Altadis' Montecristo Red Corona

Sometimes I am embarassed for the manufacturers of certain cigars.  They have the illustrious names to use for all they are worth, and yet they still feel compelled to give away swag in order to ensure that the efforts and time and money and care that went into creating the cigar is not lost to indifference.  And with this cigar, it was especially so, as I bought a box of them for two reasons, neither of them having anything to do with my impressions of what the cigar might hold in store.  I got a little gift package consisting of a cutter, a lighter, and a humidification device.  The cigars themselves were bought simply for the troops.  I really couldn't care less how they tasted, at least from a personal standpoint.   But they never get ALL of the cigars, I always hold back one or two for me, just curious to see what's going on in the non-cuban ranks.  I realize that the story of what is going on in the modern Non-cuban world cannot be estimated by pinching a few cigars out of troop support buys, but without it I would have ZERO idea of it all, so every little bit gives me SOMETHING. 

So it is with a little curiousity that I clip the cigar with a wedge cut and light it up.  As with most of the NC cigars, it is sharp, and well, nasty.  The burn is erratic for the first 1/4 inch, and features a stem that held on after the ashing, and was SO stout, I couldn't knock it off with a rotating grind into the concrete steps.  I chuckled a bit under my breath, as if to say "here we go again, lol".  But even with the smooth, creamy character that a perfect Connecticut wrapper usually imparts to a cigar, there is some roughness in the opening.  I expect that.  But what I never anticipated, and what I GOT IN SPADES, is this lush flavor of a cuban cigar after the burn settled down.  I liken the taste to a mild PSD4 or a Juan Lopez No.2.  I was struck by it in such a way as to have me constantly looking at the cigar in wonder.  It was on the medium side of mild-medium, had a sparkly, fruity taste that balanced well with the creaminess of the Connecticut wrapper.  It lent a moist condition to the mouth while smoking, which points to a near perfect balance.  But with every puff there was this hint of havana.  I am not at all going so far as to say what some whisper about in the inner circles of afishingknottos, that perhaps cuban tobacco is being blended into non-cuban cigars, but the creaminess and the slight, pleasant cuban twang have got my mind working a bit.  The cigar burned PERFECTLY, and I capitalize that because it is burning better than the Epicure No.2 I had the day before.  It is SO slow-burning and so perfect on the draw, that it is a real pleasure to smoke, and the flavor I spoke of has got a smile on my face as I sip my Bass Ale and watch the Sunday afternoon work it's spring magic on my community.  I am usually quite a hermit, so I am sure the activity is similar everyday, but it is alive today with a general joy of spring.  There is a little rumpus with the birds all trying to find breeding space in my massive Magnolia tree, and there are a few Cardinals that seem to be fighting over space too.  The cigar burned with a linear profile, never getting anymore complex, but the basic flavor is surprising, as I said. 

One caveat I would put forth, I have had a few cigars like this from Altadis, with hints of twang, and I do not smoke enough of them to say whether this 'condition' would persist through the box, but based on this one cigar, these are a good cigar to carry the Montecristo label.  I do not find much to like in their other offerings, even the Afrique which on paper should be right up my alley.  I would score this cigar, based on only one smoke, at 89 points.