Stone H.
4 out of 5
4
5
0
I shouldn't have, but I did.
by Stone H.
on Sep 22, 2018
I ordered 2 fivers of the Belicosos when they were on sale a few weeks ago.They were backordered a week, so as a new release, I assume they went straight from being born in the DR to sitting on a customs dock to a quick stop at the Bethlehem warehouse where they were promptly loaded onto a USPS rig for the 1700 mile trip to CO, probably spending last night in the back of a chilly truck. But I'm a Monte fan (original, white and vintage CT). And I'm a CT fan. Its not every day that one of your favorite brands releases a cigar that should be up your alley, so I smoked a young one off the truck after its long arduous journey. No better way to enjoy a long dog walk in the woods. Body was smooth medium and was actually a little fuller than I expected. White pepper presented itself a few puffs in and remained until the end. Very peppery for a Monte, but not as peppery as a MOW Virtue (which I had before lunch today). Draw for the first half was not great. Didn't pucker my cheeks, but smoke production was below average. Faintly creamy and mostly nutty with a short crisp finish. And then the marshmallow puffs arrived! Think about a perfectly sized gourmet marshmallow toasted ever so perfectly over a hot maplewood fire. It dominated a few puffs when releasing the smoke from my mouth. Oh to be 7 again! Flavors came in out over the course of the smoke and just when I forgot about the marshmallow, there it was again. The wrapper started peeling at the halfway point after removing the labels but I would attribute that to its journey. Burned through whatever was causing the draw problem and all was good aside from a very messy last 2-3 inches. Definitely more of a "new age" attempt and unfortunately that meant no rich, decadent and creamy je ne sais pas that comes with a high quality DR CT over the last 2 inches. I'll let them rest at least a month before trying again. Doesn't get a 5th star due to lacking the je ne sais pas and probably gets the 4th for the marshmallow puffs.