Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial – Robusto Cuban Cigar

Description

There is a 24-percent variety of silence to be had only in the basement jazz clubat 1:00 am. But that is no kind of silence, it drips with the moping scent of old floor wax and the spirit of a thousand bourbons spilled bypeople who were all so much sadder than you, hoping to achieve some impression of whatever it is sucking down such an impossibly deep, loping thump out there on stage that you can feel your molars knocking in time.
I was in a booth in the corner of this dive bar (there are probably more but who knows, this place is the new Dig Inn — it’s grand (fathered-in) and doesn’t have to operate by anyone else’s rules) waiting for Leo. I hadn’t seen him in eight years. You and I last met, we did not blow each other’s heads off… “We were in the projection of the same but rival versions of the samedream The Who dreamed different cities into! And yet here we were, two fellasone of us so gray-bearded that neither of us really wanted to acknowledge itstopped by to see if we could fit a decade into one long night.
You are going to share one with a couple friends and don’t want your cigar in need of some relational stretching when you gather back together. You don’t want something that’s going to kick your teeth in with nicotine — or be so involved you’ll have to wait five minutes before conversing while you work through thechangeover. But you also don’t want a “nothing”smoke. You need a companion. Something fancy, something highfalutin-y, that matches the repertoire of conversation.
Dug into the travel humi and pulledout a couple thats been sitting for a good 18 months or so.

That smoke? The Hoyo de MonterreyEpicure Especial.
I handed one to Leo. He looked at the two bands, ran his thumb over the satiny paper and nodded. He knew. Neither of us could say much Forthe first five minutes. We Toes OF ButFriTnd casings off; als0, nib,lUG OGRE: iBD snigger inOKs : rattling ON base boards.

The Specs

I have always had a heart for howHoyo de Monterrey looks. It’s not loud. It doesn’t need to be. The Epicure Especial is, as one would expect having (spinner of) it’s little brother in its affable no-nonsense clear wood wrapper – a near enough sun-grown CT shade if not for the glossy sheen that has to be only Cuban leaf. This veined pole was mottled a russet and was smooth to the touch except in veins so pale they seemed to have been drawn on with pencil.
TheGorditos is simply anice-sized, good Gospel hand-feel. For me, 50 ring gauge is my sweet spotfor that long talk guaranteed. large studies without making people think that you are some kind of blow-up flashlight chewie.
I gave it a gentle squeeze. It was doughy, not squishy but with that perfect amount of “give” where you can tell the person rolling this thing up knows what the hell they’re doing over there at that factory across the street. ThePre-Light The prelight draw was a dream – no resistenace at all. I also got notes of dried earthand dark honey sweetness. “Leo,” I said, “don’t you ever smell a hayloft when it’s raining? That’s what this is.” He just grinned and lit up.

The First Third:Meeting AndGreeting

Butthe beginning is always most revelatory. It doesn’treally onewith theEpicure Especial. It’s kind oflikenice “Good evening.”

The first profile wassuper creamy. It is very velvety to smoke, wraps round the mouth a bit and has some heft on hand but not on tounge. At the bottom there’s a touch of smoke black cedar. de here, but again…I’M. od whenitcomes to that spice. And with this mix, I always am. It’s not black pepper. Closerto cardamom, or awhisperof cumin. It’s savory and aromatic.
Leoand I had started reminiscing there when suddenthestogey was lit. The burn was razor-sharp, which I never take for granted withCuban cigars. The light honey that I got on the cold draw startedshowing up as a warm, floral sweet. It’s balanced. Nothing is fighting for dominance. It’s just… solid.

Panel 2 of 3 Out in the open

They played for half an hour or so, took a break — and the club looked like Jackson Pollack had been drinkingCaf-Pows. Now the Epicure Especial wasstarting to open up!
It’sthesecondthird where that ancestry truly comes out. Good O-medium andstrength will rise. That note —flowers, and I caught it now more strongly— was mixed with another that I could recognize as leather. It was not “old boot” leather, but about a brandnew pair like swell gloves.
Hoping to feel his presence,But it was nothim I witnessed but something alive:Leo, staring at his ash —a dandy gray tower of nickels several inches thick. “Thisthingisatank,”hemuttered.

He wasn’t wrong. General construction, goodhad my 25 years and made from a shelf in 2008 there is a ridge line cut and about as good as you will receive. What they did was take thatone of the No. 2, everyone’s favourite and loveand make itlonger.” You have your whole life to indulge thatflavorprofile of yours. Honey man, it did go intothe finish - the cedar didn’t turn too dry, probably. It’s a very “clean” smoke. I did not have a dry, scratchy tongue; it was fresh instead.

ENDGAME: THE DEEPDIVE

At2:30 am that night (amnesty hour was not past) we were in “what if” mode. The cigar was in its last act, and usually most Cubans will either start to warm up there or go south on me.
Not this one.
TheEpicure Especial was emerging as a completely more sumptuous being. The coffee took down a lot of the creaminess, and was ruled by an everpresent dark chocolate andcinnamon. The woodiness became darker,more oaky. A touch more “punch” in the profile here – the body built up to its full end of medium but it always felt so toward that refined hoya character that never defected.
Ate On Ate there was a taste of espresso and vanilla at the end. It’s a striated conclusion thatmakes you↵want to turn off. You huff and puff too fast and the nuance gets gunked up; wait too long, and it’s essentially adessert. Smoking it down to my fingers I was glad for the gloves and didNot want to put it in asthray even after I hadstubbed itout.

Pairing

I kept taking small, slow, cautiously optimistic sips of the low-rye bourbon I was drinking from the clubhouse to help me through this mess and it unlocked something pleasurable. But if I’m being honest? It would be a real sin if you smoked it without a pot of coffee, or a shot of really good old school Cuban rum.

What you are looking for is something that doesn’t overpower thefloral and honey notes. What you should be drinking: A strong café con leche Best thing after 2 a.m.: If you really can’t handle the thought of yet an other glass of Aperol with fizzers, stick to decent booze such as Havana Club7. What you need is someone to work with you, not someone who’s in competition withyou. The rum is a bit sweet-ish and matched incredibly well with the cedar of the cigar that way.

The Verdict

I’ve smoked a lot of cigars in a lot of places, but the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial is one that calls me back just because who you are with matters more than what you might be smoking.
It’s not a “statement” cigar. It doesn’t demonstrate how tough we are, or provide a foundation from which to Blow Your Head With The Power Of Love. And a smooth, coherent and hellishly consistent one at that. It’s that kind of smoke, you’ll smokethirty minutes and it’s itfeels like ten because you’re just inthe groove.
If you enjoy the Epicure No. 2 and think it’s a little meek openup looking for the Epicure No. 1 is what you want to be sniffing out. Same soul, only alongertale totell.
Who is this for?
The guy who doesn’t want abig oldcigarbutlikes nuance. For anyone who needs an extra-long soak and doesn’t want to thinkabout the burn or put out. It’s for the contemplative nights.
Would I buy a box?
I already have. And the time I come across another SLB25 with anice date, you can k1ss_h bye will not get a sentenceend. It’s a staple.
The air was so much cleaner now and smelled gently of cedar, chocolate lingering in my mouth as I tugged Leoout of the club by his hand. It was precisely what I needed,” he told me.
Icouldn’t have said it better. Solid.

Summary of the Experience

* Total Burn Time: Up to 85 minutes.
Burn:* Flawless, no corrections required.
* Draw: Solid”straw-like” resistance.
* Flavor assertiveness: Medium, but yeah, like seriously complex.
* Value: They’re tophats Cubans so you’ll need topay for the privilege, but that mouthfeel (such a prosaic word doesn’tdo it justice) is worth every cent.
And One More Thing:** Jimm Wheneveryou’rethirstyand in the mood for conversation, there:’sexactly one place,“Epicure Especial. It’s elegant,it’s royalandit is undeniablyCuban.