Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Epicure

Ever been punched in the face? No, well trust me it's not a fun experience and unfortunately it happened to me again the other night. Hoyo de Monterrey has been around for quite some time and the Excalibur line a came into existence as the fuller bodied blend of regular Hoyo de Monterrey cigars. The top 10% of the tobacco crop grown in Nicaragua and Honduras is reserved for the Excalibur line. Now top 10% sounds pretty impressive to me and normally this is the case like when your teacher would tell you "you finished in the top 10% on this test" you naturally feel pretty good about yourself. So I grabbed this cigar with that same feeling of self-confidence knowing that Hoyo de Monterrey wouldn't steer me wrong with the top 10% of their plants!

Well....remember that analogy above...yeah..I found out what top 10% means to these gents in Honduras. Check my notes after the break...

Tasting Notes:
This cigar has a nice smooth feel to it and not overly firm but just perfect in terms of fill. After lighting it up and enjoying the smooth nose that first hits your tongue I was feeling pretty good. It's followed by a nice toasted wood, coffee/earthy middle but then it happened. I got punched in the face. This cigar has a spicy, herbal kick at the end and it's not so bad to knock you down for the count but more like your buddy just took a swing at you cause he was mad at you. Only problem is that this spicy finish continues on an upward trajectory that's so smooth of a curve you don't even realize it for a few seconds after you pull on this bad boy. Now I'm not claiming to be some veteran smoker but I would like to think I have been around for awhile and have had my fair share of cigars but I wasn't ready for this full-bodied masterpiece.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great cigar but certainly not for the faint of heart and reserved for those that are truly veteran smokers who like a full-bodied Honduran. The great thing is that you wont break the bank with this cigar so if you enjoy a full-bodied cigar you can pick one of these up for relatively cheap, just not my cup of tea.

Rating: 89 (would be higher if I liked full-bodied cigars)
Price: ~$4