This is one I've really been looking forward to smoking after I found them at the B&M, but I wanted to let it rest a bit to get all out of it that I could. These will be a limited production like the MB1's with only 120,000 cigars being made in all the sizes.....so here goes

Appearance and Construction: 14/15
A very beautiful looking cigar with a box press measuring 5 inches long by 54 ring by 40 ring thick. The Hershey bar brown sungrown wrapper was flawless with only one small vein showing, and it has the same laser etched logo in the wrapper just below the band as the MB 1. The band on the cigar is simply beautiful, even more so than the MB1. The cigar is finely constructed and beautifully rolled. Pre light aroma was not quite as heavy as the MB 1 as this is designed to be more of a medium bodied smoke. The cap is an absolute beauty and took my Colibri punch nicely without cracking the cap or leaving flakes to pick out.

Flavor: 21/25
Pre-light draw was fantastic. The draw was nice and easy and the cigar lit easily giving off an earthy aroma with a slight floral hint. The smoke is a medium gray and there's lots of it. A couple of minutes into the cigar and you can start to taste the spiciness..almost a faint cinnamon taste, which to me is very pleasing. The wrapper lends a sweet taste to the cinnamon/spice flavor well into the first half of the cigar. The ash is light gray and very firm and held for about an inch and a half before it fell off. The second half of the cigar continues with the spicey flavor with a little hint of pepper and is just consistently good. The burn is great, nice and even. As it passed well into the second half, past the laser etched logo I swear I could pick up some tinge of vanilla flavoring. The finish is not quite as peppery as the first half, but the cinnamon taste is still prevalent, and that definitely is a vanilla taste there. Very enjoyable indeed. Quite a bit more complex than what I thought it would be, but still medium bodied and not as strong as the MB1 that I love.

Smoking Characteristics: 23/25
A great little smoke, and I love this robusto size. Lots of billowing smoke, great draw, an ash that simply won't flake all over the place and a burn thats so even I rate it right up there with the best Torano. The wrapper is so nice and chewy its almost decandent, and lord knows I'm a sucker for sungrown wrapper smokes.

Overall: 33/35
A fine medium bodied smoke that burns well, draws well, just the right amount complexity to the flavor profile and it's just plain a joy to smoke. I know the list price of the robustos is being shown as almost $9 a stick, but the B&M I got these from they were under $7 a stick, and he should have some torpedos in tomorrow when I go by. If you are expecting it to be as full flavored as the MB 1, you will be disappointed, but just try it. I don't think anyone will be disappointed with this cigar. The Oliva family has another hit on their hands.

Overall: 91

Definitely a keeper and a humidor staple

Mike

Thanks for the review Blue you dog! I know a lot of guys are anxious to burn one of these.

Damn good review Blue. I have a MB1 I haven't even smoked yet, and now I need to get one of these!

Thanks for the indepth review Blue,nice job, have been wonder about these. Will order a few come Monday.

i went by my fav B&M wednesday, hoping to find these but they wont be in for another week or 2, and i am anxiously waiting for the phone call to tell me that they are in!

I didn't like this cigar at all. It was better than the MB1s when they were fresh. But that doesn't say much. They tasted like rope when they first came out. Now look at them, Semisweet goodness. This one started out very comple but became one dimensional at the halfway point. I wrote a full review but I chucked it. I'm going to give it some time. This go-round it didn't even score and 80. If this one matures as well as the MB1 it should be great but for now I thought it sucked.

hey pmp, i was afraid this was going to happen, i didn't like the mb1 fresh at all, but it has aged to a very nice cigar, hopefully this will be the case with the mb2..

Thanks for the heads up P...completely agree with the fresh MB1 statement by the way...

Never had a fresh MB1. Jose Oliva stated that the MBII's were a more full bodied cigar than the MBI.

quote:

Originally posted by El Presidente:
Never had a fresh MB1. Jose Oliva stated that the MBII's were a more full bodied cigar than the MBI.

This is what I was hoping for when I got them, but everyone I know that has tried them says they don't have the full flavor profile that the MB1 has. To me they are no more than a medium bodied smoke, though tasty.

Mike

Got some MBI's on the way, still trying to get some II's. Havn't been able to find them anywhere. Anyone have any ideas?

Last time I checked, Famous, Serious, and CI had them. Take a look.

i picked up a robusto yesterday while shopping in the big city, several shops there had them...

I heard they where going to be milder than the MBI.

quote:

Originally posted by Lok17:
Got some MBI's on the way, still trying to get some II's. Havn't been able to find them anywhere. Anyone have any ideas?

Contact Corona Cigar in Orlando. I was there tonight. They have several boxes of each size. You should be able to grab some from them.

whoever gets my rats package, just may be getting one of these

Got my hands on a box of the MBII's bout a week ago. Coudn't help but light one up last night. I thought it had fantastic flavor. Although a bit on the mild side, comparable to a RP Vintage IMO. I have a box of the torps, and while it did not ruin the smoke I found the draw to be a lil tough. Am I doing something wrong in cutting the torp or do they just need a lil humi time? Also, I may be crazy, or it could have been the scotch, but instead of cinamon, I got a distinctly mint flavor at the very end. Smoked this badboy to just over an inch. Got 24 more to last me a lifetime

Don't worry about it Lok, no two people have the same taste buds. Where I pick it up as a cinnamon, it could very well be a mint flavor to you. Everyone's reviews are based on their individual taste, that's what makes it so interesting to see if you have the same experience with the smoke, or if you get something different. It' still a very good smoke though in my opinion, and box worthy, so you didn't make a bad investment. They will get better with some time on them.

Mike