avantgrade purchased this cigar on 2010-02-10.
It has 6 months of additional aging.
This stick just looked delicious before I even lit it up. After visually inspecting this beaut, I toasted it and the triple flame did its job right away. There is a beautiful earthy aroma, full of coffee beans and light wood flavors. As the cigar establishes itself into a comfortable burn, the palate is coated with pleasant oils, which seem to be almost ready to seep out of the cigar. The flavors are definitely rich, but very well balanced.
The coffee notes mellow out a bit and, with a dash of appropriate complexion I suppose, become reminiscent of cocoa. The earthy core is nicely complemented by the growing sweetness of chocolate. Along side, the body picks up from a medium range more towards medium-full. Smoke is dense and plentiful, leaving behind a nice, firm salt-and-pepper ash. The burn line did start to canoe a little bit, but nothing too severe. It was easily fixed with a torch.
I am a fan of maduro cigars, dark fermented wrappers, which typically imply a creamy texture profile of the smoke. If I did not know any better, at this point I would argue that this Montecristo is a true maduro. The flavors of cocoa (what used to be coffee at the beginning, at least for my taste), wood and even a dash of cinnamon, they are all quite potent, but the way this cigar smooths them out is outstanding.
The burn, though, is still having a few issues, causing more canoeing along the way. I set it straight, but whenever I knock the ash it seems to cause more issues. Luckily, the ash is very solid, requiring only a few drops throughout the smoke.
It's really a perfect crescendo to a cigar that is truly worthy to mark 75 years of Montecristo. Along with cocoa, wood, earth and cinnamon, notes of chocolate deepen, and the sweetness takes on a more complex profile, almost molasses-like. Down to the nub, the smoke stays cool, delivering strong flavors without any harshness. If only the burn issues were corrected, I would easily rate this cigar a 95.
Nonetheless, I am pleased to say I have more sticks hanging out in the humidor.