoyo de Monterrey band followed by the specific “Epicure No. 1” band below it. It is incredibly photogenic in the humidor and even more so when you’re pulling it out to share with a friend.

Traditionally, the Epicure No. 1 can live in the shadow of its shorter, fatter brother, the Epicure No. 2.

And yes, the No. 2 is a fine smoke, but there is something “old school” about the No. 1 that you don’t get from the Robusto. It is a little classier, a little more patient. It’s one of the last Corona Gordas left in the Cuban portfolio, and I desperately want them to leave it around for good. It is a cigar made for another age of smoking habits, when people weren’t focused on enormous ring gauges and high-nicotine kicks.

Pairing Recommendations

Because it’s a lighter smoke you don’t want to pair it with something that’s going to steamroll the flavors. I drank plain sparkling water during my garden workout because I’m trying to remain attuned to each tiny sensation, but if I were having a drink afterward, here’s what I’d recommend:

• Coffee: Light roast or café au lait. The milk’s rich cream would complement the vanilla in the cigar.
• Rum: (I like Havana Club Añejo Blanco ). Something like a Havana Club 7. It’s sweet enough to amplify the honey component but not overpowering.
• Tea: Earl Grey or perhaps a mild Darjeeling. The florals in the tea would bring out the florals in the front half of the smoke.
• Spirit: If you’re a scotch drinker, opt for something unpeated and in the Speyside style. Anything smokier is just going to obliterate the light character of the Hoyo.

The Verdict

Is the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 1 the most paradoxical smoke on a place it can land?

No. Is it going to clobber you with a “nicotine buzz” that leaves your head swimming? Definitely not. But that’s not the reason you smoke this. You smoke this if you want a gentleman’s, everyday smoke that is as delightful as it is reliable.

It’s a “solid” pickup for the morning with some coffee, or as I did it last time — a celebratory smoke where you want to be proud of something you accomplished but not feel overly extravagant about choosing that cigar for the evening. It’s reliable. It’s classic. It is the sort of cigar that will make you remember why Cuban tobacco looms large in popular imagination.

If you have not tried the No. 1 because you typically use a No. 2, consider yourself invited to pick up a few. The extra length and the slightly slimmer gauge adjust the way flavors can wash across your palate in a manner that’s difficult to describe until you’ve experienced it. It’s just… elegant. And sometimes, after a day spent in the garden humping stone, elegance is just what you crave.

Final Thought: When you see a box of these with some years on it – buy them.” They get better and better, the honey and vanilla notes going beautifully with time. Solid. Absolutely solid.