Hoyo De Monterrey

For the last almost 3 weeks now, we have experienced some incredibly hot weather here in Middle TN, most days exceeding 90 degrees with humidity levels to match making for some pretty repressive weather. This kind of heat does not lend itself to making one want to sit outside for ANY reason including a cigar as the temps still hover well into the 80's even as darkness falls and the night begins.

The other evening however saw a break in the temperatures having a storm pass through bringing with it a cool breeze that lowered the temperature to a nice 75 degrees. The storms were still around with thunder and lighting in the distance with a light inconsistent drizzle at our house, so I suggested sitting on our screened in patio room to enjoy the cooler air and a cigar.

The evenings smoking selection was a Hoyo De Monterrey given to me by a friend with whom I smoke from time to time. I was excited to be able to try something I hadn't before, and after toasting the foot and taking the first firm draw I was impressed with the earthen flavor of the smoke.

Once settled in this cigar smoked easily, maintained a nice even burn however its ash structure was very loose with the ash falling onto me after only about an inch had burned. Twice more during this smoke the ash fell directly onto me as opposed to me electing to ash. Having the cherry exposed meant the cigar burnt a little hotter than what I would have preferred and perhaps that is partially to blame for the acidic taste the cigar developed as it flavor profile continued its development.

At no point was the acidic taste overwhelming or presented in such a way to make you want to extinguish the cigar, however it was a profile that once present maintained itself throughout the remainder of the cigar.

With the loose roll this 5 1/2 inch cigar burned very quickly with it nearing the end only 35 minutes after it had been started. You'll note in the picture above my dog Monty who spent most of the evening on my lap as I smoked this cigar, and a drink of some Port that I have had on the wine rack made for a nice compliment to the cigar actually working in strong but complimentary contrast to the acidic taste of the cigar, the sweetness of the port balancing and helping develop the acidic nature of the cigar itself.

As it neared time to extinguish the cigar, I took the opportunity to deconstruct the cigar, removing first the wrapper, and then the binder and finally the filler with my 4 year old son taking care to examine each leaf as it removed from the cigar. The final few leaves were still hot from the cigar, so he did not actually handle those leaves instead looking at them as I showed him that there were in fact entire leaves in the cigar to which he asked a lot of questions.

The evening illustrates one of the greatest things about cigars, the ability to sit, relax and do nothing while enjoying the company of friends, or in my case my family. From time to time my son will "smoke" a bubble gum cigar from a gift package we received when my daughter was born last year, and yeah while I'm not fond of him having a pink cigar in his mouth, it is funny watching him, especially when he goes to ash the cigar.

Life is fleeting, and as such I really think cigars serve as a great tool in slowing down life, forcing one to take a break and just simply relax and enjoy those people who are important. I encourage you this week to try something new, like I did with this Hoyo De Monterrey. Will I smoke this cigar again, probably not if I am paying for it, but I certainly enjoyed the experience and company of the evening spent smoking the Hoyo De Monterrey, and for that reason I would say it was a good but not great smoke.