2004 Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2

Never have been a fan of this vitola, whether it be the specific cigar or the size  itself.  There is a thin line I have for a comfort zone, I like medium-bodied cigars and do not prefer those above or below that in strength.  But I DO like smoking good "old" cigars, so I don't let that simple preference hold me back.  I pulled the cigar out of a cabinet of 50 that it now shares with PSD4s and RASS.  It was not remarkable in any way, although perfectly rolled and seemed the perfect weight in the hand. 

Loaded for bear this weekend with a PSD4 on deck.  That cigar would turn out to be unremarkable, but as it was 2009 vintage, I did not hold anything against it and buried the rest for a few years.  Getting back to the Epicure No.2, it lit fine and drew perfectly.  There was not much body to speak of, and the flavor initially was of straw and light tobacco.  If you had to rate it strictly as an example of the torcedore's art, this was a ten.  It was such a struggle in the head, at once giving the cigar top marks for the mechanical virtues, and panning it for it's weak character.  There was some creaminess once the cigar burned into it's strike zone, but all in all it was a boring smoke. 

You can see the perfect burn going, the ash held on for another inch before missing my bourbon by a half inch as it fell off.  The cigar was cut with a wedge, which I always do with a robusto, because they are nearly always rolled far too airily to be cut in the standard fashion.  Smoking an airy cigar does not enhance the burn.  Being forced to pull a bit for some smoke usually leads to a razor straight burn in a robusto. 

You can see in the last photo that I DID slide the band up to enjoy the cigar a little more than usual, and that does speak to some type of enjoyment.  It is not uncommon for me to leave half of a short cigar unsmoked.  This one I burned down to an inch long.  It was simply a salute to the perfect construction and the beautiful burn.  The Epicure was also undemanding, I could smoke it and watch TV or type blog entries with the cigar being there for entertainment without giving me trouble or forcing me to focus too intently on flavor. 

All in all, the cigar failed me in flavor as almost all of it's brethren have over the years.  But that is the wonder of the Habanos catalogue, there is something for everybody if you have the patience to wait for the odd miracle cigar that comes your way from time to time.  Usually you have to find the real enjoyment, it's sad to say, in the allure of the cigar, and for US smokers, in the excitement of forbidden fruit.  I am playing out the string on this cabinet, I keep them around strictly for the hope I hold out that I may find a few nuggets in there.  Make no mistake, these cigars can be excellent.  A better palate than mine can find much more to enjoy in them without finding that unicorn in the box.  But it's what I do, I smoke and rate cigars.  A disappointing 75, and a lot of that score is performance under "fire".

And now the irony.  A much better performance will be seen tomorrow, in a cigar from the Dominican Republic.