Appearance and Construction. 14/15
This cigar features a dark natural sumatran wrapper that could never be mistaken for the primitive-looking CTBL wrapper on the regular HDM maduros. This one is sharp. There are some lighter colored veins running up and down making a crazy spiderweb like design on the wrapper. There is no tooth but a nice oily shine to the wrapper. It smells like it is going to be bitter. The clip is clean and the prelight draw is effortless with little flavor. It almost seems underfilled but the constructionis solid. I would say this is one of the best made sticks from HDM I have seen in a while. With respect to the construction quality it is every bit as good as the royal sterling line. As I toast the foot I get an aroma of burnt leaves and barnyard. Smells like a winner

Flavor 21/25
The first half yielded the most intense rich bittersweet cocoa flavor with hints of citrus, nuts and cayenne on the tail end of the really long finish. At times it must have lasted 10-12 seconds and changed a couple of times. The last half was a bit less nutty but far more citrus flavors giving way to rich dark chocolate and toffee. A couple of times I detected hints of "off" flavors that taste like burning leaves and pencil lead smell. On the last inch the off flavors subsided and it was awesome, rich, bold, and strong. Honestly, the flavors in this cigar are a nightmare to try and analyze because they are numerous, overlapping, and obscure. Overall, the flavor was satisfying if not a little too jumbled and weird. It reminds me vaguely of a dark knight but a little harder for my palate to comprehend.

Smoking characteristics 22/25
Burn was a hair off. Ash was stark white but slightly flakey. The draw turned out to be good. The stick never got hot. I would say overall the stick smoked better than average but not phenomenal. The flavor was very full with medium strength. The balance was a little uneven though. This cigar needs to be stronger to balance out the intense flavor.

Overall 29/35
Never thought I would say a cigar was too complex for me. This one might be. At times it was amazing and at others it was an assault on my palate. My advice, try this one for yourself and see what I'm talking about. This one must be experienced. Anyone who has smoked this cigar before please chime in. Im confused as to whether I liked it or not.


Total:86

Sounds very interesting. Going to have to try a couple of these when I have some time to appreciate the complex flavors. Thanks for the review.

you think a little humi time may help balance out the flavors?

Eddie

quote:

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Originally posted by InfrnalSky:
you think a little humi time may help balance out the flavors?
Eddie

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I was wondering the same thing. It sounds like a smoke I'll have to try. It's a car-accident cigar. You want to look away but you just can't help yourself from being intrigued.

quote:

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Originally posted by InfrnalSky:
you think a little humi time may help balance out the flavors?

Eddie

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I don't know. This box has been sitting at a local shop for close to 6 months. This may be as good as it gets. Then again, maybe long term aging would bring this together the way it does for a LGC serie R maddy or a dark knight. Those are the only 2 cigars I can relate this to. I like both of them slightly better. This cigar wasn't bad though, just really full flavor and complex.

Thanks guys for your thoughts. I smoked one of these a couple of days ago. It was a decent cigar. After 1/4 into it, the flavors opened up and become much better. I enjoyed this cigar, but would like to experiment with them some more. I think there may be better cigars out there for the price.

Eddie

Eddie, have you ever had a dark knight? They are pretty similar IMO but the dark knight is much richer and has a lot more strength too. Plus, it is a monster of a cigar.

I had it once, but I didn't enjoy it too much. However, it was when I first started smoking cigars and I may not have been "tuned" to the finer things in life. I've heard good things about these, and will definately try them again. Thanks PMP!

Eddie

Great review!

Good Review, thank you.

I've been smoking up a box of 40... about half way through now I guess. Most have been pretty good, but not all. The worst problem I've encountered so far was a draw to tight to smoke... but then that's a hazard anytime with a hand rolled. Second was a couple I came across in which the filler appeared to have been folded rather than rolled. As I smoked it, there was a channel that ran up all the way to the end beneath the binder and wrapper through which the fire ran much more quickly than the rest of the stick.

BUT! That certainly hasn't been reason enough to leave the rest. I enjoy them throroughly and will buy more when I run low.

I have smoked 3 or 4 of the Dark Sumatras, and i really enjoyed them. They had that great chocolatey maduro flavor to them, and i know what you mean about the complex flavors. there is alot going on with the flavor, and its really hard to put your finger on what it is you are tasting.

Really strong coffee and chocolate notes in this little stick make smoking this guy a little like eating dessert. A huge fan! I esp. love the size of the Espresso. Unfortunately I rarely have the time these days for a Double C or 'A' size. Not enough time to relax and enjoy a great big stick like that. Note to self, make more time! That said, the Rothschild is one of my favorite sizes and the HDM Espresso is in my regular rotation.

I just purchased and received 1 box of 40 of the Hoyo De Monterrey Dark Sumatra Rothschild cigars.
I smoked 2 of them this evening and they were really nice. I like the complex flavors in this cigar. I think that they will get better as they age inside my humidor.

I just tried the one BrendanMOC sent me. What a cigar! I notice some odd flavors in the first 1/4in. but that soon subsided. I'm still working on fine-tuning my palate however I was able to pick up on the chocolate quite well, which was very enjoyable. I will definitely try them again.

Thanks Brendan!

Glad I could introduce you to a new smoke....love these!! Need to get some more for my humi.

I smoked a few more of these cigars and boy are they really good. I like the coffee flavors and the chocolate flavors in this cigar. I cannot wait to smoke more of the Dark Sumatra Espresso Rothchilds.