ironmike5
Shark In The Water
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
- Messages
- 510
My regular Vegas BOTL's and I were about to light up a few Monarcas for our weekly HERF, and suddenly became awestruck by the question WWWD? So in a proper and highly educational review we figured it would be best to present a full dissection of the H. Upmann Monarca.
Light Sarcasm On
This was a recent arrival in my humi. Obtained from a trusted BOTL as part of a box split, this spent 4 days in transit from someplace quite far away. These sticks looked tremendous, and my fellow HERF buds were eager to indulge in the curious case of the Monarcas.
Prelight and Initial Stage
The cigar was well-constructed with a smooth and delicate, medium-shade wrapper. Veins were fine and the bunch was packed nicely without being too overfilled. I split the wrapper near the head while squeezing it to cut the cap. Oops. There was a small scent but no major flavor came to mind, once finally lit the burn was even and jam packed with taste notes of toffee and hints of vanilla.
My first impressions were of properly cured tobacco, lacking any green-ness or ammonia. Initial flavor notes were a characteristic toffee and a slight hint of vanilla. The flavor wasn't manipulated as the cigar burned through the fist third, and at times seemed to be trying to escape it's shell. Not unusual in other lines but typically not so present or forward in the other boxes of H. Upmann I've tried. Almost like a Epicure No. 2 turned down a few notches. The body was uncharacteristically light. Smoke volume was medium.
Later stage and Finish
We all got past halfway and were really not feeling the love. Body continued to be light and the richness and complexity I expected were not there. This stick was delivering on half of what it normally should. The vanilla bean became a little more pronounced, but the stick still did not warm up and soften as much as one would expect. We thought long and hard about snuffing it but became compelled to finish our journey. As we each approached the last third we had different experiences. Mine was a relative crack in the wrapper which would later explode casing most of the wrapper on one side to unravel.
Continuing to stay positive I strategically positioned the cigar band to impasse any further burn issues. As the cigar evened and came to a finish the wrapper and burn returned to the great construction I had experienced throughout most of the cigar. There was an increase in the complexity of flavor towards the end, however, it proved to little too late.
Now the authenticity of the cigar is for sure 100% real. Conformation from all three smokes (I will let the other two elaborate on at their individual convinces) indicated that the cigar was not up to the usually par expected of this tremendous line/manufacturer and suggests that perhaps they didn't have enough acclimation time in my humi or possibly went sick (not totally unheard of but rare for a stick with this degree of age).
Special Note: One of our BOTL's Monarca almost completely unraveled toward the nub so we threw all the disassembled wrapper, binder and filler leaves into a elegant flower garden underneath us.
Overall, we all agreed that the sticks had whimsical parts that were daring to be great but overall missed the mark. If this impromptu experiment is any indication, these sticks do have greatness in them, just not right now, and just not when this dry.
- Mikey
Light Sarcasm Off
WWWD? :sign:
- Mike
Light Sarcasm On
This was a recent arrival in my humi. Obtained from a trusted BOTL as part of a box split, this spent 4 days in transit from someplace quite far away. These sticks looked tremendous, and my fellow HERF buds were eager to indulge in the curious case of the Monarcas.
Prelight and Initial Stage
The cigar was well-constructed with a smooth and delicate, medium-shade wrapper. Veins were fine and the bunch was packed nicely without being too overfilled. I split the wrapper near the head while squeezing it to cut the cap. Oops. There was a small scent but no major flavor came to mind, once finally lit the burn was even and jam packed with taste notes of toffee and hints of vanilla.
My first impressions were of properly cured tobacco, lacking any green-ness or ammonia. Initial flavor notes were a characteristic toffee and a slight hint of vanilla. The flavor wasn't manipulated as the cigar burned through the fist third, and at times seemed to be trying to escape it's shell. Not unusual in other lines but typically not so present or forward in the other boxes of H. Upmann I've tried. Almost like a Epicure No. 2 turned down a few notches. The body was uncharacteristically light. Smoke volume was medium.
Later stage and Finish
We all got past halfway and were really not feeling the love. Body continued to be light and the richness and complexity I expected were not there. This stick was delivering on half of what it normally should. The vanilla bean became a little more pronounced, but the stick still did not warm up and soften as much as one would expect. We thought long and hard about snuffing it but became compelled to finish our journey. As we each approached the last third we had different experiences. Mine was a relative crack in the wrapper which would later explode casing most of the wrapper on one side to unravel.
Continuing to stay positive I strategically positioned the cigar band to impasse any further burn issues. As the cigar evened and came to a finish the wrapper and burn returned to the great construction I had experienced throughout most of the cigar. There was an increase in the complexity of flavor towards the end, however, it proved to little too late.
Now the authenticity of the cigar is for sure 100% real. Conformation from all three smokes (I will let the other two elaborate on at their individual convinces) indicated that the cigar was not up to the usually par expected of this tremendous line/manufacturer and suggests that perhaps they didn't have enough acclimation time in my humi or possibly went sick (not totally unheard of but rare for a stick with this degree of age).
Special Note: One of our BOTL's Monarca almost completely unraveled toward the nub so we threw all the disassembled wrapper, binder and filler leaves into a elegant flower garden underneath us.
Overall, we all agreed that the sticks had whimsical parts that were daring to be great but overall missed the mark. If this impromptu experiment is any indication, these sticks do have greatness in them, just not right now, and just not when this dry.
- Mikey
Light Sarcasm Off
WWWD? :sign:
- Mike
!! I hate waiting for smokes to rest after their long journey. Even more I hate feeling like I "wasted" a cigar. Thanks for the review and hopefully, the remainder will be more to your liking.
