DrinkyBanjo Posted May 26, 2007 Share Posted May 26, 2007 Well I finally sampled my first Montecristo Number 2 (Habana). I thought it was okay. It did not blow me away but it was definitely good. It did not burn too evenly and the draw was a bit tight but it did work well with the Wild Turkey Tribute/RR 101 that I had with it. It has been in my humidor for a while but that might not have helped it either.Anyway good but not great but it appears these can bit a little bit hit or miss with the majority being hits. I have a few more to try so I'm not giving up yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwrussell Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Tim, the #2 is most definately known for being hit or miss. However, when they are "on" they have a reputation as being some of the best smokes that exist. (I've only had a couple and they weren't "on") A few questions:Any chance you know the age of the smokes?What RH % do you keep your Humidor at? This can really contribute to that tightness you mention. Most folks I know who keep Habanos keep them at a lower RH than most folks who keep mostly Non-Cubans.I'll have to try my next Monte with some WT. To me the Monte profile is a tough one to match with a bourbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrinkyBanjo Posted May 29, 2007 Author Share Posted May 29, 2007 I try to keep it at 70% but it fluctuates a bit, it wasn't super tight just tighter than I like. Don't forget this was Tribute (15) and RR101 (10) so these are a little smoother than normal WT. I think RB would go really well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwrussell Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Rare Breed is what I have so I'll try that. To help with the tightness, if you keep your himidor at 70%, you might want to think about dry-boxing cubans overnight before smoking them. For whatever reason I've found them to smoke much better at lower humidity (between 63-68%). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrinkyBanjo Posted May 29, 2007 Author Share Posted May 29, 2007 Dry boxing? I'm guessing this is placing them in a 'normal' cigar box (sans humidity) over night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwrussell Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 You got it. I keep all of my old boxes for the most part, until I don't have room for them, but they work well for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaoh Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Very sound advice. Habanos tend to smoke better at lower r/h than most Dominican and Central American smokes.The best No.2 bourbon combination I have had was while at the Monte Carlos in Vegas, 2002. I had a No.2 with several shots of Woodford Reserve. Which is interesting. I quickly grew to not have much interest or anything extrordiary to say about WR after that. What ever bottle was in that bar @ that casion was an excellent match for that particular cigar.jwrussell is also right about there being swing periods in production with this cigar. A basic observation is Monte No. 2 & No.4, as well as RYJ Churchills to name a few in particular, are rolled in mass quantities year in and year out. When a harvest year is great, the cigars should match that standard. However due to popularity, it has been stated that the same high production numbers continue for these popluar smokes when a harvest is not exceptional - in other words selectivity may suffer with these vitolas as Habanos will lean towards producing X million items regardless of harvest conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mythrenegade Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 That's a bummer for you. I've only had one Montecristo #2 (Habana) in my lifetime and it's at the very top of the list of the best smokes I've ever had. Glad I was lucky. I have another one in my Humidor. I hope it lives up to the memory of the first...Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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