Stogie Reviews: Montecristo Peruvian Especial No. 2 Maduro

The Montecristo Peruvian Especial No. 2 Maduro had been in my humidor for about six months. It looked nice, dark, and rugged. Part of the wrapper, a Connecticut broadleaf, was nearly black and gave the stick a partial barber pole appearance. The cap was perfect.

In fact, about the only real problem with this Peruvian was the taste. And even that was nice for about the first inch or so. Woody, sweet, nutty, smooth. A spicy finish, and a pleasing smoke.

And then, well, then there was basically nothing. Nada. Zip. Just smoke. No taste. No aftertaste. No mid-taste. Not so special. I kept smoking mostly out of curiosity: Would it continue this way to the end?

My question was answered with about an inch to go. Nothingness gave way to unpleasant bitterness. Of course, that might simply have been the buildup of tar.

I don’t recall what I paid for the stick, a box-pressed five inches by 40 ring gauge with a cheesy cardboard cover. Whatever it was, it was too much. This cigar was too bland to lump in with some of the truly awful sticks I’ve smoked – Professor Sila, anyone?

Instead, I put this cigar in the category of “Why bother smoking it when you can just as easily sit and breathe.” And that category earns the Montecristo Peruvian Especial No. 2 Maduro the unimpressive rating of just one out of five stogies.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–George E

Tags: cigars