In the early 1830’s at the age of thirteen Don José Gener y Batet left Spain immigrating to Cuba and began working on his uncles tobacco plantation in Vuelta Abajo. Some twenty years on he opened his own cigar factory  in Havana and produced the La Escepción line of cigars. In 1865 Don José Gener y Batet then acquired one of the best tobacco farms in Vuelta Abajo and registered a cigar range named Hoyo De Monterrey. Literally translating to “the hole of Monterrey” this reflected the concave terrain sought by growers of premium Cuban tobacco. Today it’s commonly acknowledged by many Habanos aficionados that Vuelta Abajo is the region where the best tobacco leaf is grown.

The rich red soil of Vuelta Abajo is responsible for the best tobacco for both wrapper and filler. The Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure No.2 is a product of this rich red soil and its beautiful appearance is consistent with the best from the region. The wrapper a delicious caramel brown in colour with a regal red, white and gold band. Partnering the HDM Epicure No.2 for the review was a 2005 Penfolds Thomas Hyland Cabernet Sauvignon. I cut the head using my twin blade cutter and lit the foot once again using my Vector Tripump triple torch lighter. The cigar lit easily and from the outset the draw was uninhibited offering generous amounts of smoke with an intense tobacco taste. The flavour included notes of cinnamon and cocoa which mellow but remain consistent for the second third of the cigar. For the final third the flavours also remain with notes of cedar also apparent. The cigar burnt beautifully and the ash solid throughout its life with colours of grey contrasting to white.

The Hoyo de Monterrey brand is often over shadowed by its more famous relations of Montecristo and Cohiba but definitely should not be overlooked. The Epicure No.2 delivers an abundance of flavour whilst remaining smooth and scores a well deserved 8/10! 

Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2
Ring gauge: 50, Length: 124mm, Sticks: 15, 25 or 50 sticks / box.

To visit our shop and view one of these items please click on one of the following links: Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure No.2 Club Pack 15s, Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure No.2 SLB 25s and Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure No.2 SLB 50s.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 5:25 pm by David and is filed under Cigar Reviews, Hoyo de Monterrey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.